Reformed Church Münsingen BE
The Reformed Church in Münsingen was built at the beginning of the 18th century in place of a previous medieval church.
Previous buildings
During the interior renovation of the church in 2014, the foundations of the previous buildings of today's church came to light. The following construction phases can be documented today: 1. The oldest parts of the church are under the tower, where a crypt-like room from Roman times can be seen. The main building of the Roman manor from the 2nd century is believed to be in the area of the nave. Roman buildings have been discovered around the church since 1941, including a Roman bath. 2. After the Roman period, the manor was in 7/8. Century to the early medieval cemetery. It is possible that the Roman mausoleum now became an early Christian memoria. 3. The oldest verifiable stone church from Carolingian-Ottonian times, 9./10. Century, was a hall church with a semi-circular choir drawn in on both sides. The south wall of this church borders the Roman mausoleum. 4. A second church was built over the first church in the pre-Romanesque period, in the 11th or early 12th century. The church received a larger rectangular choir and probably two rectangular apsides. In 2014, the foundation of a high altar was discovered on the east wall of the choir. At the beginning of the choir, a choir arch can be reconstructed, which separated the nave from the sanctuary, which was reserved for the clergy only. The floor plan was now cruciform. The former Roman mausoleum was converted into a crypt, which was presumably accessible from the transept of the church. Today this room can only be reached from the outside on the west side of the tower. The church is first mentioned in a document in 1146. 5. In the 15th century the church was converted into an elongated hall church in Gothic style. A polygonal choir drawn in on both sides was added to the east of the church. The rectangular choir of the old church became the vestibule and space for the sanctuary. The presumed northern annex was abandoned at that time and the tower was built over the southern annex around 1400. The crypt, the former Roman mausoleum, was preserved. The tower and probably also the crypt were accessible through stairs and doors on the south wall from the church interior.
Tower and bells
After 1400 a bell tower was added to the church. In 1902 the dilapidated medieval tower with the four corner turrets, which had been given a new helmet in 1795, was thoroughly redesigned and increased to 47 meters. It has had its current appearance since 1938. A bell cast by Johann Reber in Aarau in 1412 bears the names of Saints Martin and Theodul . It was sold to Meikirch in 1857 when four new bells replaced the old one . The four bells from 1857 in use since then are called "Hope", "Love", "Faith" and "Unity". Another bell was added in 1959 when the bell was electrified. All bells come from the H. Rüetschi foundry in Aarau and sound in the tone sequence d 'fis' a 'h' d ".
New building in 1709
Around 1700 the church had to be enlarged. A request was made to the Bernese authorities to cover the costs of 80 kroner. After a second request for another 100 thalers was approved, the minster foreman Abraham Dünz built the new church with a spacious hall and gallery, which is closed on three sides. The baptismal font was hewn and the pulpit from the old church was renewed. Older than the pulpit itself is its Renaissance hat with the year 1620, the psalm verse in Hebrew and the donor's name. In 1907 the church was extensively renovated under the direction of the cathedral builder Karl Indermühle. The flat ceiling above the nave was replaced by a wooden barrel vault , a choir arch was added, and a groin vault made of plaster with the four evangelist symbols as keystones was built above the choir . The western porch was added in 1915. In the late 1930s, the choir stalls, paneling and church seating were renewed. During the next renovation in 1961, the rich ornamentation was painted over in white and the steps under the choir arch were moved to the end of the rows of pews. On the left of the choir arch is the Christ monogram XP, next to it a saying from the letter of James: "Draw near to God, he will draw near to you" and an anchor as a sign of salvation. During the interior renovation in 2014/15, the church got floor heating. You can discover the walls and graves of the previous church. Sandstone was laid uniformly over the floor heating throughout the church. The choir step was moved back under the choir arch and the font moved into the choir. Old paint residues by Karl Indermühle were discovered in the choir. With the help of color analyzes and old photos, the choir was restored in the home style of Karl Indermühle. To make room in the front of the nave, some rows of pews have been removed. There is a new large communion table there. The lectern, the candlestick and the candle bowl have been recreated to match.
Choir windows and coats of arms
The three windows of the Lucerne painter Aloys Balmer in the choir depict the Sermon on the Mount . The first design was commissioned by Carl Ludwig Lory around 1900. After lengthy discussions and changes, the windows were made in the Kirsch and Fleckner studio in Freiburg and inaugurated in 1919. The coat of arms disks donated in 1562 by Hans Steiger , Mr. zu Münsingen, and his wife Barbara Willading were placed in the new church in 1709 to the right of the pulpit below the Bernese state disk. For the new building in 1709, the rulers, dignitaries and local notables donated eleven more coats of arms.
organ
It was not until 260 years after the Reformation that organ playing was reintroduced in the church as a replacement for choirboys and trombone players. The first organ was supplied by Peter Schärer from Sumiswald in 1788 . Today's organ was created in 1976 by the Metzler company from Dietikon . The prospectus and the disposition are in the tradition of the late baroque. From 1999 to 2014 the house organ from 1778 from a farmhouse in zzawil was in the choir . After the interior renovation of the church in 2014/15, there was no longer any space in the church. Today it stands in the so-called Chappeli next to the church. There it is needed for small abdications.
The church district
Originally, the church district comprised three other buildings in addition to the church with the tower, the rectory and the ossuary chapel : The chaplaincy donated by Burkhard Nägeli and his wife Benedikta von Hürnberg had stood at the site of today's church car park since 1453 . The house, which was destroyed by a fire in 1872, temporarily housed the school and later a bakery after the village fire in 1798. The pfrund barn and the granary that stood north of the rectory are no longer there.
The rectory
The late Gothic rectory was built between 1489 and 1490 on the site of a previous building and in 1766 it was converted into a baroque building with regular window fronts. In the western annex there are still the boxes that once served the pastor to store the grain tithe . The parish of Münsingen bought the important building from the canton of Bern in 2005 for 460,000 francs.
The charnel house chapel - the Kappeli
In 1475, a chapel dedicated to Saints Blasius, Ottilie, Valentin, Elisabeth and Luzia was built on the south side of the church, today's Kappeli. When the land was backfilled in 1709, the basement of the two-story ossuary chapel was converted into a cellar. During a renovation in 1841, the house was extended to the west, leaving the choir with the Gothic pointed arched windows. Today it serves the parish as a multi-purpose room.
Parish
Before the Reformation, the Münsingen parish belonged to the diocese of Constance. The diocese was divided into 66 deaneries. One of them was the Deanery Münsingen, which comprised 29 parish churches from the Hasliltal to north of Bern. The clergymen of the deanery met for conferences in Münsingen. The parish of Münsingen was larger than today's Reformed parish of Münsingen. It included the villages of Münsingen (Münsingenviertel), Konolfingen , Gysenstein (Gysensteinviertel), Tägertschi , Stalden , Häutligen , Hünigen (Tägertschiviertel), Allmendingen , Beitenwil , Rubigen and Trimstein (Rubigenviertel). The Ursellen Chapel and the Kleinhöchstetten Church were also subordinate to her . In 1911 the villages of Gysenstein, Konolfingen, Stalden, Häutligen and Hünigen separated from the parish of Münsingen and together they formed the parish of Stalden, which is now the parish of Konolfingen. Only the communities Münsingen, Rubigen, and Allmendingen near Bern belong to the parish of Münsingen today. (Trimstein is now part of the Münsingen community and Tägertschi will probably also be in the foreseeable future.)
literature
- Ellen Beer (ed.): Bern's great time. The 15th century rediscovered , Bern 1999.
- Burkhard Ernst: Village and rule Münsingen in the old days , Bern 1962.
- Gugger Hans: Münsingen. Its importance in the early days and its large original parish as an example of the emergence of Bernese communities, in: Der Hinkende Bot. 273/2000.
- Hug Regula, Maurer Hans, Gugger Hans: Art Guide Münsingen, Bern 2004.
- Local history commission of the community of Münsingen (ed.): Münsingen. History and stories , Münsingen 2010.
- Lüdi Jakob: Das Kirchenwesen von Münsingen , special print from: Blätter zur Bernischen Geschichte, Kunst und Altertumskunde, Bern 1922, Issue 3/4.
- Reformed Church Münsingen (ed.): Church Münsingen, 1709–2009, stories, pictures, names, dates , Münsingen 2009.
- Christiane Kissling, Volker Herrmann and Regula Glatz: Münsingen, Reformed Church. A “flash shot” illuminates 2000 years of history. Archeology Bern 2015. Yearbook of the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern 2015. Bern 2015, 82–85.
- Ruth and Heinz Balmer-Gfeller: 100 years of the Reformed Church Konolfingen 1898–1998, anniversary publication Evangelical Reformed Church Community Konolfingen
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The article is an excerpt from: Commission for local history Münsingen (Hg), 2010, pp. 188–191. The authors of the article are: Maurer Hans, Eggimann Ernst W., Lanz Elisabeth. Editorial revision: Zürcher Markus
- ↑ The following information is taken from the yearbook of the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern 2015, pages 82–85
- ↑ Burkhard, 1962, p. 38
- ↑ Gugger 2000, p. 29.
- ^ Hug 2004, p. 29f; Lüdi 1922, p. 213
- ^ Reformed parish Münsingen (ed.), 2009
- ↑ Gugger, 2000, p. 69
- ↑ Hug, 2004, p. 31
- ↑ see: Balmer, 100 Years Reformed Church Konolfingen 1898–1998, p. 18
Coordinates: 46 ° 52 '42.7 " N , 7 ° 33' 37.5" E ; CH1903: 609283 / 191942
Ecclesiastical district Bern Mittelland-Süd
Belp, Belpberg and Toffen | Biglen | Gerzensee | Grosshöchstetten | Guggisberg | Sweep | Kirchdorf | Köniz | Konolfingen | Linden | Münsingen | Muri-Gümligen | Oberbalm | Oberdiessbach | Riggisberg | Rüeggisberg | Rüschegg | Schlosswil | Schwarzenburg | Thurnen | Walk rings | Wichtrach | Zimmerwald