Saint Johannis Baptista Church (Schönebeck)

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St. John's Church
In the background the high altar from 1665

The Sankt-Johannis-Baptista-Kirche is a Protestant church in Bad Salzelmen , Schönebeck (Elbe) in the German state Saxony-Anhalt . At the beginning of the 15th century it was decided to have a church built. On August 29, 1430 the foundation stone was laid on the west side in order to create a refuge with the towers in the event of war or disaster. The church took over a century to build.

architecture

Essentially, the Sankt-Johannis-Baptista-Kirche is a late Gothic hall church - both side aisles are 14.7 meters (north) and 14.1 meters (south), almost the same height as the central nave with 15 meters. A wide three-aisled hall with a polygonal apse , 17 supporting pillars and a high roof, the roof edge of which starts at 15 meters, is attached to the massive west building with its two towers . A fire in 1635 destroyed most of the original interior furnishings, which necessitated the redesign of the church interior in the second half of the 17th century. The church has rich furnishings in the baroque style. The St. Johannis Church is unique in terms of culture and art history, which also makes it significant beyond the state borders of Saxony-Anhalt. In the choir there is a high altar , which was made by the sculptors Giegaß from Magdeburg and Wilhelm Schorigus the Elder . J. from Braunschweig as well as the Wittenberg painter Schröder.

Furnishing

Important people and events in the history of salvation are depicted on the individual floors of the high altar, which is around 12 meters high. One of the greatest treasures is the Baroque pulpit designed in 1676 by the Halle sculptor Maximilian Drei 30mark , which rests on a gilded palm tree. Tobias Wilhelmi created a striking carving with the choir screen. Valuable epitaphs remind of the once influential families of the city.

In earlier times the church had four bronze bells ringing. The oldest church bell that sounded its voice from the tower was cast around 1275, when the so-called Pfännerkirche didn't even exist. It previously belonged to the village church of Esterhusen. When this house of God was in disrepair, they were brought into the new church.

In 1635, in the middle of the Thirty Years War , a fire largely destroyed the original interior. The two small student galleries and the valuable altar crucifix from 1550 have been preserved to this day. The fire also spread to the roof and the towers, so that even the bells fell down. It was not until 1646 that the saddle roof was put back on and the interior redesigned. The organ is a work by Wilhelm Rühlmann from 1914 with 45 stops on three manuals and pedal . It was restored in 2002 by W. Sauer Orgelbau Frankfurt (Oder) .

The vestibule with entrance has a very beautiful stepped gable in brick Gothic . Figures of saints and ornaments determine its appearance. The crucifixion relief with its large symbolic content is particularly valuable above the entrance portal.

Towers

A chronicle reports that the towers should be twice as high, higher than those of Magdeburg Cathedral . But the archbishop from Magdeburg is said to have entered his veto. The towers were then allowed to be no more than half as high as those of the bishop's cathedral. So they remained unfinished for a long time and only later (around 1550) were the renaissance laces put on. The towers were given a height of 52 meters. In the pyramids there are some very well-preserved rooms of the former tower keeper's apartment , which was occupied by a tower guard until 1901 . A small tower museum has now been set up there. In the summer months there are regular tower climbs, during which you can visit the city from the 41 meter high tour.

literature

  • Joachim Freyer (ed.): Churches of the district of Schönebeck . Calbe: Graphic Center Cuno, 2004
  • City of Schönebeck (Ed.): 775 years of Schönebeck on the Elbe . Schönebeck: Schlüter printing works, 1997
  • District Museum Schönebeck (Ed.): Architectural monuments in the district of Schönebeck . Magdeburg: Druckerei Volksstimme Magdeburg, 1988

Web links

Commons : Sankt-Johannis-Baptista-Kirche (Schönebeck)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Line 7 of the page of the funeral sermon by Franz Heinrich Höltich from 1676 (printed 1677). There Pastor Christoph Brenner speaks of the fact that it is his first sermon from the new pulpit.
  2. ↑ Information about the organ on orgbase.nl. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 0 ′ 13.5 ″  N , 11 ° 43 ′ 18.9 ″  E