Saint Petri Church (Günthersleben)
The Saint Peter's Church to Günthersleben is an evangelical church that today with Cobstädt and Tüttleben the parish association seamounts in the church district Gotha of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany belongs.
history
Protestant clergymen have been preaching in the Sankt-Petri-Kirche in Günthersleben for more than 475 years. Presumably a Romanesque church stood here as early as the 10th century, but a large part of it was demolished due to its dilapidation. The current church was built in 1694 on the old foundation walls. Recently it was found during grouting work that the central part of the nave dates from the Romanesque period. The Brunswick-Lüneburg mint director, Günthersleben landlord and feudal lord and court lord , Heinrich Bonhorst , laid the foundation stone on April 25, 1694 and financed the construction costs of the church. In return, he was given the right to use the community meadows for 12 years. The inauguration took place on January 27, 1696 with the wedding of the shepherd Heinrich Christoffel Homburg and his bride Barbara Quecken.
On the west side of the nave is the 30 m high tower, which houses three bells that survived the world wars. The prayer bell rings three times a day to invite the prayers of the hour .
The interior of the church is decorated with a large crucifix , probably from the Baroque era . In the entrance area there is a baptismal font from the 12th century. In the corridor in front of the altar is the "new" baptismal font from 1696 with the coat of arms of the Bonhorst family.
Behind the altar is a large stained glass window, which was made in 1906 by the art glass and glass painting workshop Wilhelm Franke from Naumburg (Saale) and restored in 2005. It is titled "The Consoling Savior " and shows Christ with his arms outstretched, as he holds out his hands to those seeking consolation. The window was donated by the then landlady, Baroness Caroline von Weiß. The window showed a lot of damage from the effects of war, stone throwing, paint flaking, broken glass and damage from other causes until it was restored and reinstalled from May to September 2005 on the basis of existing design drawings. Today it is provided with protective glazing. Another stained glass window is about the Christmas story.
The organ was built in 1856 by the Tabarz company Knauf . In 2002 the Günthersleben parish, with the help of donations from many citizens and the work of the master organ builder Löbling from Zimmersupra, succeeded in getting the two-manual Knauff organ , which had been silent for thirty years, to play again.
It is also thanks to the commitment of the citizens and sponsors that the church received new electrics so that the service in winter can be celebrated in a heated church and on padded benches. In 2004 the north and south walls were grouted. That brought a nicer exterior and better moisture protection. In addition, the church roof was renewed in 2006. A new sandstone floor was installed in the chancel, which replaced the air-impermeable floor tiles.
graveyard
The rectory was built around 1715 and is surrounded by an old defensive wall, which suggests that the churchyard area has been used as a burial place since the 10th century. Today the cemetery still houses several very old tombstones. The tombstone of the 24-year-old Kundemund von Stotternheim (formerly Stutternheim ), who died in 1563, is set into the church wall from the outside .
gallery
- Pictures from the church
Epitaph of the church patron Heinrich Bonhorst
Grave slab of Kundemund von Stutternheim
Window with the Christmas story
Church interior
Gallery staircase on the north side
Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 7.7 ″ N , 10 ° 45 ′ 46.8 ″ E
literature
- Dirk Koch: Village churches around the three equals , publisher: Trachtengruppe Ingersleben, Ingersleben 2006.
