Sankt Walpurgis Church (Apfelstädt)
The St. Walpurgis Church in Apfelstädt is the local Protestant church. Its tower (43 m) can be seen from afar. Apfelstädt is also the main parish of the parish of the same name, to which the communities of Wandersleben and Kornhochheim with their respective churches still belong. The rectory belongs to the Gotha parish of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany .
Naming
The namesake of the church is St. Walburga , the patroness of country folk and domestic animals.
history
The predecessor of today's church could have been the chapel of a Franconian royal court, which is mentioned in a deed of donation in 775 (see also: History of the place ). The origins of the church date back to the 11th century; Parts of the south and north walls of the nave are Romanesque . In the north wall, five Romanesque window arches were uncovered during restoration work, the second and fourth of which were light openings, while the first, third and fifth were only installed for stylistic reasons. On the south wall, the restorers applied the outlines of the Romanesque window openings to the plaster. An inscription on the sacrament shrine says that the choir was built in 1434, an inscription on the west corner of the north side indicates that the nave was built in 1491, the tower dates from 1396, according to the inscription on the north wall of the tower.
The original appearance of the church was changed by various alterations in the Gothic and modern times (1616, 1669, etc.). The wooden barrel ceiling over the choir and nave and the galleries also date from the 17th century. The rest of the interior of the church and the pulpit are from the first years of the 19th century in neoclassical style with white and gold.
The former ground level of the surrounding area, then the cemetery, was about 2 m lower than today, as excavations have shown. By using the cemetery, the level increased to today's height, because excavated material and rubble were not cleared away, only distributed. The level of the church floor at that time was correspondingly lower and was raised again and again over the centuries by means of landfills. Today you enter the church via two descending steps.
The tower
The foundation stone of the Gothic tower was laid on April 28, 1396, as indicated by a stone inscription on the church wall. Thick walls on the west wall of the church indicate a previous tower. From the third floor upwards, the tower has an octagonal floor plan. The tower was originally crowned by a battlement with battlements about 2 m high. Other attributes of the tower, such as the seven notch chambers, testify to the former strength of the church. The church was not a fortified church , but was only equipped with defense elements, such as B. the shooting niches . They were as high as a man and around 150 cm wide so that the shooter, who was still equipped with a crossbow at the time, had enough freedom of movement for himself and his weapon. The simple pointed arch windows on the three sides of the choir have also been preserved from the Gothic construction period. Konrad Stolle , Erfurt chronicler (1436–1501), announced in his memorial that the tower was besieged on August 26, 1450. The entrance to the first floor could only be reached via a ladder. In 1715, the tower was stripped of its defensive exterior. The tower has simple rectangular windows on the ground floor and the first two floors, paired rectangular windows on the third floor, and simple windows again on the following octagonal floor from 1715. This is followed by a tail dome with an open lantern and a rather high helmet on top .
The bell in the tower is from 1562.
Outer church walls
On the outer south wall of the church, remains of a painting with a diamond or ashlar structure and a sundial from the middle of the 15th century were exposed under the plaster . This original painting is unique in Thuringia. The sundial is no longer illuminated by the sun in every season of the year because it is temporarily in the shadow of the house due to the renovation and construction of the adjacent rectory. The dial is carved into the Gothic plaster and covered with red chalk.
A Saxon cubit is embedded on the north side . It measures 56 cm and has served as a " standard " for craftsmen for centuries . B. Draper.
organ
The church already had an organ in 1590. At that time, an old organ from a Catholic church in Erfurt was purchased for 70 guilders. The church received a new organ in 1707 from the Arnstadt organ builder Johann Anton Weise . It cost 310 Reichstaler . After several repairs, the Tabarz organ builder Valentin Knauf built a new organ with 31 voices for 1300 Thaler in 1833 , using the usable parts of the old organ. 1995 was the rededication of the Knauf organ restored by Rösel & Hercher .
Others
At the northern side entrance of the church there is an old linden tree with a trunk circumference of 1 m and a height of 256 cm.
The church ensemble, which was extensively restored between 1992 and 2000, includes the parsonage's barn and stable, the parsonage and the cemetery. The barn and stable now house a permanent exhibition on the local history, in which the rural way of life as well as the history of schooling and baking are documented. A youth club is set up on the ground floor. The rooms offer space for changing exhibitions by local artists. After the walls were torn down in the 19th century, the cemetery was relocated a few meters from the church in a north-westerly direction.
In 2006 the church's electrical system was renewed. On October 4th, 2009 the new winged altar by the artist Timm Kregel was inaugurated. In the middle the Lord's Supper is depicted, the two wings show the Blessed Mother with Jesus in her lap and Christ with the Paschal Lamb .
Every year on Good Friday the fetching of Easter water takes place. For this purpose, the participants form car pools and make the last 6 km on foot to the Apfelstädt source.
Images of the church and the environment
Stone tablet from 1396, attesting to the laying of the foundation stone of the tower
North wall, oldest part of the church, with former window niches
North wall, the remains of the Romanesque posts of the wider entrance door are visible
Ventilation / shooting openings on the tower
Wall niche in the south wall
Sundial on the south side
Wall painting from the 15th century.
South wall with wall painting and marked earlier Romanesque window openings
modern art in the church
The new altar from 2009 with a cross from 2015
The winged altar, closed
Memorial to the fallen from Apfelstädt during the two world wars
Rectory, in the background the church tower
Web links
literature
- Dirk Koch: Village churches around the three equals , Ingersleben 2006
- Bernd Kramer, pastor of the Apfelstädt parish: oral statements
- P. Lehfeldt: Architectural and Art Monuments of Thuringia , Book VIII, 1891, pp. 4–6.
Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 1 ″ N , 10 ° 53 ′ 16.4 ″ E