Castle Church (Saarbrücken)

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The castle church
The castle church at night
Saarbrücken Castle Church, city model

The castle church is a former church in Saarbrücken . Until the introduction of the Reformation in 1575, the church bore the patronage of St. Nicholas of Myra . Since 2004 the church building has been a museum for Christian sacred art .

location

The castle church is located on the left bank of the Saar in the Alt-Saarbrücken district . When the city ​​motorway (A620) was built, the row of houses on the Saar side was demolished. Since then, the A 620 motorway has been running directly to the east of the church on the Saar. To the west is the old town with the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, and south of the choir is the castle plateau with the adult education center building.

history

The tower of the castle church with the baroque tower dome reconstructed in 2006
Saarbrücken, castle church with provisional tower roof from the post-war period
Castle church (Saarbrücken), Meistermann window, baptistery

Castle chapel

Probably in the 11th century, a castle chapel was set up in the old Saarbrücken castle on the Saarfelsen, on which the Saarbrücken castle rises today. The “capella castri Sarapontensis” served as a sacred space for the count's court and the castle men and was presumably dedicated to St. George , the knight's saint . The inhabitants of the original castle settlement Saarbrücken, today's district of Alt-Saarbrücken , belonged to the parish of the collegiate church of St. Arnual . The castle chapel is documented for the first time in 1228, when the chapel of Count Simon III. among other goods was transferred to the Teutonic Order .

This transfer was confirmed to the Teutonic Order in 1263 by Countess Lauretta (1233–1271) from Saarbrücken.

On his return from Italy, Count Johann I (1307–1342) had a Margaret Chapel built in honor of his mother's patron saint, Margaret , in place of the old castle chapel , which was inaugurated on May 2, 1315 by Choir Bishop Daniel von Metz. Count Johann's successor, Johann II, had an altar built in the castle chapel in 1356 in honor of St. James the Elder . Johann II had previously praised a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , which he had not started. Pope Innocent VI had allowed the Count of Saarbrücken from Avignon to convert the promised vow into an altar foundation in honor of St. James. The altar foundation stipulated that, in honor of St. James, a priest had to read a mass three days a week “for his (Count Johann) healing, that of his wife, daughter and ancestors”.

On the basis of promises of indulgence associated with these altar foundations, it can be assumed that the castle chapel was also used by the residents of the castle settlement.

After the chapel was demolished in 1466, the patronage was transferred to a new chapel which was built two years later and was consecrated by the Vicar General Simon de Rubo in Metz. Gradually, the original name of the Margaret Chapel in Saarbrücken Castle was replaced by the St. James patronage. The patronage of the medieval castle chapel was transferred to the present-day Catholic Church of St. James .

The appearance of the castle chapel is not known. A source from 1358 shows that it stood on the left side of the courtyard of the medieval castle.

St. Nicholas Chapel

The Metz bishop Philipp von Flörchingen (1261–1264) had given permission on August 23, 1261 to build their own chapel for the residents of the Saarbrücken castle settlement:

“Philip, by God's grace, Metz Bishop, the dean and chapter of the Church of St. Arnuald, beloved in Christ. Greetings in the Lord. Since your parishioners from Saarbrücken to the mother church of Saint Arnuald cannot comfortably come because of the local distance, we let you know that it is permitted to build a chapel church in your parish in Saarbrücken and to hold church services there for your parishioners, but without any disadvantage for the aforementioned mother church. We also allow you to hold church services for your parishioners there in a house suitably furnished for this purpose until the aforementioned chapel church is built. Given in the year of the Lord 1261 on the Vigil Day of the Apostle Bartholomew. "

Tithe and patron saint of the chapel community was the St. Arnual Canon Monastery. This chapel was dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra , the patron saint of Lorraine , was consecrated. Presumably the patronage also points to the nearby Saar crossing, as Nicholas is also venerated as the patron saint of travelers, carters and boatmen. With regard to the Saarbrücken chapel, the patronage of the saint was first handed down for the year 1325. The remains of this building have probably been preserved in the baptistery and sacristy of today's castle church.

Conflict with the canons of St. Arnual

Since the pastoral activities of the St. Arnual canons left a lot to be desired in the opinion of the Saarbrücken Count Johann I, he tried to detach church life from the influence of the St. Arnual Monastery in the towns of St. Johann and Saarbrücken. As early as 1309, John I was sent to Avignon as head of a royal embassy to Pope Clement V on behalf of King Henry VII . On a second trip to the Pope in Avignon in 1325, to which John I had been commissioned by John of Bohemia , the Saarbrücken count brought Pope John XXII. his concern:

“Although both cities are very populous - there are 40 aristocratic courts there - and although the ecclesiastical income is sufficient to entertain a priest, the residents have to receive the sacraments from the church in St. Arnual, which is half an hour away. So it happens that often children without baptism and other believing residents without receiving the sacraments have died to the danger of their own salvation and an offense to many others. "

Pope John XXII. thereupon gave the Saarbrücken Count Johann I the written order for the Bishop of Metz to stop the pastor of St. Arnual by threatening church punishment, to create baptismal fountains in Saarbrücken and St. Johann and to appoint a priest there to administer the sacraments. Nevertheless, Saarbrücken and St. Johann remained dependent on St. Arnual. It was not until 1549 that the monastery chapter gave its permission for a priest appointed by it to reside in Saarbrücken.

Several measuring foundations, for example in 1400 by the abbot of Wadgassen Abbey and in 1412 by Saarbrücken citizens for the Virgin and Mother of God , indirectly indicate the lack of continuous pastoral care in Saarbrücken. In the first half of the 15th century, a brotherhood of St. Nicholas was founded in the chapel, which looked after the chapel's foundations and benefices. The founding of the brotherhood can be understood as an indication of an intensification of piety in Saarbrücken at the end of the Middle Ages.

The construction of the Nikolauskapelle was probably in Romanesque forms. A Hohenstaufen capital has been preserved in the roof of the baptistery.

The Gothic castle church

The current Gothic building was first mentioned in 1476. That year, three of the builders refunded overpaid wages. So it can be assumed that the construction of the church began before 1476. The Saarbrücken court historiographer Johann Andreae also noted that "the new church in Saarbrücken was built this year, because an old one was there before." It is assumed that the church was built by Count Johann III. was initiated. The document, which is kept in the Saarland State Archives, names the builders Erhard Snyder, Peter Schryber and Nicklas Steynmetz. Another billing document dates from 1478.

A master Hans has been handed down as a leading stonemason. His employees were named Philipp and Peter (servants), Herzog and Albrecht (carpenters), as well as Hannemann and Peter (servants), who built the wooden roofs.

The stones for the construction were in Güdingen broken and loaded from farmers in Güdingen and Bübingen. The materials were transported to the construction site by servants of the Wadgassen Abbot and the Teutonic Order.

The completion of the current two-aisled, hall-like building with a raised main nave can probably be dated to around 1518. The tower of the castle church presumably originally looked like it was with the provisional post-war pyramid helmet in the post-war period up to 2006.

Due to the numerous destruction of the past centuries, nothing of the original furnishings of the castle church has survived, only the plinth of the late medieval pulpit was re-erected after it was converted into a museum.

Elevation to the parish church of St. Nicholas

It was not until 1549 that the church was elevated to the status of an independent parish church of the city of Saarbrücken through the appointment of the canon Johannes Wald von St. Arnual as local pastor.

reformation

In 1569, the St. Arnual Abbey had practically dissolved itself. Protestant preachers can be found in the castle church as early as the year before, in 1568. In 1575 was by Count Philip III. of Nassau-Saarbrücken , the Reformation forcibly introduced and up to the early 19th century there were in Saarbruecken no Catholic parish more. It was not until May 9, 1803 that a Catholic canton parish was set up in Saarbrücken, which was then part of France ( Département de la Sarre ), but it did not have its own church, but had to use the church in St. Johann . In the years 1885-87, a separate Catholic church was built according to plans by the architect and cathedral builder Arnold Güldenpfennig ( Paderborn ), the architect of the Catholic parish church of St. Marien in Hamburg (elevated to the status of a cathedral church in 1995): today's Alt-Saarbrücker St.- Jacob's Church .

Late Renaissance and Baroque periods

Castle Church (Saarbrücken), Pierrard de Coraille, fragments of the cycle of apostles by Pierrard de Coraille, created around 1686–1693
Castle Church (Saarbrücken), Pierrard de Coraille, Apostle fragment (Johannes), created around 1686–1693

In the right aisle of the castle church, a gallery presumably served the singing choir and as a box for the Saarbrücken count's house. The choir area also received a gallery for the count's officials.

In 1616 the sculptor Hans Bast created a choir stalls (minimal remains are now in the Saarland Museum's depot) and in 1622/1623 a pulpit with the sculptures of the church fathers Hieronymus , Ambrosius , Johannes Chrysostomus , Athanasius , Cyrillus and Augustine . After the destruction in World War II, only the pulpit column remains. From 1604, the church also served the previous grammar school of today's Ludwigsgymnasium as an examination hall. A few years later, in 1644, the church was devastated by the French and the stalls and doors were smashed.

During the Dutch War , the church was further affected by a city fire on May 17, 1677: the spire and roof burned down, the bells melted and the vaults collapsed. A collection letter from Countess Eleonore Klara from 1682 raised enough money to restore the church. Between the years 1683 and 1686, a flat beamed ceiling was added, a double gallery was built and the windows on the south side were changed. In 1686 an organ was procured from Tholey , in 1691 the spire was put on and in the same year bells were hung up again.

Probably between 1686 and 1693, the sculptor Pierrard de Coraille created a cycle of apostles from clay, made up of roughly life-size figures that were placed on the battlements of the now useless pillars. The figures survived the Second World War almost unscathed. During the reconstruction work on the castle church in the 1950s, construction workers pushed all the figures from their pedestals and destroyed them in this way. Only fragments have survived and are now exhibited in the castle church.

In the 18th century, the church was extensively renovated under Wilhelm Heinrich , Prince of Nassau and Count of Saarbrücken . The master carpenter Paul Bucklisch made a baroque hood on the tower of the church in 1743, which burned during the Second World War during the heavy British bombing raid on Saarbrücken on the night of October 5th to 6th, 1944 and could only be reconstructed in 2006. The dome was designed in the same way as the dome of the Protestant church in St. Johann, which was built in 1725. In 1753, the Saarlouis clockmaker Gerhard Humberg created a tower clock, which could not be reinstalled until 2006 after the destruction of the Second World War. The grave monuments in the castle church were erected between 1699 and 1772.

During the French Revolution , the church lost its bells due to French occupation forces in 1793, which had been cast in 1691.

19th century

In 1823 the prince's chair of the church was converted into a gallery for the parish presbyters . The interior of the church was renovated between 1841 and 1844 under the direction of Johann Adam Knipper the Younger . Because of the space required for the newly erected altar, the grave monument of the Nassau Prince and Count Wilhelm Heinrich from Saarbrücken was moved from the center of the choir to the side wall of the choir. The underground princely crypt was also opened and inspected.

Between 1845 and 1850, the Saarbrücken Castle Church housed a German Catholic community , a religious-political movement that opposed the dogmatism of the traditional Catholic Church, which its followers perceived as rigid and reactionary , and the reason for which was the protest against the exhibition of the so-called saint Rocks was in Trier by Bishop Wilhelm Arnoldi in 1844 . In its time it was an oppositional manifestation of the late Vormärz period and was shaped by the ideals of social liberalism that sought to establish an all-German nation- state. After the failure of the March Revolution of 1848/49, it was increasingly exposed to the repression of state power and finally dissolved.

The church roof was renewed between 1862 and 1870 and heating was installed for the first time.

To commemorate the parishioners who died in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871 , a memorial plaque was inaugurated at the apex of the church on August 6, 1874, on the day of remembrance of the Battle of Spichern . The memorial was either lost on the night of bombing from October 5th to 6th, 1944 or in the reconstruction phase afterwards. The inscription on the tablet united the king, fatherland and Jesus Christ into a religious unity and, with reference to a New Testament biblical quote from Corinthians (15:57), represented the victory over France as a heavenly intervention in favor of the German armies.

From the establishment of the empire from 1871 to 1908, the castle church was used as a Prussian garrison church in addition to its function as the Protestant parish church of Saarbrücken . From 1889 onwards, it was extensively renovated as moisture from the walls had caused some damage to the structure. The church received tracery over the portal, heating and lighting. In 1896 a new organ was purchased, which Adrian Spamann (1843–1928) from Bolchen in Lorraine had built.

By 1899, all grave monuments were restored by the sculptor Karl Wüst under the direction of conservator Paul Clemen . The tracery above the west portal was renewed and the church received new heating and new wheel lights.

20th century

Altar set donated by Karl and Alwine Röchling, two baroque candlesticks made of brass on the side

Between 1905 and 1908 the building was extensively renovated by the Munich architect Robert Rupp. The south side of the church was redesigned, a door was added, the supporting pillars of the church were replaced and the wooden gallery was replaced by one made of stone. The floral-ornamental decoration was done by the painter August Oetken from Berlin , who had also decorated the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Charlottenburg and the Elisabeth Kemenate of the Wartburg in Eisenach . The windows were also re-glazed. As part of the construction work, the Secret Commerce Councilor Karl Röchling and his wife Alwine Röchling, née Vopelius (1837–1918), donated a silver-plated altar crucifix with two matching neo-Gothic chandeliers to the castle church on April 16, 1907 for their golden wedding anniversary . The ends of the crossbars show the symbols of the four evangelists in medallions. The knobs of the stands are designed as wall crowns with battlements and, in the spirit of defensive Protestantism, refer to Martin Luther's hymn " A strong castle is our God ".

Consequences of war

During the First World War , the organ pipes and the bronze bells were melted down for war purposes. During the Second World War , the castle church was badly hit in the most devastating bomb attack on Saarbrücken on the night of October 5th to 6th, 1944 and it burned down completely. Only the outer walls and the tower remained. The interior was badly damaged or destroyed. The rubble remained inside the church until 1947, and clearing began in October. The erection of a protective roof over the sacristy and the provisional securing of the tower pillar took place in 1949. Since the Ludwig Church had also been destroyed, the Protestant parish of Alt-Saarbrücken used the first floor of the district building next to the castle church . In addition, there was also the emergency church at the 40th grave .

reconstruction

Castle church (Saarbrücken), Meistermann window, arched portal tracery from the 1950s based on the tracery design from 1899

On April 29, 1952, the Protestant parish presbytery decided to have the castle church rebuilt by the Conservatory Office and at its expense. To this end, the church should be available to the office as a warehouse for a maximum of ten years. In 1952, only a temporary tent roof replaced the destroyed baroque tower dome for cost reasons . Between 1956 and 1958 the church was rebuilt by the architect Rudolf Krüger , who also oversaw the reconstruction of the Saarbrücken Ludwigskirche . The interior has been modernized in the spirit of the 1950s. Krüger had all of the Gothic pillars that originally supported the Gothic vaults knocked off. The figures of the apostles by Pierrard de Coraille, which had been preserved almost undamaged by the war, were thrown into the depths of the nave and shattered. Only fragments remained. The damaged grave monument of Count Karl Ludwig was dismantled by resolution of the presbytery and the parish priest Eduard Heinz (term of office 1921 to 1963) against the determined resistance of the state curator Josef Keller. The grave monuments of Counts Gustav Adolph and Wilhelm Heinrich were moved and described as "artistically worthless" (quote from Eduard Heinz) and "miserable" (quote from Albert Schilling). The crucifix on the tomb of Gustav Adolph, damaged in the war, was not restored. In the commemorative publication for the reopening of the castle church from 1958, it was expressly emphasized that the building should be “more of a parish church than a princely burial place”.

Different floor levels were created, a staircase with a partition wall was installed. The outer wall on the south side was largely dismantled and rebuilt from 1952. The tower received a reinforced concrete sleeve. The window frames were renewed. The Gothic window above the baptistery and above the roof approach of the northern extension was walled up, while the east window of the baptistery, which had been walled up since the 19th century, was reopened. The church interior was closed with a flat ceiling and the aisle was given a concrete gallery. A new organ gallery was built in the tower yoke. Thus, an internal securing clip was incorporated into the unsafe building. The balustrades of the galleries were made of wood and metal. From 1956 to 1958, a new pulpit made of wood and copper, a stone altar and a stone baptismal font were made from designs by the Swiss sculptor Albert Schilling . The architect Rudolf Krüger designed the seating, lighting and parapets. The abstract designs for the 26 glass windows were made by Georg Meistermann , who was commissioned in 1957. The windows with the themes of Creation, Baptism, Pentecost, Water, Holy Spirit, Succession and Heavenly Jerusalem were made between 1958 and 1959 by the Wilhelm Derix glass workshop in Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth and installed in the church.

The Saarbrücken Castle Church was inaugurated on March 16, 1958. The new organ could only be installed in the following year by the company Karl Schuke Berliner Orgelbauwerkstatt and was inaugurated on October 18, 1959. Until 1982 the Protestant parish of Alt-Saarbrücken used the building as a church, after 1982 only rarely. In 1986/1987 the church was partially rebuilt and used by the Saarland University of Music . In 1991 the church became the property of the Saarland. In 1999 some of the Meistermann windows were destroyed in a bomb attack on the Wehrmacht exhibition in the neighboring adult education center building and had to be restored.

21st century

In 2001 the Saarland left the castle church to the Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation , which it converted into a museum for Christian sacred art in the Saar area. The remaining church furnishings (pulpit, stalls, gallery parapets) from the post-war period were all removed from the interior except for the font. The music college had previously illegally removed the altar, so that the Schilling ensemble has now also been smashed. The nave and the choir area were kept free of exhibits in order to preserve the sacred character of the building.

On the south side of the choir, the architect Gerd Marx built a glass access wing for barrier-free access and walking distance to the old collection of the Saarland Museum in the Kreisstandsehaus ( museum for prehistory and early history ). The museum was officially opened on July 18, 2004.

Reconstruction of the welsh tower dome

On the initiative of a private association, the reconstruction of the original onion hood took shape on the top of the tower in 2006 - 62 years after it was destroyed by British bomber groups. The design of the Welschen hood was carried out by trainees in the carpentry and roofing trade in Saarland and the Saarland University of Technology and Economics according to the original plans and taking into account the historical and manual work techniques.

architecture

Interior view of the castle church with Meistermann windows
Saarbrücken Castle Church, pre-war state of the interior (Archives Landesdenkmalamt des Saarlandes)

The late Gothic sandstone church consists of an asymmetrical, slightly curved main nave and a south aisle. In the southeast is the choir area with a five-eighth end. The church tower with a baroque dome rises in the northwest. Baptistery and sacristy are in the northeast.

Dimensions

The Saarbrücken Castle Church has the following dimensions:

  • Length: 32.20 meters
  • Width: 12.00 meters
  • Height: 14 meters
  • Choir length: 11.50 meters
  • Choir width: 6.80 meters
  • Number of newly glazed windows designed by Meistermann: 26

Burial place

The burial place of the Counts of Saarbrücken was initially the Abbey Church of St. Marien in Wadgassen and from 1456 the Collegiate Church of St. Arnual . From 1651 the Saarbrücken Castle Church was used as a burial place for the Saarbrücken dynasty. The following members of the Saarbrücken count's house are verifiably buried in the castle church:

  • Anna Amalie, died 1651, wife of Count Wilhelm Ludwig
  • Gustav Adolph, died 1683, son of Count Gustav Adolph
  • Eleonore Clara , died 1709, wife of Count Gustav Adolph
  • Gustav Adolph , died in 1677 after being wounded in the battle of Kochersberg near Strasbourg , initially buried in the St. Thomas Church in Strasbourg, transferred to the Saarbrücken Castle Church on August 26, 1998
  • Ludwig Crato , died 1712; Through his daughter Karoline , Ludwig Urahn is numerous European ruling families.
  • Friedrich Karl (1718–1719), son of Count Karl Ludwig
  • Ludwig Karl (1720–1721), son of Count Karl Ludwig
  • Friedrich August, died 1750, son of the Saarbrücken Count and Prince of Nassau Wilhelm Heinrich
  • Wilhelm Heinrich , Count and Prince of Nassau from Saarbrücken, died in 1768
  • Wilhelmine von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, died 1780, wife of Prince Ludwig
  • Prince Ludwig , who died in 1794, was initially buried in Usingen , and was buried on November 23, 1995 in the Saarbrücken Castle Church

Memorized by grave monuments but not buried in the castle church:

Funerary monuments

The following baroque grave monuments of the house of Nassau-Saarbrücken are located in the church :

  • Tomb of Count Gustav Adolph (built 1699–1700) and his wife Eleonore Klara (1632–1709)

The inscriptions read in German translation from Latin:

“Death is sweet for the fatherland. Virtue lives on after death. In memory and in honor of the illustrious parents

of the sublime, illustrious Count Gustav Adolph, Count in Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Herr zu Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, of the Holy Roman Empire General Wachtmeister, born on March 27, 1632, died on October 19, 1677 of a wound he himself in the battle for Kaiser and Reich in the battle of Kochersberg in Alsace ;

the illustrious and sublime Countess, Mrs. Eleonore Clara, Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Mrs. von Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, née Countess zu Hohenlohe und Gleichen, woman in Langenburg and Kranichfeld, born on June 16, 1632, died on May 4. May 1709;

set this monument in 1700 by the son, the illustrious Count Ludwig Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Herr zu Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, the Most High King's Marshal, Colonel of the Royal-Allemand cavalry regiment. "

The tomb originally had a large crucifix that was placed behind the count in such a way that the kneeling countess worships the crucified. The crucifix was damaged in the war and never restored.

  • Tomb of Count Ludwig Crato (erected around 1713)

The inscriptions read in German translation from Latin:

“Death does not separate lovers. I regret, reader, that the couple are equally illustrious by origin, dignity and grace. The sublime and illustrious Count, Mr. Ludwig Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Mr. zu Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, the most Christian King Lieutenant General and Colonel of the Royal Allemand cavalry regiment.

The sublime and illustrious Countess Mrs. Philippine Henriette, Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, mistress of Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, née Countess of Hohenlohe and Gleichen, mistress of Langenburg and Kranichfeld.

Death, which dissolved the body, could not destroy the stability of souls, which is stronger than this stone.

The exalted and exalted Count, victor in arms, in eloquence as in humanity, died of undefeated faith on February 14th, 1712. The exalted and illustrious Countess, victor in hope, in patience and in constancy, died in undefeated faith in undefeated faith Year (no entry) "

  • The tomb of Count Karl Ludwig (erected around 1723) was damaged in World War II and removed in 1957 (remains in the Saarland State Antiquities Collection and in the depots of the Saarland Museum)

The inscriptions read in German translation from Latin:

"See, the traveler, whom you see in the picture here, is Karl Ludwig from the very old line of the illustrious Counts of Nassau, among whom so many and great heroes have distinguished themselves as princes, military leaders, electors, and even emperors. His life began in the Saarbrücken castle on January 6, 1665; he withdrew from the world through a pious and gentle death in Idstein Castle on December 6th, 1723. He established the loveliest marriage bond with Christiane, Countess of Nassau-Ottweiler, on April 22nd, 1713. The marriage resulted in two male descendants, but soon died again. Stay a little while longer and be amazed! You will read of rare virtues.

This count was a keen and fearless fighter during the war, especially against the Turks, the arch enemies of Christianity. At home he was concerned about the well-being of his people, by no means a friend of pomp and appearance, an increase in his fortune through elegant thrift, in his country a strict friend of justice, kind to his subjects, a father of the fatherland; in a religious sense he hated all hypocritical appearances; he loved sincere piety, was benevolent to the poor, otherwise he spoke little but did a lot. Reader! Now you've had enough of role models; go and do the same!

The illustrious widow had this monument erected and erected as a survivor in true love.

Who you see in the picture opposite is the illustrious wife of the illustrious deceased Count, Christiane, Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Mistress of Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, daughter of the illustrious Mr. Friedrich Ludwig, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Herr zu Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, from the Nassau-Ottweiler line, born on September 7, 1721.

Friedrich Karl, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken, born on February 10, 1718, died on January 11, 1719; Ludwig Karl, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken, born on October 10th, 1720, died on January 11th, 1719. "

The inscriptions read in German translation from Latin:

“Spouse love and marital loyalty dedicate this monument to the memory of the most illustrious Prince and Mr. Wilhelm Heinrich, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saar Werden, Mr. zu Lahr, Wiesbaden and Idstein, Royal French Lieutenant General and Colonel, Knight of the Grand Cross, the Order of Military Merit and the Polish Order of the White Eagle, born on March 6th, 1718, died on June 24th, 1768. The grieving wife who survived him, the most illustrious Princess and Mistress Sophie Charlotte Erdmuthe, Princess of Nassau, née Countess of Erbach, had this monument erected, as the common lot awaiting the ashes. "

"In righteousness, prudence, and the arts of peace, a hero to whom no praise does justice."

"He was great as a builder on earth, but he was greater in the hearts of the citizens."

“In honor of the mortal remains of her immortal father, his daughter, her Highness Wilhelmine Henriette, Princess of Nassau, Countess of Soyecourt, had this monument of the illustrious Wilhelm Heinrich, the most excellent Prince of Nassau, renovated. Saarbrücken, August 28, 1826. "

organ

The castle church houses a three-manual neo-baroque organ with 33 registers , which was built in 1959 by the company Karl Schuke / Berlin . The instrument is purely mechanical and has slide chests . The disposition is as follows:

I Rückpositiv C – g 3
1. Dumped 8th'
2. Principal 4 ′
3. Reed flute 4 ′
4th Forest flute 2 ′
5. Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
6th Sesquialtera II
7th Scharff III – V
8th. Hopper shelf 8th'
Tremulant
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
9. Quintadena 16 ′
10. Principal 8th'
11. Capstan whistle 8th'
12. octave 4 ′
13. Gemshorn 4 ′
14th Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
15th octave 2 ′
16. Mixture IV-VI
17th Trumpet 8th'
III Breastwork C – g 3
18th Wooden dacked 8th'
19th recorder 4 ′
20th Principal 2 ′
21st Sif flute 1'
22nd Aliquot II-IV
23. Cymbel III
24. Vox Humana 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
25th Pedestal 16 ′
26th Principal 8th'
27. Dumped 8th'
28. Pommer 4 ′
29 Pipe whistle 2 ′
30th Rauschpfeife III
31. Mixture V
32. bassoon 16 ′
33. shawm 4 ′
  • Coupling : I / II, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P

literature

  • Paul Clemen (Ed.): The grave monuments of the Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken in the collegiate church of St. Arnual and in the castle church of Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf 1899.
  • Joachim Conrad: The churches of the Saarbrücken church district, a short historical outline, commemorative publication for the 90th birthday of Pastor i. R. Eduard Heinz, Saarbrücken 1983.
  • The Evangelical Church on the Saar, Yesterday and Today, ed. from the church districts of Ottweiler, Saarbrücken and Völklingen of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, Saarbrücken 1975.
  • Wilhelm Engel (Ed.): 375 years of the Evangelical Church on the Saar, 1575–1950, Saarbrücken 1950.
  • Greetings for the Protestant parish of Alt-Saarbrücken for the inauguration of the castle church on Sunday Laetare, March 16, 1958, Saarbrücken 1958.
  • Horst Heydt: The castle church in Old Saarbrücken - history, significance, grave monuments, with an unchanged reprint of the description of the grave monuments by Fritz Kloevekorn from: "The castle church and the grave monuments", Saarbrücken 1987.
  • Horst Heydt (Ed.): The Castle Church of Old Saarbrücken and the stained glass windows by Georg Meistermann , With texts by Lorenz Dittmann, Jürgen Hertel and Horst Heyd, State Institute for Education and Media, Saarbrücken 1993, 114 p., Numerous. Ill. ISBN 3-928189-12-3
  • Fritz Kloevekorn: History of the Evangelical Church Community Alt-Saarbrücken . Saarbrücken 1961.
  • Fritz Kloevekorn: The castle church and the grave monuments , Saarbrücken o. J. (1958?), Also in: Horst Heydt: The castle church in Alt-Saarbrücken Saarbrücken 1987.
  • Philipp de Lorenzi: Contributions to the history of all parishes in the Diocese of Trier, Trier 1887.
  • Ralph Melcher : The Saarbrücken Castle Church. Church and museum. With photographs by Gerd Marx , Dillingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-932036-46-0
  • Ralph Melcher (Ed.): Georg Meistermann, The fifties, Saarbrücken 2007.
  • Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Old Collection, Museum in the Castle Church, Guide to the Collections , Publisher: Ralph Melcher, Dillingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-932036-45-3
  • Johann Peter Muth: Parish historical images of the Catholic parishes of St. Johann and Saarbrücken for the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the current parish church of St. Johann, St. Johann an der Saar in 1908.
  • Richard Nutzinger : Johann Friedrich Röchling 1736–1814, A pastor's life from Old Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken 1942.
  • Stephan and Manfred Reinert: Baroque spiers in Saarland, Saarbrücken 2003.
  • Carl Roderich Richter: How the Saarland became Protestant, Reformation and Counter-Reformation 1575–1690, in: Our Saarheimat, 10, Saarbrücken 1925.
  • Albert Ruppersberg : History of the former county of Saarbrücken, 3 volumes, Saarbrücken 1903-1910.
  • Albert Ruppersberg: History of the Evangelical Congregation Alt-Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken 1924.
  • Albert Ruppersberg: History of the Evangelical Congregation St. Johann zu Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken 1927.
  • Albert Ruppersberg: St. Arnual, history of the monastery and the village, Essen 1930.
  • Karl August Schleiden : Illustrated History of the City of Saarbrücken, Dillingen / Saar 2009.
  • Christian Wilhelm Schmidt : The grave monuments of the House of Nassau-Saarbrücken to St. Arnual, Saarbrücken and Ottweiler, Trier 1846.
  • Wilhelm Schmitz: Church life and the Reformation in the Nassau-Saarbrück'schen Lands in the 16th century, o. O. 1868.
  • Swiss St. Luke Society (ed.): Albert Schilling, Sacred Art, Vol. 8, Zurich 1966.
  • Friedrich Stahl: Old Saarbrücken through the ages, Saarbrücken 1966.
  • Rolf Wittenbrock (Ed.): History of the City of Saarbrücken, Vol. 1, From the beginnings to the industrial awakening (1860), Vol. 2, From the time of rapid growth to the present, Saarbrücken 1999.
  • Walther Zimmermann : The country on the Saar - German country, German art, Berlin 1931.
  • Walther Zimmermann: The art monuments of the city and the district of Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf 1932.

Web links

Commons : Schlosskirche  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Ralph Melcher: The Saarbrücker Schlosskirche, church and museum, with photographs by Gerd Marx, Dillingen / Saar 2009
  2. ↑ a b Johann Peter Muth: Parish historical pictures of the Catholic parishes of St. Johann and Saarbrücken for the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the current parish church of St. Johann, St. Johann an der Saar in 1908
  3. ↑ Information page of the Orgeln in Saarbrücken website ( Memento from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Information on the parish church of St. Jakob on: www.kunstlexikonsaar.de, accessed on August 17, 2012.
  5. ↑ a b c Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments. Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, 1984, ISBN 3-422-00382-7 , p. 888
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on December 17, 2014.
  7. ^ Walter Zimmermann: The art monuments of the city and the district of Saarbrücken. Unchanged reprint of the original edition from 1932, Verein für Denkmalpflege im Saarland, Saarbrücken 1975, pp. 77–81.
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on December 18, 2014
  9. ^ The history of the Saarland preservation of monuments. In: About us. At Saarland.de, accessed on January 6, 2020.
  10. ^ Festive greetings for the Protestant parish of Alt-Saarbrücken for the inauguration of the castle church on Sunday Laetare, March 16, 1958, Saarbrücken o. J. (1958).
  11. ^ Saarbrücken, Mitte district (old Saarbrücken, Eschberg), Protestant churches , Saar art dictionary
  12. ↑ In the licensing agreement from 1986 and in the purchase agreement from 1991 it was expressly stated that structural changes of this type require the approval of the parish.
  13. ^ Re-erection of the historic dome of the Saarbrücken Castle Church ( memento from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) in: Saar Bau Report 3/2005, p. 124 ff.
  14. ↑ Horst Heydt: The Castle Church of Old Saarbrücken - History, Significance, Grave Monuments, with an unchanged reprint of the description of the grave monuments by Fritz Kloevekorn from: The Castle Church and the Grave Monuments , Saarbrücken 1987.
  15. ↑ The organ on OrganIndex

Coordinates: 49 ° 13 ′ 51.7 "  N , 6 ° 59 ′ 29.8"  E