Simultaneous Church St. Alban (Bechenheim)

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The interdenominational church St. Alban is under monument protection standing church building in Bechenheim in Rhineland-Palatinate . It is the highest church building in Rheinhessen .

The rural church typical of Rheinhessen is remarkable because of its use by originally three denominations and the special floor plan in the style of the Palatinate government architect Kaspar Valerius († 1752). It has a baroque organ.

Building history

The church, consecrated to St. Alban of Mainz , was built from 1755 for the Reformed , Catholic and Lutheran local congregations.

Even before the Reformation, Bechenheim had a previous building dedicated to Saint Alban. In 1535 this church, like the whole of the Electoral Palatinate , was reformed Lutheran in 1579. Since 1697 the sacred space was used as a simultaneous church by Reformed and Catholic Christians . The Reformed community has been cared for from the neighboring village of Offenheim since the first quarter of the 18th century . When Lutherans, supervised from Alzey, celebrated their services here from 1717 onwards, a “Trimultaneum” was even realized.

Since the previous building became dilapidated after a fire, it was demolished in 1755 to build a new church. On October 21, 1755, the foundation stone was laid as the “Trimultankirche”. The two Protestant parishes were united with the introduction of the church union in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1822.

During the last major renovation from 1993, the sandstone portal and the facade were replaced. In a second construction phase, the interior was painted again. The highlight is the construction of a seven-meter-high ridge turret, which has been decorating the roof of the church since September 14, 1994. Since then, it has carried the bell, cast by Anselm Franz Speck from Heidelberg and marked with the year 1789.

The rafter roof is a hanging structure with double chairs on two levels.

Interior

altar

The simultaneous church has a high altar from the 18th century, which is in front of a popular altar in the middle of the choir. The high altar is crowned by a depiction of Albans, on which the saint - otherwise often depicted beheaded - is shown with a head of integrity. The renowned Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682–1754) created a painting of the Holy Family . According to an inscription, the picture from the monastery church in Amorbach was purchased by the Catholic community in Mainz in 1858 and integrated into the altar of the Bechenheim church.

pulpit

The early Classicist pulpit with a round basket and sound cover comes from Albig .

organ

The organ was probably built in 1760 by Johannes Mayer from Worms.

It has a baroque organ front , the work comes from the Lutheran church in Pfeddersheim . Overhauled in 1863 by Carl Landolt & Sons .

characters

Late Baroque figures: Crescent Madonna , around 1760; Crucifix.

Cultural monument

The simultaneous church is listed as a cultural monument in the news register of cultural monuments Rhineland-Palatinate for the district of Alzey-Worms (→ List of cultural monuments in Bechenheim ).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate; P. 66
  2. ↑ The Latin word simultaneus means "at the same time" and does not contain a number. “Trimultaneum” is a made-up word that the Duden does not know.
  3. ↑ 250 years of the simultaneous church in Bechenheim
  4. ^ Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate; P. 66

Coordinates: 49 ° 43 ′ 43 "  N , 8 ° 0 ′ 15.8"  E