Hospital Church of St. John the Baptist (Iphofen)

St. John's Hospital Church

The hospital church of St. John the Baptist in the north of Julius-Echter-Platz is one of the landmarks of the city of Iphofen . In addition to the church service room, it also contains meeting rooms for the Protestant community.

history

In 1338 the St. Johannes Baptistae Hospital was founded by Berthold Schurig, a citizen of Iphöfer, and confirmed by Bishop Otto II von Wolfskeel . It was intended to accommodate the poor, the elderly and the sick.

The foundation's decline followed in the 16th century when the buildings fell into disrepair. It was not until the Würzburg prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn that the renovation and expansion were suggested in 1607, which lasted until 1615. Except for the choir , all parts have been renewed. The hospital buildings fell into disrepair again during the Thirty Years' War . The fields were deserted and sheep were kept in the hospital church. The interior of the church and the hospital building then had to be thoroughly renewed. In 1725 a flat ceiling was installed . The foundation's final demise was in 1977 when the last two nuns were withdrawn. With the departure of the Franciscan Sisters from the Mallersdorf motherhouse, the old people's and nursing home was also dissolved.

After several years of vacancy, the hospital and church found a new purpose in 1983. The Protestant Christians of Iphofens signed a license agreement with the city. The extensive renovation work lasted until the inauguration on March 29, 1987. In the years 2008-2010 fundamental renovations had to be carried out again. The Protestant parish of Iphofen received not only the church but also community rooms. A youth hostel was also built for the Protestant youth of the Kitzingen deanery.

The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation lists the hospital church building under the number D-6-75-139-26.

architecture

Today the building presents itself to the west with volute gables . The front has narrow high windows and a stair tower with a gate. The church building has tracery windows and is bordered by the 15th century choir. Windows and doors refer to a late medieval construction period. The inscription "Rejoice you old weak Schahr / Dißorts God blesses you for war / By Bishop Julium des handt / Weißlich ruled Franckenlandt / Over ten years and builds completely new / Many churches and other schools / How then before augen diß Spittal / Bitt that he comes in Himmels Saal ”above the portal bears the year 1607.

Furnishing

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  pulpit

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  North side altar with main altar

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  Choir of the hospital church

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  Main altar of the hospital church

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  South side altar

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  Sacrament niche

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  Kilian figure

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  Madonna figure by Augustin Reuss

The keystone in the choir vault shows the head of John the Baptist. He is the church patron of the sacred building.

The beheading of John the Baptist is also the focus of the main altar from 1740. The painting by Johann Michael Wolcker dates from 1747. It is framed by wooden figures of St. Joseph with the boy Jesus and St. Elisabeth. The lamb of the apocalypse is enthroned in the extract.

In the same year, the south side altar was created with the image of St. Aloysius . The Catholic saints come from the previous use. Here, too, two figures border the altar. St. Kajetan is on the left and St. Francis on the right . Above in the segment gable is the coat of arms of Franziskus Volland and above it the oval picture with the Holy Trinity.

The altarpiece of the north side altar shows St. John Nepomuk . It is framed by white wooden figures with gilding. St. Barbara on the left and St. Sebastian on the right look towards the community. From the inscription in the predella, the visitor learns the year of creation 1740 and the donors: Hans Georg Kaspar Linck with his wife Anna Barbara.

The pulpit of the church was built around 1770 and shows the namesake Johannes on its sound cover . A plastic dove hovers at the bottom.

The historic Steinmeyer organ from 1908 was acquired in 1986 by the Wilhelmsdorf parish.

In the 15th century the ogival sacraments niche was made from soapstone.

There are also several sculptures. On the north wall is St. Kilian from the 16th century and a wooden Madonna. Both are attributed to a Riemenschneider student, Augustin Reuss. There is also a Vesper picture from the first half of the 17th century. Several oil paintings complete the picture. A wooden door from 1610 leads into the sacristy , where a keystone notes the year 1338.

literature

• Andreas Brombierstäudl: Churches in the city of Iphofen . In: Quick Art Guide. No. 333 . 11th edition 2012.

Web links

Commons : Spitalkirche St. John the Baptist (Iphofen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Evangelical Congregation Iphofen: History of the Hospital Church

Individual evidence

1. ^ Castell culture trail: Iphofen , accessed on May 2, 2013
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Andreas Brombierstäudl: Spitalkirche St. Johannes d. T. In: Schnell (Hrsg.): Churches of the city of Iphofen (=  small art guide ). 11th edition. No. 333 . Schnell & Steiner GmbH publishing house, Regensburg 2012.
3. ↑ Geodata: Monument number D-6-75-139-26 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 2, 2013 
4. ↑ Evangelical Congregation : Spitalkirche Geschichte ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 2, 2013 

Coordinates: 49 ° 42 ′ 11.9 ″  N , 10 ° 15 ′ 28.3 ″  E