St. Jacobi Church (Neustadt in Saxony)
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The Evangelical Lutheran town church St. Jacobi is located in Neustadt in the district of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains . The tower of the church, rebuilt in 1884 in neo-Gothic style, is the tallest building in the town.
history
It was first mentioned as a town church in 1346. Since the Reformation in 1539, the church has served the Evangelical Lutheran community as a place of worship. Over the years, renovations were repeatedly required. In the middle of the 19th century, its structural condition had become so bad that it was decided in 1860 to completely renovate it. However, it took another 22 years to be realized, then the decay was so advanced that there was a constant danger for the visitors. In its meeting on June 19, 1882, the church council decided to take out a loan to secure the planned costs of 75,000 marks . In the course of the work it soon became clear that this amount would not be enough. After all the work was completed, the construction cost was 191,859 marks and 84 pfennigs. Work began on March 27, 1883 according to plans by Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel . Georg Rudolf Vogel from Dresden was in charge of construction. Möckel retained the vaulted choir from the 15th century. With a newly created triumphal arch, he organically connected it with the completely redesigned nave . The entire interior was also designed according to Möckel's ideas. On November 30, 1884, the 1st Advent, the new church was opened in a solemn service by the superintendent Dr. Blochmann ordained . The sermon was held by the pastor of Neustadt at the time, Satlow.
Building description
Sanctuary
The chancel is the oldest part of the church from the 15th century. The Gothic vaults remained in place during the renovation in 1883/1884. Two keystones in the rubble vault are mentioned in very old sources: the dove and the head of Christ. In the third keystone is a point as a symbol for the globe. It is the reference to God the Father, the Creator of the earth. These three stones could all point to the Trinity of God . A brass candlestick hangs in the middle of the vault. On the lower edge there is an inscription: Christian Roßler von Breßlau Stiffter this candlestick 1730 .
The two patronage lodges (Betstübchen) right and left are the residents here what has been manor owners of Langburkersdorf and Polenz associated therewith, particularly the owners of Langburkersdorf play an important role in church history of Neustadt.
altar
The altar is a carving by the Dresden master carpenter Adolf R. Trache, based on models by the sculptors Razzan and Bäum. The crowning figure is Jesus crucified, at whose feet are Mary, his mother, and John, the only one of the disciples who accompanied Christ to the cross. The ends of the cross are worked out into medallions, in which the symbols of the four evangelists Matthew (human), Luke (bull), Mark (lion) and John (eagle) are depicted. These medallions and an originally existing halo around the ends of the cross indicate influences from Oberammergau. The central field of the neo-Gothic altar shows the healing of a paralyzed person as a wooden relief. Jesus turns to the sick. He not only notices the external ailments, but above all the internal distress.
Leaded glass window
The design for the leaded glass windows also comes from Möckel, the drawings from the history painter Anton Dietrich from Dresden. A. Schulze from Leipzig took over the execution, the windows were made in the Royal Saxon court glass painting CL Türcke in Zittau. During the general repairs in 2006, the windows were restored.
Epitaphs
Two valuable epitaphs from the 16th century can be seen to the right and left of the altar steps . They were created by the stone sculptor Christoph Walther II from Dresden. The epitaph on the pulpit side is dedicated to the manor owner Heinrich von Hermsdorf on Polenz, who died on July 23, 1581. To the right and left of the center picture are the coats of arms of his parents. The picture above the donor shows the resurrection of Jesus with the sleeping guards. Opposite is the grave monument of Anna Wehse, born von Ponickau. The inscription on the middle cartouche shows that Hans Georg Wehse and Anna von Ponickau only married on February 27, 1578. Since a son was born, it can be assumed that the young woman died in childbirth or of puerperal fever. Hans Georg Wehse later moved to Dresden and died there on December 26th, 1628. Above the donors you can see the depiction of Christ's appearance at the Last Judgment and at the very top God the Father with the globe.
pulpit
There is a carved pulpit at the transition from the chancel to the nave. The wooden steps and a beautiful wrought iron railing lead up to it. On its outer wall are again the symbols of the four evangelists . These symbols have been established since the 4th century and have their origins in the prophet Ezekiel (1.5–25 EU ) and in Revelation (4.6–10 EU ).
Matthew is represented as a person, Mark as a lion, Luke as a bull and John as an eagle. The soaring bats at the corners of the pulpit are said to represent the fleeing forces of darkness.
organ
On the west gallery is the organ , Opus 25 by the Bautzen organ builder Eule from 1884. The instrument has 28 sounding voices on two manuals (each C - f '' '; 54 keys) and pedal (C - d'; 27 keys). Behind the neo-Gothic prospect are the 1728 pipes. Originally, the organ had many deep registers corresponding to the dark, voluminous, rather dull romantic sound ideal. In 1977 an extensive rearrangement was carried out and 16 'and 8' registers were replaced by higher-footed registers, aliquots and sound crowns. As at the time of construction, the instrument is still controlled today by a mechanical cone loading system; only the work of the bellowers, who originally had to draw wind using leg power , is now performed by an electric motor on the church floor.
Bells ringing
Since 1718 the St. Jacobi Church had a ringing of four bronze bells. During the First World War , they were melted down for armament purposes. As a replacement, the parish acquired four bells in the disposition des′ – f′ – as′ – b ′ from the Franz Schilling Söhne bell foundry in 1919 . However, the three larger bells fell victim to the Second World War from this peal . The small b'-bell initially remained in the church.
A third bell consecration took place on July 13, 1958. The Schilling & Lattermann company in Apolda / Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz had made a four-part chilled cast iron bell that was not durable for long from the inside due to rusting caused by the material.
In the course of the extensive renovation of the church in 2004/2007, the consecration of the new bronze bells could take place on September 24, 2006, again in the disposition des′ – f′ – as′ – b ′. They hang in pairs on top of each other in a bell cage made of oak.
Bell 1 has the nominal des ′, was cast on March 17, 2006 in the art and bell foundry Lauchhammer and weighs 1,680 kg. It bears the slogan: O LORD, MAKE ME A TOOL OF YOUR PEACE.
Bell 2 has the nominal f ′, was cast in Lauchhammer on March 3, 2006 and weighs 852 kg. It bears the slogan: CHRIST TAKEN THE POWER OF DEATH.
Bell 3 has the nominal as ′, was also cast in Lauchhammer on March 31, 2006 and weighs 547 kg. It bears the slogan: THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD CREATE NEW STRENGTH.
Bell 4 has the nominal b ′, was also cast in Lachhammer on March 31, 2006 and weighs 470 kg. It bears the slogan: SERVE THE LORD WITH JOY.
Others
In summer, the Jakobikirche is usually open for viewing on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., other times are possible after consultation with the parish office. In addition to the church services (Sundays 9:30 a.m.), numerous concerts take place in the Jakobikirche every year.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 1 ′ 35.7 ″ N , 14 ° 12 ′ 49 ″ E