St. Johannes Church (Bad Zwischenahn)
The parish church of St. John the Baptist in Bad Zwischenahn is more than 850 years old, making it one of the oldest buildings in the Oldenburg region . With the Reformation the house of God became Evangelical Lutheran. Today it belongs to the Evangelical Church Community of Zwischenahn .
history
Count Egilmar , the first Hereditary Count of Oldenburg, founded the church in 1124 as a daughter church of Wiefelstede . In 1134 it was consecrated by Siward (1142–1157), the abbot of Rastede , in "honorem St. Johannis Baptistae" (in honor of St. John the Baptist ). The west tower was built in the year 1200 from granite blocks and bricks. An extension to the east in the Gothic style with ribbed vaults took place in the 15th century. In 1888 the main entrance was redesigned.
The Lutheran doctrine was introduced by Johannes Hechler in Zwischenahn in 1526 and prevailed in Oldenburg after Count Anton took office in 1529. From 1610 the Johanneskirche was redesigned to become a Protestant preaching church.
The old church has shaped the southern shore of the Zwischenahner Meer for centuries . It forms the center of the old church paths that lead from different farmers and is the oldest landmark of the Bad Zwischenahn community.
Building history
church
The first Zwischenahner Johanneskirche was probably built as a stone church around 1150 without a wooden predecessor. It was built from field stones and had window and door frames made of iron banded sandstones from the Weser Uplands. The building had three arched windows on each of the long sides and probably had a recessed choir with an apse. The entrance was on the south side. Without the choir, the church measured 18.2 meters by 10.4 meters. How the eastern end was designed is not known, as no excavations have been carried out.
Around 1200 a tower with an almost square floor plan was built west of the previous nave. It was raised to the eaves height of the church in granite ashlar construction, the upper part was made of bricks and represents one of the earliest evidence of this construction method in Lower Saxony . The tower was given its own, lockable entrance from the inside and was equipped with loopholes at the level of the first floor to offer refuge in wartime. Externally, the tower is also divided into three sections by two electricity layers or German bands . The upper floor is richer than the two lower floors. It has fields framed by pilaster strips on all four sides , in which the coupled sound openings with brick arches and central columns are located. At the top, this level is closed by a console frieze with another layer of electricity.
The arming holes from the time the tower was built were not closed and are used as nesting sites for numerous jackdaws .
The field stone church originally had no vaulted ceiling, but was freed from its previous beam ceiling under the influence of the vaulting of the Bremen Cathedral in the second half of the 13th century and received Westphalian domical vaults.
This made it necessary to raise the walls and build a new roof structure. For the elevation of the walls, bricks in the monastery format were used, which can still be seen in the attached gables of the west tower. In the course of the redesign, the central Romanesque window on the north wall was also bricked up because vaulted pillars had to be drawn in. The remaining two windows were enlarged for this.
Around the middle of the 15th century the old choir was demolished and a new choir was built. Bricks, but also field and tuff stones were used as building materials. Allegedly, the bricks came from the demolition material of the St. Bartholomew Church in Altenkirchen. The church was significantly lengthened through the various renovations. Its internal dimensions are 28.2 by 8.4 meters.
In the 17th century, galleries were built in the course of the conversion to the sermon church, which is why the windows on the lake side were bricked up, while those on the south side were enlarged. In 1736 the west tower was given a ridge turret with a cross, weather vane and clock bell. In 1888 the main and sacristy entrances received historicizing additions; the wooden-covered entrances to the galleries have been removed.
In 1904 the painting of the church was reconstructed under Wilhelm Morisse and the fresco of the Last Judgment, which had been painted over in 1745, was exposed again. In 1964, the interior was reduced in the course of a restoration. The confessionals and box stalls were removed, the benches were aligned towards the altar and the number of seats was reduced from 565 to 350. The winged altar was restored in 1974 and 1991/92. In 1986/88 and 2001 the structure including the bell tower was renovated.
Two clock bells hang in the roof turret of the west tower. A former bell by Claudi Gage from 1635 with the inscription I. hs - Gott late idt wedder genethen, dat karkspil thon twischenahn heft mi laten gheten serves as the hour bell. Anno 1645 . The quarter-hour strikes are performed with a bronze bell from the Rincker brothers that sounds in a . This Rincker bell bears the inscription My time is in your hands. Ps 31.16 - AD 1983. This 43 kg bell replaced an iron predecessor that was rusted through and now stands in the archway of the bell tower.
Bell tower
In the second half of the 15th century, after lengthy conflicts over church taxes, which culminated in the murder of the priest Dietrich Grove and the excommunication of the entire parish in 1450, the free-standing bell tower with the round-arched blind niches was built. A fratricidal war between Count Gerd and Moritz in 1462 led to the cremation of the rectory and allegedly the entire parish; There were further fires in 1474 and 1476. Presumably the tower was only completed after these events. The casting of the St. Anna bell and the relocation of the canteen of the high altar in 1489 should be regarded as terminus ante quem for the completion of the tower.
In addition to bricks, boulders were also walled up in the tower. It has stepped Gothic gables with ogival blind niches, comparable to those of the slightly older eastern choir gable of the church. On the back of the tower there are round-arched blind niches and on the market square there are circular blind fields and round-arched sound openings, which were apparently matched to the largely Romanesque exterior of the church.
The bell tower is slightly offset from the axis of the actual church building, which was probably due to the former development of the surrounding area. Until 1955 Meyers Hotel was built directly on the tower and until 1960 there was also residential development to the left of the cemetery entrance, so that the tower formed the end of an alley.
Around 1900 wrought iron bars were made for the passage of the tower.
Chimes
Of the original bells, St. Anne ( es ) from 1489 has been preserved. Two more bells were melted down in the two world wars and replaced by cast steel bells ( e and g ) in 1956 . St. Anna probably comes from Herman to der Gans, a student of Ghert Klinge. It weighs 1650 kg, has a diameter of 134 cm and, in addition to reliefs of Mary with the baby Jesus and a crucifixion scene, bears the inscription anno domini MCCCCLXXXIX in godes ere bin ick laten gheten anna bin ick ghehete. The two younger bronze bells were melted down during World War I and replaced in 1921 and 1922, whereupon these replacement bells had to be returned in 1942 and were melted down. The cast steel bells purchased in 1956 can be heard from far and wide. The larger one has a diameter of 135 cm with a weight of 977 kg, sounds in e and, in addition to a cross relief, bears the inscription O Land, Land, Land, Hör des Herr des Wort - 1956 . The smaller bell from 1956, which sounds in g , bears the Christ monogram and the inscription Let yourselves be reconciled with God. It has a diameter of 111 cm.
inner space
The Romanesque-Gothic church has a baroque pulpit, a classical organ and a splendid Gothic winged altar. The galleries were built in from 1662 and painted from 1745 by the teacher Dierk Krüger from Elmendorf. The original pictures have been preserved and show scenes from the Old and New Testament . Some of the biblical passages are given above the pictures, including the names of the donors who had their church seat on the gallery.
The sandstone baptismal font was modeled on the original from the 15th century (today in the Oldenburg State Museum ) and donated in 1984 by a Bad Zwischenahn family.
The piscina in the east wall of the choir was once used to wash out the chalices; the drain ran under the foundation of the church, which was to stand on the blood of Christ. Today the niche is closed with a door and houses baptismal and altar utensils, including a wafer box from 1714 and a wine jug from 1842, which was donated in memory of Oberamtmann Erdmann.
Near the Piscina there is a medieval wall cabinet with two doors and a striking locking device, in which altar accessories were once kept. A chasuble from around 1512 and several incense vessels that were found in this cabinet in 1860 were transferred to the Oldenburg Museum. A medieval velum and an altar sheet from the 14th century remain in the church. The sheet is exhibited in a glass cabinet behind the altar together with a goblet from 1761. Two out of three altar candlesticks from 1512 have also been preserved; today, however, modern altar pendants are used. The church's offering box also dates from the late Middle Ages.
Since 1920 there has been a plaque in the lower tower room with the names of the parishioners who died in World War I. The former baptistery is used as a room of silence, the upper tower room as a group room, for example for the preparation of church services and concerts. This room behind the organ has a modern stained glass window depicting John the Baptist.
organ
A first organ was installed in 1717 and replaced by a new one by Gerhard Janssen Schmid in 1831 . Today's organ by Detlef Kleuker was installed in 1973 in the old classical case. The purely mechanical instrument has 23 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The breastwork is swellable .
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
Frescoes
The fresco above the altar, which was uncovered during restoration work in 1904, presumably dates from the second half of the 15th century . Christ the judge of the world is enthroned on the rainbow (covenant sign between God and man), sword and lily as a sign of justice and mercy go out from his head. Right and left, Mary and John the Baptist kneel, wearing a striking fur robe with an animal head, as intercessors for the people. The judgment of the judge enthroned on the globe goes to the living and the dead; on his left are the damned; on the right are the elect. Four angels blow trumpets for judgment; someone holds his instrument so close over the head of someone who has resurrected from his grave that he has to cover his ears. Another dead man is pulled from his grave by a brown devil by the feet. Among the convicts, who are being dragged into hell's jaws by a green devil in the picture on the right, are also a monk and a bishop wearing his miter . These are obviously not post-Reformation additions. The entrance to heaven on the left side of the picture is guarded by Peter, who holds the heavenly key in his right hand. Presumably the lively and flatly painted fresco shows the influence of sacred spectacles of the late Middle Ages.
Remains of the painting of the sacrament niches from the second half of the 15th century can be found on the left behind the altar. They come from the same time as the Last Judgment and show Gothic architectural elements in the form of a tower-like monstrance , with Mary with the baby Jesus and two saints, possibly Hanna and Simeon, between them. This mural was apparently intended to crown and frame the sacrament niche carved in 1512. It is not completely preserved, as another window was later broken into the wall at this point and bricked up again in a further construction phase. The upper part of the fresco was also destroyed. Since parts of the image of a fur with an animal head have been preserved, it can be assumed that the monstrance John the Baptist could be seen in the upper lantern.
Winged altar and remains of the altar
The oak winged altar with an oil paint version from 1780 was probably carved around 1520 by an unknown Osnabrück master.
The panels on the left wing show: the establishment of Holy Communion - the betrayal of Judas - Jesus before the high council - flagellation - crowning of thorns and mockery - carrying the cross .
The main picture in the center of the shrine shows the crucifixion .
On the right wing: Descent from the Cross and Entombment - Resurrection - Ascension - Outpouring of the Holy Spirit - Death of Mary - Christ the Judge of the World (Last Judgment).
Below is the predella with a representation of the twelve apostles. The middle figure Christ as Savior of the World was added in 1923. The back for the Passion time depicts the feast of Herod (beheading John the Baptist) and the adoration of the Magi in two panels .
In addition to this main altar, there were once at least three side altars in the Johanneskirche. The representation of the root of Jesse on another carved predella of a no longer existing side altar with an unknown date of origin is still in the church. This depiction is probably much older than other altar remains from the Zwischenahn church. It shows Jesse lying on a pillow, from whose loin the family tree grows and embraces twelve kings of the Old Testament. Of these twelve kings, only David holding a harp can be identified. As the blossom of the trunk, Mary is enthroned with the baby Jesus and a rose in the middle of the tree. In this way, the artist followed Isaiah 11, 1 f. where the expectation of the Messiah from the House of David is pronounced. Linked to this is the prophecy of a virgin birth in Isaiah 7, 14 f. The presentation also assumes knowledge of 1 Samuel 16: 1-23, which describes David's calling. What the side altar belonging to this predella looked like is unknown. Due to the connection between the themes of virgo and virga in the depiction that has been preserved, a holy clan or an Anna her own third can be imagined.
pulpit
The pulpit was carved by Tönnies Mahler from Leer in 1653 and painted in 1715. The carved pulpit shows the five Christian virtues : faith, hope, love, justice and obedience. In between there are figures of seven apostles . Four scenes from the Christmas story are depicted in the main fields of the pulpit : Annunciation to Mary , birth of Jesus , circumcision in the temple and adoration of the kings ( sage from the east ).
Under the sound cover a dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit , above a Latin inscription: “Verbum Domini Manet In Aeternum” (The Word of God remains in eternity), Isaiah 40 and a field “Anno 1653”. On the corner pedestals five apostle figures, between four cherubim and the coat of arms of Count Anton Günther von Oldenburg . The coronation of the sound cover is the figure of the risen Christ.
Stalls and galleries
In the late Middle Ages it was still reserved for priests and nobles to “own” pews. From the pre-Reformation period, the pillars of 1513 near the pulpit are still preserved. They are marked with the initials AVS for Anna von Seggern and BVM for Bernhard von Mandelsloh and the associated family coat of arms. Anna von Seggern and Bernhard von Mandelsloh received the church chair as a gift from the bride's father on the occasion of their wedding in 1513. Under Pastor Antonius Lantzius in 1662, after the pulpit had been installed, the so-called "Nordprichel" was set up, where landowners could now shop. The most expensive seats in the first row cost four Reichstaler, the second three Reichstaler (= 36 Grote). While the squares, which were sold out in 1662, were initially identified by names or house brands on the parapet, the names were later also written on the outside under the biblical images. The 539 small pillars in the stalls were turned by Heinrich Theilen. Johann Olthoff carved the decorations. It was not painted with biblical scenes until 1745, when the other prichels in the west, south and east were also erected.
The artist who received this commission was Dierk Krüger, a teacher from Elmendorf in Ammerland. He carried out the work between June and October; the tempera paints were supplied by the Oldenburg court pharmacist Balthasar Dugend. Krüger worked from copper engravings from the picture Bible of Matthäus Merians the Elder. Ä. which he converted into portrait format. He also mirrored some images from his original. After Pastor Detlev Gans had disparagingly compared his brightly colored pictures with the works of Michelangelo , Krüger is said to have replied unmoved that Gans' sermons did not come close to Luther's words . In later years Krüger gave up his teaching profession and worked as a freelance artist, church messenger and grave digger.
Eight biblical scenes can be seen in the organ gallery:
- Adam and Eve under the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3: 1-7)
- the expulsion from paradise (Genesis 3, 22-24)
- Cain's murder of Abel (Genesis 4: 1-8)
- Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6-8)
- Promise of the birth of Isaac (Genesis 18, 26 ff.)
- Lot's daughters (Genesis 19: 31-38)
- Abraham's Trial (Genesis 22)
- Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven (Genesis 28:10).
The following scenes from the Old Testament are shown on the north gallery:
- Division of the sea for the people of Israel (Exodus 14, 21 ff.)
- Moses knocks water out of the rock (Exodus 17: 1 ff.)
- the brazen serpent saves the bitten (Numbers 21: 6)
- Balaam's donkey (Numbers 21 ff.)
- Samson rips apart the lion (Judges 14: 5/6)
- Samson carries the city gates from Gaza to the Hebron (Judges 16: 3)
- Samuel anoints Saul as king (1 Samuel 10: 1)
- David beheads Goliath (1 Samuel 17, 19 ff.)
- Absalom gets stuck on the oak (2 Samuel 18: 9)
- Solomon's prayer after the temple was built (1 Kings 8, 23 ff.)
- two boys mocking Elisha (2 Kings 2:23)
- Fire chariot of Elijah (2 Kings 2:11)
- Jonah is spat out by the whale (Jonah 2, 10 f.)
- Teaching of Tobias on the Tigris (Apocrypha)
Scenes from the New Testament follow:
- John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13 ff.)
- Jesus in a storm at sea (Matthew 8, 24 ff.)
- Beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:27)
- Jesus walks on the water (Matthew 14, 25 ff.)
- Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17, 1 ff.)
- the good Samaritan (Luke 10, 30 ff.)
- Jesus rides to Jerusalem (Matthew 21, 1 ff.)
- Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4, 6)
- Jesus as a good shepherd (John 10, 11 ff.)
- Holy Communion (Matthew 26, 20 ff.)
- Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26, 36, although the Zwischenahner depiction adds an angel figure that is only known from the Gospel of Luke)
Another five Bible scenes can be seen on the east gallery:
- Peter denies Jesus (Matthew 26, 69 ff.)
- Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha (John 19, 17 ff.)
- Jesus on the cross (John 19, 23 ff.)
- Descent from the Cross (John 19:38)
- Entombment of Jesus (John 19:30)
Eight personifications of virtues are depicted on the Prichel parapet above the entrance south of the organ:
- Devotion
- wisdom
- peace
- patience
- Caution
- hope
- love
- Faith
Parts of the stalls fell victim to the renovation in 1964. Up to this point all of the stalls were oriented towards the pulpit like a theater, and there was even another gallery behind the altar, the Easter Prichel, which could be reached via a staircase through the former east window. Of the special chairs, only the Eyhauser chair on the north side, which has a striking canopy, has been preserved.
Death flags, epitaphs and gravestones
Until 1907 there were still several death flags and epitaphs in St. Johannes. However, only one of the flags of the dead remained. It is reminiscent of the Eyhausen hereditary lord Matthias Anton von Pottendorf, who died in 1711 at the age of 39 in the service of the Danish king and in the fight against Wismar. The portrait of Lieutenant Colonel von Pottendorf can be seen in the middle of a weapon arrangement, which is also in the Bad Zwischenahner Johanneskirche.
A death shield painted on oak wood, the so-called Nutzhorn epitaph, and a grave slab erected at the tower entrance are reminiscent of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Major Johann Georg Nutzhorn. It bears the year 1686. The corresponding death banner is one of the church's lost death flags.
Westerholt's epitaph is on the south side of the church next to the pulpit. Hermann Westerholt had come to Zwischenahn from Lembeck Castle in Westphalia, where he had acquired the Eyhausen estate. Westerholt's epitaph is the oldest in the church.
Outside the church, in the cemetery that surrounds it, four baroque grave sites are particularly noteworthy. The gravestone of Gerd Dierckes, who died in 1717, shows, among other things, a weeping genius of death with a lowered torch, who has set foot on a skull.
See also
literature
- Wilhelm Gilly: Medieval churches and chapels in the Oldenburger Land. Building history and inventory. Isensee Verlag , Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-126-6 , p. 28 ff.
Web links
- www.ev-kirche- Zwischenahn.de - St. Johannes Church
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b History of the Church. ( Memento of March 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 8.
- ↑ www.bad- Zwischenahn-touristik.de - St. Johannes Church.
- ↑ Christian Woebcken, Gerold von Ohlen, St. John's Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 9
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 16 f.
- ↑ Christian Woebcken, Gerold von Ohlen, St. John's Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 10
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 13.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 15.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 12.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken, Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 14 f.
- ↑ www.ev-kirche- Zwischenahn.de ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - gallery.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken and Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 38 f.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken and Gerold von Ohlen, The St. John Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 56 f.
- ↑ More information about the organ in St. Johannes .
- ↑ The fresco in the chancel. ( Memento from May 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken and Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 34 f.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken and Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 36.
- ↑ The altar. ( Memento from May 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Christian Woebcken, Gerold von Ohlen, St. John's Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, p. 38
- ↑ a b www.ev-kirche- betweenahn.de ( Memento from May 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) - The pulpit.
- ↑ Christian Wöbcken and Gerold von Ohlen, The St. Johannes Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, pp. 44–51.
- ↑ Christian Woebcken and Gerold von Ohlen, St. John's Church in Bad Zwischenahn , Bad Zwischenahn 2005, pp 53-55.
Coordinates: 53 ° 11 ′ 15.5 ″ N , 8 ° 0 ′ 18.4 ″ E