St. Magnus Church (Esens)

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St. Magnus Church in Esens

The Evangelical Lutheran St. Magnus Church in the East Frisian town of Esens was built between 1848 and 1854. It is named after St. Magnus of Trani , whose bones are said to have been buried in a shrine in the previous church.

history

Esens in 1717. In the center the St. Magnus Church with the then free-standing bell tower

The Geestrandort Esens is one of the very early Christianized areas in Harlingerland . In the Middle Ages the place belonged to the diocese of Bremen. Before it became a Sendkirche itself in the second half of the 15th century, the church was subordinate to the St. Aegidien Church in Stedesdorf . The St. Magnus Church was a subsidiary of the Sendkirche in Stedesdorf.

Presumably, the first wooden church was built in Esens around 1100 on an artificially created terp . It was dedicated to Saint Magnus of Trani. In 854 the Brotherhood of the Frisians in Rome (Schola) helped the Pope defend Rome against the Saracens. In Veroli in central Italy, the Frisians hid the bones of St. Magnus of Trani and buried them in the Friesian church of St. Michaelis and St. Magnus next to St. Peter's Square. The act of rescue was noted in the church on a marble plaque. Later the relics of St. Magnus were brought to Friesland and buried in a shrine in the St. Magnus church in Esens, which has been attested since 1150.

In the 13th century the building was replaced by a three-aisled tuff church , to which a late Gothic high choir was added in 1442 . Originally the tower was on the west front of the church. Shortly after the construction was completed, it was replaced by a free-standing bell tower in the south-east of the church.

This was probably destroyed in 1540 during the bombardment and siege of the city by troops of the Hanseatic city of Bremen and then rebuilt. In the 19th century it was very dilapidated and collapsed. Subsequently, a church tower in the style of the time was built again in 1844 at the west end of the nave.

The main structure also fell into disrepair over the centuries, so that it had to be demolished in 1847 because it was dilapidated. In its place, today's church was built between 1848 and 1854 according to plans by the Hanoverian church builder Friedrich August Ludwig Hellner for 38,000 Reichstaler gold.

description

The St. Magnus Church is a three-aisled brick church with a wide east transept, on which the apse is also located. The building was built in the style of Romantic Historicism . Romanesque and Gothic elements merge in it , which in Esens can be seen above all in the apse.

The interior is designed as a neo-Gothic hall church. It is closed at the top by a wooden cross vault , which rests on bundle pillars made of cast iron . On the sides are the circumferential galleries integrated into the bundle pillars .

Furnishing

The interior of the church is in part considerably older than the building and was taken over from the previous church.

pulpit

pulpit

The pulpit is the work of the Esens carver Jacob Cröpelin . It was created in 1674 and was donated by Drosten Timon Johannes von Lintelo and his wife Anna Maria Dorothea. The side walls are decorated with angels' heads, the pulpit itself originally rested on a wooden figure of Moses with the tablets of the law . This was replaced by a simple cast iron column. At the lower edge of the sound cover, figures of prophets and apostles can be seen. Above it is a representation of the risen Christ, standing on the globe waving the victory flag. The current brown paint on the pulpit and sound cover was probably applied later.

altar

The altar with an attachment.

The altar rests on a heavy sandstone cafeteria on a stone plinth.

The predella is also a work by Jacob Cröpelin. It shows a carved representation of the Lord's Supper at the celebration of the Passover Supper .

Above the predella the rises by an unknown artist in 1714 created altarpiece is one of in the form of vine leaves entwined crucifix , an above the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit is. Under the cross there are mourning figures to the right and left, representing Mary and John .

The knee benches were created by Hinrich Cröpelin . On the side cheeks they show Moses with the tablets of the law and Martin Luther with the Gospel in his hand and the symbolic swan at his feet.

organ

The purely mechanical slider chest organ was in 1848 to 1860 by the Esenser organ builder Arnold Rohlfs created for 24,000 Reichstaler. It is his greatest work and is also the largest organ built in the 19th century in East Frisia. In the instrument, Rohlfs combined the north German organ building tradition with romanticism .

The church builder Friedrich August Ludwig Hellner designed the classicist - neo-Romanesque prospectus . It reflects the internal structure of the organ with the main work , the upper work above and the pedal on both sides. The instrument has a total of 30 registers , divided into two manuals and a pedal . The completion of the organ took so long because Hellner did not deliver his design until 1850.

In 1917 the prospect pipes for the war armor had to be handed in. They were later replaced by zinc pipes. Between 1980 and 1983 the instrument was extensively restored by the organ building workshop Alfred Führer from Wilhelmshaven .

The organ.
I main work C – f 3
1. Principal 8th' F (partly)
2. Drone 16 ′
3. Viol di gamba 8th'
4th Reed flute 8th'
5. Quintatön 8th'
6th Octav 4 ′
7th Pointed flute 4 ′
8th. Fifth 3 ′
9. Octav 2 ′
10. Mixture III 2 ′
11. Trumpet 16 ′ F.
12. Trumpet 8th'
II Oberwerk C – f 3
13. Principal 4 ′ F.
14th Dumped 8th'
15th Slack travers 8th' F (partly)
16. Flute 4 ′
17th Nassard 3 ′
18th Forest flute 2 ′
19th Cimbel II 1 1 ⁄ 2  ′ F (partly)
20th Aeoline 8th' F.
21st Dulcian 8th' F.
Pedal C – d 1
22nd Principal bass 16 ′ F (partly)
23. Sub-bass 16 ′
24. Violonbass 8th'
25th Hollow flute 8th'
26th Fifth bass 6 ′
27. Octave bass 4 ′
28. trombone 16 ′
29 Trumpet 8th'
30th Trumpet 4 ′
  • Coupling : II / I, I / P
  • Tremulant for the whole work

Remarks:

F = (partially) reconstructed register (Alfred Führer, 1980–1983, 1985, 1996); all other registers originally received from Arnold Rohlfs (1848–1860)

baptism

Baptismal font with wooden base and lid

One of the oldest objects is the bronze baptism, which was cast by Hinrich Klinghe in 1474 . The outside of the basin is structured by Gothic keel arches, under which a crucifixion relief between Mary and John can be seen. This is followed by depictions of the Apostles Paul , Andrew , James the Elder , Bartholomew , Philip (?), A relief of the baptism of Christ in the Jordan , a holy bishop (Nicholas?) And Thaddäus (?), Thomas , Matthew (?), John and Peter .

The bronze figures that originally supported the basin were lost over the centuries and were replaced by four wooden female sphinxes around 1600 . At the same time the wooden cover for the baptism was made.

Sarcophagus of the Sibet Attena

Sarcophagus of Sibet Attena.

The late Gothic sandstone sarcophagus of Chief Sibet Attena , who died in 1473, was also taken over from the previous church and placed in the north aisle. The outer sides are divided by keel arch fields, under which there are consoles, on which statuettes were safely in earlier times . On the lid, the deceased is depicted in the reclining form of a knight with armor, to whom he was beaten in 1464 during the solemn ceremony in the monastery of Faldern , at which Ulrich I was led by Emperor Friedrich III. was appointed Imperial Count of East Frisia.

At his feet are two lions holding two heraldic shields. One shows the bear of Attena and the other shows the virgin eagle of Cirksena . They symbolize the close ties between the Esens chiefs and the Counts of East Friesland, which were still close at the time of Sibet. At the corners of the sarcophagus there are four more lions with coats of arms.

More grave monuments

Tomb of the Walburgis von Rietberg.

The grave monument for Walburgis von Rietberg , who died in 1586 , was originally in the previous building. There it was demolished in 1790 and the figures were attached to house Jücherstraße 11 in 1791. Duplicates were made there in 1995 and the original figures were preserved. In 1997, at the behest of the church council, a replica of the grave monument was erected in the south aisle. It is a wooden sarcophagus. Its lid is supported by the lid of the six preserved caryatids . The roughly one meter tall figures represent the three theological virtues of faith (fides), hope (spes) and love (caritas) as well as the classic cardinal virtues of bravery (fortitudo), justice (iustitia) and wisdom (sapientia) or prudence (temperantia).

In its original form remained Epitaph obtained, Count Count Enno III. von Ostfriesland had his wife Walpurgis von Rietberg, who died young, set up in 1586. It is about 2.8 meters high and made of sandstone. On the memorial, the deceased is shown resting on a sarcophagus. Above it is a relief showing the resurrection of Jesus Christ .

To the left of the organ is the 2.70 meter high epitaph for Count Johann II von Count von Rietberg . It was made of sandstone in 1562 on behalf of his wife Agnes Countess von Bentheim-Steinfurt . The artist is unknown.

Further mortuary tablets were erected for consul Wiardus († 1642), head of the poor Wilke Henrichs († 1637), mayor JB Hegeler († 1693) and Ulrich Scheibler († 1650) and taken over into today's church.

Other items of equipment

Of the seven chandeliers richly decorated with inscriptions, three were already in the previous building. Three were donated by parishioners between 1634 and 1700. On the side walls of the nave below and on the galleries there are 37 paintings of the same size of apostles, the prophets and the Savior . They were painted in 1667 by the local artist Johann Heymann for the Apostelboden of the previous church.

Other paintings from the medieval building are a depiction of the Last Supper from the 17th century, a portrait of the Crucifixion with Adam and Eve , which was donated in 1637, another depiction of the Crucifixion , which was donated in 1815, and two large paintings with Old Testament paintings Representations from the 17th century.

Four works by unknown artists hang under the organ gallery. They show the baptism of the chamberlain from Mohrenland , a scene from the Book of Jona , the story of the Ascension and a relief representation of the Entombment of Christ .

The oldest sacred device in St. Magnus' Church is a chalice from around 1400. Another goblet was made in 1715 in the workshop of the local silversmith Cordt Jürgens Schultze. The jug of the master Hermann Neupert from Norden is a work from the beginning of the 18th century.

One of the newer works of art is a work by the Esensian artist Horst Buldt from 1998, a Our Father's collage, which can be seen in the front part of the main nave of the church.

In the 51 meter high tower there is the Marienglocke from 1475 (cast in 1844), the St. Magnus Bell from 1482 (cast in 1728), the Luther bell from 1483 (cast in 1881, 1906, 1913 and 1917, given to the state only in 1975 it was replaced) and the peace bell from 1925. Today there is also a museum in the bell tower.

See also

literature

  • Gottfried Kiesow : Architecture Guide East Friesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , pp. 339–341.
  • Siegfried Schunke: Magnus Church Esens . ( Ostfriesische Kunstführer , booklet 9). Aurich 1986.
  • Detlef Kiesé; Ev.-luth. Parish Esens (Ed.): St. Magnus Church Esens . Esens 2000.

Web links

Commons : St. Magnus (Esens)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Gerd Rokahr , local chronicle of the East Frisian landscape : Esens, Stadt, Landkreis Wittmund (PDF; 99 kB), accessed on May 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Esens Tower Museum: The St. Magnus Church , viewed on October 20, 2010.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Gottfried Kiesow : Architectural Guide Ostfriesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , p. 339.
  4. ^ A b Gottfried Kiesow : Architectural Guide East Friesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , p. 341.
  5. ↑ Reinhard Ruge (NOMINE eV): Esens, St. Magnus organ by Arnold Rohlfs (1848–1860) , viewed on October 20, 2010.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Gottfried Kiesow : Architectural Guide Ostfriesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , p. 340.

Coordinates: 53 ° 38 ′ 50.8 "  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 45.3"  E