St. Mary's Church (Buttforde)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exterior view with bell tower

The Evangelical Lutheran St. Mary's Church in the Wittmund district of Buttforde is a granite ashlar church of great art historical importance beyond the East Frisian area. The Romanesque building was erected around 1230 on an artificially piled up terp , which is based on a geest penetration.

The St. Mary's Church has a particularly rich interior. The late Gothic carved altar, the rood screen , the stalls and several late medieval wooden figures are particularly important . Historically and musically, Joachim Richborn's organ is a work of art of international standing.

history

Interior view with a view of the rood screen

It is still unclear when the settlement of Buttforde began. The parish can be traced back to the first half of the 13th century. In the Middle Ages it belonged to the sending court area of the Stedesdorf Church and to the Archdiocese of Bremen . The parish was divided into the Buttforde peasantry, which was also known as Oberrott, and the Endzetel peasantry, which was also called Niederrott.

It has not yet been clarified whether today's church had a previous building. From an archaeological point of view, this is classified as not unlikely . Three Romanesque tombstones are quite old (850 years?), As well as a Romanesque baptismal font and a holy water font . These stone carvings, which are older than the church, suggest that it was probably a wooden previous building on the Buttford churchyard.

The present building was built around 1230 and then received the patronage of Maria . The free-standing brick bell tower is dated to the 13th century. Your location in Buttforde is an artificially created terp, which is based on a geest penetration.

In 1450 the choir was separated from the nave by a stone rood screen.

Structural defects led to major repairs in the 17th century. In 1636 the west wall had to be rebuilt and the apse had to be almost completely rebuilt in 1685 after a partial collapse. While the main building consists almost entirely of granite blocks, brick was used for the repairs. In 1672 the church was given a porch for the main entrance on the west side. The Romanesque arched portals on the longitudinal walls that had been used up to that point were then bricked up.

Major repairs and renovations were carried out in 1898 and 1955. Between 1977 and 1981 the building was completely renovated. It is a listed building .

Building description

St. Marien is a hall church with a retracted semicircular apse . It was built in the Romanesque style. It is divided into the two longitudinal walls by three arched windows and two walled-up portals, the former women's door in the north and the men's door in the south. At the time of its construction, the interior of the church was divided into three bays closed with a domical vault . After a collapse, they were completely removed and replaced by a flat ceiling with beams. On this occasion, the walls of the church were lowered by about a meter. The remains of the shield arches have been preserved from the original ceiling construction . The choir and nave are separated from one another by one of the three stone rood screens with domed vaults and three arched openings that have been preserved in East Frisia.

In the south-east there is a free-standing bell tower made of red brick on a square floor plan with a tent roof. Rectangular sound holes are set into the almost completely closed walls below the eaves. The bell originally hung in the free-standing tower of the Maria Magdalena Church in Fulkum . It was cast there next to the church by Berend Klinghe from Bremen, who also created the bronze baptism of St. Magnus Church in Esens and was later brought to Buttforde. On the bell there is the inscription Maria bin ick gone. de folk leten mi gethen Got ghewe his soul wheel. Berend Klinghe van Bremen de mi ghaten, anno dni M.CCCC.LXXV as well as saints names . In the past it is said to have been decorated with a picture of Mary Magdalene .

Interior

The granite font dates from the late 12th century. In the south-east corner of the choir there is a Romanesque former sarcophagus lid made of red sandstone. Consecration crosses indicate that it was temporarily used as a refectory for a side altar. In 1642 the plate was converted into a tombstone for Friedrich Hinrichs Hilgemann. For this purpose, it was carved into a rectangular shape and given a new margin lettering.

The altarpiece from the 15th century

In the anteroom is another trapezoidal sarcophagus lid made of red sandstone, which was prepared in 1646 for the preacher Conradinus Grashuis. Remnants of a Gothic inscription show that it had previously served as a tombstone. While the former back is visible on these two stone slabs, a third sarcophagus cover made of yellow sandstone with the original decoration from Dreiberg with three crosses, including an imposing club cross, stands on the southern protrusion of the apse.

The pulpit gallery from 1695

The carved altar with a canopy was created in the early 16th century. It shows depictions of the birth of Christ (left), the Adoration of the Shepherds (center) and the circumcision of the Lord on the right. These carvings come from a late Gothic winged altar that was once free- standing from the second half of the 15th century. It is one of only seven carved altars from the late Middle Ages that have been preserved in East Frisia. In the early 16th century it was erected in its current position and provided with a canopy, as is also found in the Norder Ludgerikirche and the Hager St. Ansgari Church . The back wall is decorated with a folding mechanism . The predella with the painted evangelists , like the tendrils on the side ears and the painted slogans on the underside of the canopy, according to the inscription, was created in 1656. The gold background is an addition of modernity.

There are important late medieval wooden figures on the walls and in the window reveals on the consoles . You can see a Madonna enthroned from the 14th century, a Maria on the crescent moon and a Pietà from around 1500.

The three-arched rood screen was erected in 1450. The middle passage was open, while the two side niches were walled up to the rear. They served as cibories for two side altars. Liturgical texts were read from the rood screen, making it a forerunner of today's pulpits. The three passages symbolize the Trinity , i.e. the essential unity of God the Father , Son ( Jesus Christ ) and Holy Spirit . After the Reformation , in 1681 the organ and the parapet with rare representations of Protestant baroque emblems were put on it. It is adorned with Traljengattern sayings. The middle part protrudes with its five fields. In the middle is the alliance coat of arms of the East Frisian Count Christian Eberhard and his first wife Eberhadine Sophie zu Oettingen-Oettingen .

The pulpit was made in 1655 in the early Baroque style. It is decorated with the donor's coat of arms and paintings by Martin Luther and Johannes the Evangelist . In 1695, the staircase with pictures of the other three evangelists and the gallery were added, which is provided with depictions of Moses and the great prophets Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel and Daniel .

The organ from 1681
Brass chandelier

The pews from the Renaissance is well preserved and is considered one of the finest in East Friesland. It is decorated with trapezoidal grilles and has carved cheeks. It was once richly painted. During the most recent renovation, the original paintwork and the year 1667 were uncovered on some doors. The later painting with Rococo ornaments was renewed on other benches . House brands of old Buttford families can be found on many of the benches, which testify to the former private property.

The St. Marien organ from 1681 is the only one of the organs created by Joachim Richborn that has largely been preserved. In 1803 the double doors were removed and replaced by ears carved by Gerhard Janssen Schmid . In 1949 it was extensively renovated by Alfred Führer and, despite the almost equal tuning, is considered an instrument that to this day reproduces an almost untouched sound of the late 17th century.

The Vasa Sacra includes a goblet that was donated by the Bunder Pastor Cadovius and his wife in 1693 and created by the Esenser master Johann Iderhoff. Another chalice in 1706 replaced a sick chalice from 1494, which no longer exists today. The most important sacred device is a hexagonal communion box with small lion's feet. It is considered unique and was made in Emden in 1649 by the master Jacob Tobias Johanns or his grandson Tobias Janssen Kremer.

Other equipment items include the 1670 by P. Alken -turned kneeling benches , the west gallery of the church patron Edzard by Specht with painted parapet (called Junker chair ) in 1703 as well as three paintings, of which the conversion of Paul probably one to a mirror copy Painting by Peter Paul Rubens . The depiction of Daniel in the lions' den and the portrait of Christ are works of the 18th century. On the walls there are two death shields from 1664 and 1652 as well as the epitaphs for Anna Magdalena Hoyer (1682) and Margareta Brunken (1691), which is provided with a painting of the dead. The two brass chandeliers in the central aisle are works from 1650 and 1693.

See also

literature

  • Ulrike Köck : Protestant Baroque emblems on the rood screen of the Buttford Church. In: Low German contributions to art history . Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 1961, ISSN  0078-0537
  • Herbert R. Marwede: Pre-Reformation altars in East Friesland . Dissertation, Hamburg 2007 ( online , PDF; 1.2 MB)
  • Peter Karstkarel: All middeleeuwse kerken. Van Harlingen dead Wilhelmshaven . 2nd Edition. Uitgeverij Noordboek, Groningen 2008, ISBN 978-90-330-0558-9 , p. 703 .
  • Hermann Haiduck: The architecture of the medieval churches in the East Frisian coastal area . 2nd Edition. Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebs-GmbH, Aurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-940601-05-6 , p. 38, 41, 210 ff .
  • Gottfried Kiesow : Architecture Guide East Friesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz , Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , pp. 345–349.
  • Justin Kroesen, Regnerus Steensma: Churches in East Friesland and their medieval furnishings . Michael Imhof, Petersberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86568-159-1 .

Web links

Commons : St. Marien Church (Buttforde)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Gottfried Kiesow : Architekturführer Ostfriesland . Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz , Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , p. 346.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Manfred Wittor, Paul Weßels (local chronicle of the East Frisian landscape ): Buttforde (PDF file; 49 kB), accessed on February 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b c d Georg Dehio: Dehio - Handbook of German Art Monuments: Handbook of German Art Monuments, Bremen, Lower Saxony . German art publisher; Edition: revision, greatly expanded edition. Munich, Berlin (January 1, 1992). ISBN 3-422-03022-0 . P. 330 f.
  4. ↑ a b c Karstkarel: Alle middeleeuwse kerken. 2010, p. 703.
  5. ↑ Parish Fulkum: The Bell , accessed on February 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ Gottfried Kiesow: Architectural Guide Ostfriesland. Verlag Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-86795-021-3 , p. 347 f.
  7. ↑ Reinhard Ruge (NOMINE eV): Buttforde, St. Marien - Orgel by Joachim Richborn (1681) , accessed on February 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Organ of the St. Marien Church on Organ index , accessed on September 30, 2018.

Coordinates: 53 ° 37 ′ 17.1 ″  N , 7 ° 43 ′ 31 ″  E