St. Mary's Church (Salzgitter-Engerode)
The Evangelical Lutheran St. Mary's Church in Engerode is the oldest still preserved church in Salzgitter and one of the oldest pilgrimage churches in Lower Saxony . The church is known beyond the city boundaries for its Gothic vault and wall paintings, which depict stages in the life of Christ in several paintings.
history
The Christianization of the area around Engerode began in the 8th or 9th century by monks from Fulda . Around this time, today's Engerode was founded as a clearing site in the Salzgitter ridge . The place itself was first mentioned in writing in 1234. At that time there was already a knightly family here whose name was derived from the place - i.e. the lords of Engerode or Oddingerode , as the place was called at that time. The then knight Thietmar von Engerode built a chapel on this farm in 1236, which he consecrated to the Virgin Mary. At the same time the Knights also founded here Augustinian Monastery , whose pastor , a priest of the monastery Lamspringe was appointed. In addition to two nuns from the Dorstadt monastery , his two daughters and two nieces of the knight also moved in here. The monastery was only operated for a short time, however, because the knight refused to give up the rulership rights to the monastery property, and so the provost moved the monastery first to Burgassel and then to Wülfinghausen .
The church, however, was preserved and, probably as a replacement for the relocation of the monastery, was given an image of the Virgin Mary by Prince-Bishop Johann von Hoya around 1400 ; it was probably a stone statue. The faithful who made pilgrimages to and venerated this statue were granted a special indulgence, and so the church developed into a place of pilgrimage from the mid-14th century . In 1419, the church was given a gallery to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims . Even after the introduction of the Reformation in 1568, the influx of Catholic pilgrims did not decrease. But this was not right for the Protestant church superiors and in 1744 the statue of Mary was removed from the church against the will of Engeröder and brought to Söder Castle ; today this statue is lost. As a replacement, the Engeroder received the picture "Mary on the Crescent Moon", which was also brought to Söder Castle in 1841. A wooden sculpture of Mary was later set up at this point in Engeroder Church.
Church building
The origin of the building is a former residential tower of the manor. In 1236 the knight Thietmar von Engerode added a chapel built in the Romanesque architectural style , which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary . The former residential tower now forms the nave , which is about 7 × 7 m inside and on the upper floor of which the two bells of the church hang. This is followed by two choir squares that tapers towards the east. A small sacristy was later added to the north side of the central choir. The building is still largely in its original state. During work in 1865, two entrances on the north and south sides of the nave were replaced by one entrance on the west side. During this renovation, the church also got larger windows, whereby some of the paintings were irretrievably destroyed. This year the gallery was also renewed. In the 1960s the church roof was renewed and the gallery was finally dismantled. In 1981 the slate roof of the tower was renewed and the building was given a new coat of paint. The church received the two bronze bells in 1967.
Paintings
View into the sanctuary of the Marienkirche
Wall painting Entombment
Wall painting Wedding at Cana
Wall painting removal of Christ from the cross
The St. Marien Church has become known beyond the borders of Salzgitter for its Gothic vault and wall paintings . In three large wall paintings and several small representations in the vaults, unknown artists have depicted the life of Christ. The Gothic paintings date from the 15th century and were uncovered during renovation work in 1959/60 by the restorer Fritz Herzig from Braunschweig. Most of the church was originally painted, but most of the paintings were destroyed during earlier renovations. B. when enlarging windows in 1865, but still show the former overall impression.
The cycle of paintings begins on the north wall of the choir and depicts various events in the life of Christ. To the left of the north window is the “ Baptism of the Savior ”, on the other side of the window the “ Wedding at Cana ”, which Christ and Mary attend a table shows. To the left of the altar the "Temptation of the Savior" can be seen Christ and a winged devil crouching on a Gothic basilica.
In the western vault the depiction of the "capture of Christ" with Judas , Christ, Peter and Malchus . Next to it the scene "Christ before Pilate", in which the Savior is shown with his hands tied, and Pilate with a pointed hat, next to him three henchmen can be seen. The painting above the northern window is only half preserved, it shows the "Mocking of Christ" in which Christ is put on the crown of thorns by the henchmen. Next to it the “scourging scene”, in which Christ is depicted on the torture stake, three torturers can also be seen. On the north side of the vaulted ceiling (between “Flagellation” and “Temptation”) the “Carrying the Cross” is depicted, it shows Christ, in front of him a man with a pointed hat, behind him another man and two women.
The main picture behind the altar shows the "crucifixion scene", in the middle Christ on the cross, one can still recognize Johannes and Maria Magdalena , who are standing with the Virgin Mary. On the south side of the vaulted ceiling the “division of the clothes of Christ” is shown, in the next field the “removal of the dead Savior from the cross”. John picks up the dead body of Christ with his arm outstretched, next to Mary, who holds the right arm of her dead son to her face. The painting above the south window of the choir shows only a shadowy face, probably the "Lamentation of Christ". Next to it is the “Entombment of Christ” - here two men lower the corpse wrapped in a cloth into a sarcophagus, next to them are Mary and John . The last picture on the ceiling is the "Journey into Hell", the scene shows Christ facing a cracked jaw from Hell, next to him another man and two devils.
Church inventory
In addition to the statue of the Virgin Mary, which was removed in 1744 and which is still reminiscent of a wooden statue of Mary, the church had three chalices and a gilded jug according to an inventory from 1542 . A monstrance with a silver crescent moon was named, which was later probably brought to Söder Castle. A carved Gothic wooden altar, the age and origin of which are unknown, was sold to a dealer in 1865.
The two Gothic brass candlesticks on the altar and a baptismal plate have been preserved from the church. Next is a silver-gilt communion chalice, which also includes a wafer plate; both date from 1668 and were donated to the community. The inventory also includes a baroque sword, the pommel of which is wrapped with silver thread, the origin of this sword and the reason for its storage in this church are unclear. The parish bought the wooden cross in the chancel in 1966 and the statue of St. John was given to the church by Pastor Wosnitza , the first pastor of the Catholic parish in neighboring Gebhardshagen .
Parish
The first mention of a pastor in Engerode comes from the year 1264, at that time sacerdos Werner occupied the office of pastor ( rector ecclesiae ). Later documents name Heidenreich and his deputy epidemic Elyas (1302) and in 1386 a pastor Bertram. The church in Engerode was part of the archdeaconate grid of the Hildesheim diocese . When Duke Julius of Braunschweig (1568–1589) finally introduced the Reformation in his country in 1568, the then patron, Christoph von Bortfeld, had the church property moved in. Since that time there has been no pastor in Engerode. The church was initially looked after from Groß Flöthe until 1660 the neighboring villages of Gebhardshagen, Calbecht and Engerode founded a parish association to which the parish still belongs today (2012).
literature
- Evangelical parish of Salzgitter-Engerode, editorial team Reinhard Försterling, Holger H. Hübner (ed.): Engerode. The history - the past - the present . Salzgitter-Engerode 2016.
- Reinhard Försterling, Sigrid Lux, Gudrun Pischke: Calbecht, Engerode, Gebhardshagen, Heerte . West town in old views. Archive of the City of Salzgitter, Salzgitter 2003, ISBN 3-930292-15-7 , p. 93–99 (Marienkirche Engerode) .
- Claudia Wuttke: Brief history of the Marienkirche in Engerode and its wall paintings . In: Geschichtsverein Salzgitter eV (Ed.): Salzgitter Yearbook 1987 . S. 7-18 .
- Hela Hafemann: St. Marien zu Engerode . Ed .: Parish of Salzgitter-Engerode.
- Church buildings in Salzgitter . In: Department for Public Relations of the City of Salzgitter (Ed.): Salzgitter Forum . tape 12 , 1986, pp. 18-19 .
Web links
- Entry by Gudrun Pischke zu Engerode in the scientific database " EBIDAT " of the European Castle Institute
Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′ 17.9 ″ N , 10 ° 22 ′ 19.4 ″ E