St. Michaelis Church (Weßmar)
The St. Michaelis Church is a Protestant church in Raßnitz , district Weßmar in Saxony-Anhalt . It is located on the Elster cycle path between Leipzig and Halle (Saale) . It belongs to the parish area Dieskau in the parish of Halle-Saale district of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany .
architecture
The late Gothic church building was significantly redesigned in the Baroque (from the 2nd half of the 17th century) - first inside, then outside. On the east side of the nave, which is built on a rectangular floor plan, there is a polygonal choir, which unusually has four sides. In the middle of the 18th century, the nave was widened over the entire length to the south and the main entrance from the tower was moved to the center of this extension, which was vaulted with a tail gable (vase decor on top). On the north side of the nave, the sacristy is the only remaining part from the late Gothic period. Its barrel vault is connected to the choir by a pointed arched door (original door leaf ) from the beginning of the 16th century . On the west side is the church tower, which is also on a rectangular floor plan, but built across the nave. Due to dilapidation, it was rebuilt in 1733 and crowned with a double, slate-covered hood. The lantern between the hoods was opened again during the general renovation in 2009; a new weather vane was also put on. The tower clock, visible on both sides, was installed by JF Weule in 1906 .
Interior
The ceiling in the nave is made as a wooden barrel and decorated with simple geometric figures (19th century). The southern, attached part of the ship also has a wooden barrel vault, which, however, runs across the ship. The ceilings were restored in 2010. On three sides of the nave there is a gallery , which was renewed in the first half of the 17th century and decorated with plaques in carved frames (original preserved). On the north side the gallery opens into a mansion box (1717).
Noteworthy are the pulpit altar in the choir ( rococo , inscribed in 1754), the organ front opposite, designed in the same manner, and a baptism with a lectern (restored in 1993 by Hans Rothe). The ensemble was created by the Merseburg sculptor Johann Heinrich Agner the Elder. J. and the painter AC Lehmann (carved initials above the stairs to the pulpit altar). The organ , which was renovated in 2017, dates from 1923 and was designed by Wilhelm Rühlmann jun. built.
Churchyard
At the church and in the old cemetery there are many baroque tombs from the 17th and 18th centuries (especially pastors' graves ). The grave of the pastor's daughter Christiana Hänschkel, who was shot out of jealousy in 1729, is probably a work by the Merseburg sculptor Johann Christian Trothe.
Todays situation
In March 2007, a support association for the preservation of the church was founded (Förderverein St. Michaelis Church Raßnitz-Weßmar eV). So far, the tower and the interior of the church (plastering and stucco work) have been renovated (as of the end of 2010).
literature
- Ute Bednarz et al. (Edit.): Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Sachsen-Anhalt II, administrative districts Dessau and Halle. Deutscher Kunstverlag , Berlin / Munich 1999, ISBN 3-422-03065-4 , page 869 f.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 23 ′ 33.3 " N , 12 ° 6 ′ 31.5" E