St. Remigius Church (Suderburg)
Coordinates: 52 ° 53 '36.3 " N , 10 ° 27' 8.1" E
The St. Remigius Church in Suderburg in the Lüneburg Heath is a small half-timbered church from the 18th century on the outskirts of Suderburg. The Romanesque round tower church is remarkable for its bell tower, which was built from field stones around 1000 AD . After the demolition of the old church building , the current nave , built as a cross-shaped hall made of timber framework, began on April 13, 1752 . The church was consecrated on October 1, 1753, which is also the name day of St. St. Remigius .
history
The first church in Suderburg will certainly have been a wooden church , which was then replaced by the church built from uncut rock in the Romanesque style. In the middle of the 18th century, however, this church had become so fragile that it had to be replaced by the cross-shaped hall structure made of timber framework that stands today. The construction of this church according to the plans of the Electorate of Hanover state master builder and engineer lieutenant Otto Heinrich von Bonn began on April 13, 1752. The inauguration of the church took place on the name day of St. Remigius, namely on October 1, 1753 with a two-day celebration.
The naming of the Suderburg church after its patron saint , St. Remigius, Bishop of Reims (born around 440, died 533) gives an indication of the possible age of the church according to patronage research. Remigius was one of the Merovingian-Frankish saints. The naming after this saint is certainly a reference to its foundation in the Frankish times, the time in which Charlemagne consistently pursued the Christianization that was just beginning as well as the expansion of his domestic power through his military campaigns. This assumption is also confirmed by the need at the time to protect the acquired territory by building the Suderburg Castle.
However, the building history of the tower of the Suderburg Church must also be included in this consideration. At the level of the soil is to the right of the door to the tower a millstone of granite as he was no longer in use in the 10th century. This could be another clue as to the age of the original tower. The millstone set up on the north side of the church was found in the floor of the church during an earlier renovation. According to documents, Bahnsen and Suderburg belonged to the Kemnade monastery on the Weser around 959/965, so that it can be assumed that the tower was built in the first half of the 10th century. During the renovation of the church from autumn 1985 to spring 1986, after the demolition of the west wall on the east side of the tower, an access to the tower closed with loose solid rock was uncovered. This entrance, which can also be seen on the inside of the tower, is about 1.50 m wide and 2.25 m high and is only recognizable today but no longer preserved. The upper end of this entrance is an arch built in a semicircle made of rock.
church
The first church built on this site probably served as a castle chapel . Nothing is known about building changes over the centuries. In 1753 the dilapidated nave was torn down and replaced by a half-timbered building that still exists today. The baroque interior with pulpit altar and galleries was made in 1753 for the newly built nave. Even then, the tower had to be supported by supporting pillars.
In the church, an iron-studded chest (god's chest), built around 1303 and converted as a sacrificial stock , remained, in which the Suderburg churchgoers threw their donations for the poor. After the entries, the offering box was broken open several times in the 16th century.
Church furnishings
Two bells hang in the tower of the church : The oldest, still hanging in the tower today, made of bronze , tone g, lower diameter 103 cm, weight 658 kg, with the inscription: “Dorch dat Für bin ick geflaten Pawel Vos hat mi dorch God's shell gated. Anno 1607 ".
The second chime made of sound casting, tone e, lower diameter 148 cm, weight 1255 kg, manufactured by the JF Weule company from Bockenem, consecrated on May 13, 1951. The inscription on this bell reads: Glory to God on high. In memory of our fallen. This bell was cast into a new bell by the piece and bell caster JH Dreyer in Linden near Hanover in 1831 and proclaimed joys and sorrows for 86 years, until the outbreak of the First World War, when the construction of the bell began on September 10, 1917 has been. Like many other bells, this bell was melted down and used to make cannons. The bells were placed on the bell cage at the height of the window on the west side of the tower, so that the repair work carried out after installation can still be seen on this window.
In the middle of the church you can see the baroque pulpit altar on the left side, therefore in the east . This altar has originally been preserved since 1751. Such altars have their origins in the Reformation because, according to Martin Luther, the sermon has a meaning that the Catholic Church does not give it. There are two bowls on the altar barrier, the left one presumably serving as a baptismal font and the right one for collecting the sacrifice of gratitude .
The sacristy was added to the church in 1718 by Pastor Franz Ernst Hausmann (pastor in Suderburg from 1673 to 1726).
Left and right behind the altar are two colored glass windows , of which the left shows “Jesus on the Cross”, the right “The Resurrection of Christ”. The congregation was able to view the left window for the first time on Sunday Invocavit (March 10th) and the right window two weeks later, on Sunday Jubilate (May 1st) 1946, during the service. Both were made by the artist Brenneisen from Hanover-Linden and cost 2,000 marks.
Today, right before the altar there is a baptismal font made of sandstone , which is octagonal tapering down on a plinth stands. The copper lid has a cuboid handle, which is set in brass and covered with sky-blue enamel plates.
The church, consecrated on October 1, 1758, initially had no organ . A harmonium was not purchased until 1862 . Initially, this instrument stood on a shelf to the left of the altar, was later brought to the gallery and was used for the first time at Christmas 1862. In 1873 the Gaber family from Salzhemmendorf bought an organ and consecrated it on Ascension Day. The harmonium was sold that year and used for the newly built church of the Protestant free church in Klein Süsted. The next organ, built by the Lothar Wetzel family from Hanover, was consecrated on the 7th Sunday after Trinity 1935 and served until October 3rd, 1971. Opposite the altar is the following organ, which has been preserved to this day. It consists of: I. Manual: 1. Principal 8 'from Gs; 2nd recorder 8 '; 3rd octave 4 '; 4th forest flute 2 '; 5. Mixture 4 f, 1 1/3. II. Manual: 1. Gedackt 8 '; 2nd recorder 4 '; 3. Principal 2 '; 4th fifth 1 1/3; Pedal: 1st sub-bass; 2. Gemshorn; 3rd trumpet. Such galleries, as can be seen here, not only increase the number of seats in the churches, but are also a characteristic of the Baroque period because they give the church a certain comfort and warmth. The organ manufactured by Julius Hammer, Arnum, was inaugurated on the 1st Sunday in Advent, November 28, 1971.
Behind the altar, covered by the flooring, is the preserved grave slab of Pastor Franz Ernst Hausmann, who was pastor in Suderburg from 1673 until his death in 1726.
When entering the church you can see plaques of honor with the names of those who died in the Second World War hanging on the left and right in the anteroom .
Steeple
The current church tower is the remaining remnant of the eponymous castle, which is documented in 1004 and was previously used to protect against the Slavs in the east. Its small windows and loopholes also point to its former function as a defensive tower in a castle complex that served as a place of refuge. Inside, traces show that the tower had four levels. However, the original upper conclusion was not preserved. Historians are certain that today's church tower originally designed as a defense tower fortification served, which was active until the 13th century. After the castle was abandoned, the castle tower was used as a church tower. Comparable, but younger and rare stone round towers date from the 12th and early 13th centuries. They are in Salzhausen and Betzendorf . Even before 1530, there was a clock tower, it always went wrong and was very old and was built in 1713 by the watchmaker from Hankensbüttel on percussion repaired and repaired in the same year from Uelzener watchmaker Christian Rosenthal. A clockwork from the company Weule from Bockenem in the Harz Mountains from 1884 with a boulder weighing 28 kg as clock weight has been preserved in the tower to this day . The face of this watch is still in a collection today.
Later, a free-standing wooden tower is placed in the old walls to protect the field stone masonry from damage caused by the vibrations of the bell. There are also wooden bell towers in Eimke and Wieren , but there without a stone shell. The Suderburger tower was dendrochronologically dated to 1370 and is therefore the oldest of its kind. A bronze bell cast in Lüneburg bears the inscription " Dorch dat für bin ick geflaten Pawel Vos hat mi dorch Gottes Hülpe Anno 1607 " (I flowed through the fire, Paul Voss poured me through God's help).
Church square
The path leads from the tower over the burial ground , which was used until December 31, 1802, to the church. Until December 31, 1802, the church cemetery served as a burial place, which was so heavily occupied that the dead did not even lie underground for 10 years, but had to be removed in order to be able to carry out new burials at all. Therefore, as early as 1792, consideration was given to creating a new cemetery. Since the year 1370, the surface has been increased by 75 cm by adding more and more soil , which gives it its platform-like shape. The low entrance door to the bell tower, which is still preserved today, is also due to the repeated fillings of the churchyard, which means that the door used to be significantly higher. Today the memorial for the fallen of the First World War, inaugurated on August 14, 1921, still stands in the churchyard .
In addition, there is a machined round boulder (granite) with a central recess in the churchyard. It was found during renovation work under the floor of the nave. A similar stone is walled in for secondary use to the right of the bell tower entrance: These are medieval base stones. Similar ones lie under the stands of the bell tower.
Rectory
The original rectory was rebuilt for the first time in 1647 and served for a long time. Almost 100 years later, namely in 1740, a new rectory was due again. Just 50 years later, the new building, which still exists today, was required and was built by Zimmermann Klinge because the old rectory had become so dilapidated over time. Above the Missen door there is the inscription: “We pass from earthly huts into heavenly ones.” The buildings around the St. Remigius Church formed the churchyard. In 1790, on a difficult building site, built by Zimmermeister Klinge right next to the Hardau , it contains a vaulted cellar through which a small stream still flows today. At the side entrance is a tombstone from 1677 that is used as a stepping stone . From the rectory built in 1647 and taken down in 1740 come two panels of a so-called bilegger furnace, which are in the "Agricultural Museum of the Lüneburg Heath" in Hösseringen . The narrow stove plate shows Solomon's judgment, the Samaritan woman at the well and the inscription: "Vom Frewlein von Samaria Iohannes A (nno) m (undi) 1688".
Parish holder in Suderburg over the years
| Term of office | Surname |
|---|---|
| 1302 | Plebanus Heinrich |
| 1505-1506 | Dominus Cord |
| 1534-1538 | Henning Pruysted |
| 1538-1547 | Albertus Leffelmann |
| 1547-1565 | Gerhardus Wenmaring |
| 1566-1590 | Johannes Woning |
| 1591-1638 | Heinrich Moller |
| 1638-1664 | Adolpf Ahmüller |
| 1664-1673 | Johann Ernst Silence |
| 1673-1735 | Franz Ernst Hausmann |
| 1735-1741 | Albert Friedrich Zimmermann |
| 1742-1748 | Johann David Schädler |
| 1748-1758 | Johann Heinrich Krebs |
| 1758-1764 | Anton Gottfried Alberti |
| 1765-1804 | Johann Wilhelm Reibenstein |
| 1806-1814 | Johann Christoph Nöldeke |
| 1815-1823 | Friedrich Julius Ferdinand Raven |
| 1823-1849 | Johann Konrad Kahle |
| 1850-1863 | Carl Wilhelm Behr |
| 1864-1887 | August Lubrecht |
| 1887-1891 | Fritz Hermann Adolf Wunder |
| 1892-1904 | Ernst Heinrich Wilhelm Kohlmeyer |
| 1905-1910 | Karl Adolf Diedrich Oberdieck |
| 1911-1913 | Carl Theodor Traugott Lohmann |
| 1913-1929 | Friedrich Hermann Kreye |
| 1930-1952 | Hermann Franck |
| 1952-1971 | Ewald Schmidt |
| 1971-1996 | Ulrich Dyck |
| 1996-1998 | Jens Pröwe (as candidate for the ministry) |
| 1998-2011 | Heike Burkert (as the only pastor so far) |
| 2011- | Mathias Dittmar |
Current offices
| Office | Surname |
|---|---|
| pastor | Mathias Dittmar |
| Church council | 1. Chairman Anke Schlüter |
| Sexton | Gabi Behn |
| Cemetery attendant / sexton | Hermann Muller |
| Parish office secretary | Monika Stratmann-Müller |
literature
- E. Bengen, U. Brohm, HW Löbert et al . : Stony Heide: Use and processing of boulders 1998 ISBN 3-933943-00-0
- Rolf Hillmer, natural and cultural monuments in the Suderburg area, Becker Verlag Uelzen, ed. Hans E. Seidat, volume 5
- Tilman Grottian, History of the Suderburg Community, Edition: Another publishing house GmbH, 2004
- Rolf Hillmer, History of the Suderburg Community, Becker Verlag Uelzen, ed. Hans E. Seidat, 1986
Web links
- Entry by Stefan Eismann about Suderburg in the scientific database " EBIDAT " of the European Castle Institute
- Ev.-luth. St. Remigius parish Suderburg
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b From the book, History of the Suderburg Community
- ↑ a b c d From the book, Natural and cultural monuments in the Suderburg area
- ^ Rolf Hillmer: Natural and cultural monuments in the Suderburg area (= writings on Uelzen local history, booklet 5). Becker Verlag, Uelzen 1982.
- ↑ All information from the book, History of the Suderburg Community
- ↑ st-remigius-suderburg.wir-e.de