St. Wendelinus Chapel (Weisenbach)
Weisenbach's landmark is the St. Wendelinus Chapel , which stands on a rocky promontory high above the Murg . It is one of the oldest monuments in the Rastatt district and its image dominates the landscape for a long time.
History of origin
The chapel of St. Wendelinus zu Trier is mentioned for the first time in 1404 in the Eberstein documents. In the same year, the St. Elisabeth Castle Chapel near Eberstein Castle was manned by a castle chaplain who also had to look after the St. Wendelinus chapel.
In 1481 the Wendelinus Chapel was named a parish church for six years with the approval of the Vicariate General in Speyer. In the same year, the Bishop of Speyer, Ludwig von Helmstatt , approved a separate chaplain for the Weisenbach chapel. Weisenbach became an independent parish on January 17, 1482. The parish also included Au im Murgtal , Langenbrand and Reichental . This was also the reason for the new building, which was built in 1494 in place of the old chapel.
Center of the evangelical believers
In 1578, Countess Katharina von Eberstein appointed the Lutheran pastor Johannes Koch from Tübingen to be pastor of Weisenbach. The citizens living on the left of the Murg had to adopt the faith of the rulers and became Protestants. The citizens living to the right of the Murg, however, remained under the rule of the Bishop of Speyer and thus remained Catholic.
When the Protestant church in Gernsbach was closed in 1580, Countess Katharina von Eberstein recommended that the faithful go to church in the Weisenbacher St. Wendelinus Chapel. For many decades the small parish church was the focus of the evangelical believers in the middle Murg valley.
The chapel escapes demolition
In the 18th century - the church was again the focus of the Catholic faithful in the parishes of Weisenbach, Au im Murgtal, Langenbrand and Reichental - the population doubled and there was no longer enough space in the church. After initially planning the complete demolition of the chapel, only the nave with the entrance tower was demolished in 1779. To the choir area with sacristy from 1494, which is still the oldest part today, the still existing neo-Gothic choir room was added to the east instead of the originally flat choir closure.
In 1853 consideration was given to demolishing the chapel. Pastor Franz Anton Schmidt vigorously opposed these demolition plans and pointed out the historical value of this "demonstrably oldest monument in the upper Murg Valley". From 1857 to 1863 it was renovated in the neo-Gothic style. Around 1860 the neo-Gothic Belzer burial chapel was built as a side extension . The successful Weisenbach master builder Johann Belzer (1796–1868) built this chapel as the resting place of his family.
Todays use
In 1911 and 1937, necessary repair work was carried out on the chapel. In 1980 it was completely renovated and a sanctuary was added on the south side. In October 1981 the renovation of the Wendelinus Chapel was completed.
The St. Wendelinus Chapel has served as a cemetery chapel for many decades . Inside there is an expressive Pietà from around 1500. The three altar wings attached to the wall show the Risen Christ with Mary and John, they were signed in 1847 by the academic painter I. Koopmann. Pastors Karl Götz and Robert Blum have their final resting place in the extension from 1980.
literature
- Weisenbach - history of our homeland (local history of the community).
- Art and architectural monuments in the Rastatt district and in Baden-Baden, ISBN 3-8062-1599-5 , p. 334.
Coordinates: 48 ° 43 ′ 45 ″ N , 8 ° 21 ′ 11 ″ E