St. Bonifatius (Bechstedtstrasse)
St. Bonifatius is the Protestant village church of Bechstedtstrasse in the Weimarer Land district ( Thuringia ). The parish Beststedtstraß belongs to the parish association Niederzimmer in the parish of Weimar of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany .
location
The St. Bonifatius Church stands on a ledge of the Gutendorfer Platte in the center of the village near the intersection of the former dead ends of the village and not far from the old salt road , which gave the place the nickname "Straß". The village church, together with the old churchyard and the valuable baroque tombstones, the old school, the former rectory and the Lutheran oak, form the center of the village.
history
The place was probably first mentioned in a document in 885 in the Codex Diplomaticus Fuldensis . Thereafter, Charles III transferred. (Eastern France) the Abbey of Fulda took possession of his vassal Heginward in "Bechstat". The first farmsteads were grouped around a village square, on the upper edge of which a church was built early on . The oldest documentary evidence of this is from the year 918. The church was consecrated to the first Thuringian bishop. Both the patronage of Saint Boniface and the parish church with the choir tower in the east indicate that the church is very old. Some researchers believe that it belongs to the old fortified churches in Thuringia. The tower and church hall in their current form are of Gothic origin (14th century). In the choir room medieval wall or sacrament niches are visible and in the altar (cafeteria) , the medieval consecration crosses and the shrine remain.
In the Baroque period (1700–1730) the church was rebuilt (window fittings, today's entrance in the north, enlargement of the round arch to the choir, barrel vaults and galleries , roof turrets on the choir tower). The altar was widened in 1875 and converted into a pulpit altar . In 1986 this pulpit altar was removed so that the choir got back to its original function. At the same time, the tombstone of the pastor Johann Hertrich, who died in 1609, was secured on the wall there. This high quality work is given to the Erfurt stonemason Hans Friedemann the Elder. Attributed to J.
The font in the western part of the nave is on loan from the church in Isseroda . It bears the year 1563. Today some Art Nouveau elements can be found in the church (triumphal arch painting 1905; memorial stone for victims of the First World War in 1920; baptismal font - now in the churchyard). A verse from the book of Isaiah was written and illustrated about the triumphal arch : “Those who wait in the Lord gain new strength that they soar with wings like eagles. Isa. 40.31 ". August Hermann Francke made this sentence a key sentence of German Pietism.
Witzmann organ
In the organ loft is written “Let the Musicam Hear”, a motto from the Weimar hymn book, which JG Herder published in 1799. During the church renovation from 1875 to 1877, an organ was installed by August Witzmann (Stadtilm) . It is virtually the legacy of the highly innovative and productive organ builder in the Weimar region. They say he never stopped building. The small church received a large concert organ. The Weimar cantor Alexander Wilhelm Gottschalg expressly praised it in his acceptance report.
The abrasive loading -instrument has 25 registers (trains) on two manuals and Pedal and is equipped with a manual and a pedal coupling as well as a "Calcantenwecker". The playing and stop actions are mechanical. The organ has been preserved almost unchanged. Instead of the trumpet 8 'provided as the 18th register, there is an oboe 8'.
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Redevelopment
Due to the baroque disease, i.e. the expansion of the triumphal arch, which did not take into account the statics, and the installation of a barrel ceiling for the galleries, the tower's existence was in danger from the end of the 18th century. In addition, there were movements in the foundation that made securing it seem impossible for generations. The security measures for the medieval church have been in place since 2004 and are financed by a sub-foundation of the Foundation for the Preservation of Church Monuments in Germany .
The tower was extensively renovated in 2007/8 (reconstruction of the bell cage, hanging of the clock bell, steel anchors right down to the foundation, gypsum mortar and plaster). Anja Löffler has been responsible for the renovation concept for years. Medieval and modern art now form a unit in the chancel. The Gothic three-pass window , deformed by the movement of the Wall, was given a leaded glass window based on a design by Ulf Raecke. Behind the altar there is now a cross by Lutz Hellmuth, which was created at the 2007 international pottery workshop in Bechstedtstrasse. The blacksmith Michael Ernst created a simple but powerful ambo . In 2010 the roof structure of the nave was stabilized and re-covered. In 2011 the masonry and the north facade were secured. In 2012 access from the south and west was improved. The windows are currently being renovated.
social environment
The parish of Bechstedtstrasse is one of the first parishes in Thuringia to merge with neighboring parishes due to its small size. This happened in 1999. Five years later the church building and homeland association Bechstedtstrasse was founded.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Description of the church on the church district website
- Site of the church building and home association Bechstedtstrasse
- Entry on the website of the Foundation for the Preservation of Church Monuments in Germany
Coordinates: 50 ° 57 '26.9 " N , 11 ° 11' 48.2" E