St. Clemens Romanus (Marklohe)
The former Archidiaconate Church of St. Clemens Romanus in the Samtgemeinde Marklohe , district of Nienburg , belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover .
History and description of the building
The Romanesque basilica on the plan of a Greek cross is in front of a square west tower. This contains the oldest components made of porta sandstone , possibly from the 11th century. In the first half of the 13th century a vault was drawn into the tower and essential parts of the nave were built. The vault of the choir and its polygonal, three-sided end made of field stone masonry belong to the 15th century. The church got neo- Romanesque brick aisles in 1860/64 . It was restored from 1985 to 1989, with the corner buttresses removed from the tower. On the tympana of the tower, Romanesque bas-reliefs show the sacrifice of Cain and Abel ( Gen 4,3–5 EU ) and Cain's fratricide ( Gen 4,8 EU ) and above the portal of the south transept Absalom's death on a tree ( 2 Sam 18 , 9-15 EU ).
Furnishing
Carved altar
The late Gothic carved altar from the beginning of the 16th century was probably stripped of its wings after the Reformation . The central Golgotha scene of the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves was preserved . To the right of the cross, John and Mary, the wife of Cleophas, catch the fainting Mother of God. Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the cross with her hands raised in prayer . To the right of the cross you can see the Roman centurion Longinus , who stabbed Jesus in the side with a lance and, according to legend, was healed of his weak eyes by the blood and water spurting out of Jesus' chest. He testifies to Jesus as the Son of God. On the left you can see Stephaton , who handed Jesus the sponge when he called: "I thirst" ( Jn 19 : 25-35 EU ).
Above to the right of the center is Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate , whose wife advises him not to condemn Jesus. Jesus carries the cross at the top left. Veronica can be seen above the shaft of the cross .
At the bottom right, Jesus is removed from the cross. Mary and John attend the Descent from the Cross, with Mary turning away. Christ's descent into the underworld is shown at the bottom left . Christ as an oversized living man stands on the broken gates of hell, under which the devil is buried. Adam, Eve and other people leave limbo, surrounded by moaning devils.
Sacrament House
The tower-like sacrament house was perhaps made in 1521 in the workshop of the master of Osnabrück . The stone show architecture is adorned with the coat of arms of Count Jobst II. Von Hoya with the two bear paws and the coat of arms of his mother Ermengard zur Lippe with the Lippe rose . On the shaft of the sacrament house are the apostle James the Elder with a pilgrim's hat and pilgrim's staff, St. Catherine of Alexandria , the apostles Andrew with the St. Andrew's cross and Matthias with the ax. On the actual sacrament house are the figures of St. Antonius, the abbot and desert father, with a piglet at his feet and the “holy fire” or “ Antonius fire” (ergot poisoning) in his right hand, Anna Selbdritt , with Mary with the baby Jesus, St. Clemens Romanus with the tiara on his head and his attribute, the anchor, at his feet, in his right hand a book and in his left the crosier. He was drowned with the anchor during the Christian persecution in Rome. Depending on the count, Clemens is considered to be the third or fourth Pope in the 1st century. The conclusion is formed by a bishop or abbot, who cannot be specified, and Maria Magdalena with the ointment pot in hands. The top essay with the apostles Peter and Paul and the figure of Christ comes from the 19th century. It was financed in 1864 by King George V of Hanover and Great Britain.
Choir painting
The painting of the choir is important. It was uncovered, restored and “largely supplemented” (Dehio) by Reinhard Ebeling, Hanover, in 1907/08. According to Pastor Gabriele Matthias, the pictures date from 1520. Count Jobst II von Hoya had returned from exile in East Friesland the year before, after the emperor had allowed him to take possession of his county again after paying 36,000 gold florins.
Above the altar, Christ is depicted in the mandorla as the judge of the world, kneeling on his right in an interceding posture, the crowned Mother of God, and on his left, the forerunner John the Baptist; behind two angels blowing the trumpet. Among them people emerge from their graves, directly under Maria a crowned one, possibly Count Jobst I. von Hoya, the father of Jobst II. Under Johannes, a devil with a dung fork transports a naked human couple directly from the grave to Hell, possibly a woman who carries her sick child on her back.
On the right, the sky is shown as a fortress of God with towers, walls and battlements. Above her is the Coronation of Mary , which God the Father on Mary's right and Christ on her left jointly undertake. The Holy Spirit hovers over them in the form of a dove.
Angels making music stand on the walls. The still locked heaven portal is opened by Peter with his key and at the same time he grabs the hand of Count Jobst II of Hoya, who has already climbed the twelve-step staircase to the Paradise Gate. Behind him follow his crowned wife and in front of him his little daughter; behind the woman angels who let in the naked elect or protect them (cf. In paradisum ). On the other side, two men in red, a nun and an abbot or bishop climb the stairs. Interestingly, the abbot or bishop does not lead the group; behind them again angels at the entrance or protection of other naked chosen ones.
To the left of the judge of the world is the wide open mouth of hell with two tusks each at the top and bottom. Two devils are just about to bring a resisting woman down into hell's jaws. More devils lead a group of condemned together with a chain to hell. Women outnumber the damned. Above the group, a lion helps a devil overpower a woman. The lion is perhaps the heraldic animal for the Guelphs , who caused Jobst II's seven-year exile in East Friesland. The famous "Butter Witch" can be seen next to the group of lions. Pastor Gabriel suspects that she is a "devil woman" who has turned men's heads, thus a witch or prostitute.
Opposite the Last Judgment, amid tendrils with flowers in medallions, the symbols of the four evangelists, the human being for Matthew, the lion for Mark, the bull for Luke and the eagle for John. They surround the Lamb of God. The texts on the tapes are only partially legible.
In the vault behind the altar, amid tendrils, are Saint Catherine of Alexandria with wheel and sword, Mary Magdalene with the ointment pot, Lucia of Syracuse with the sword in her throat and a host with the abbreviation for Jesus in her hand, Barbara with the tower in her left hand and the martyr's palm in her right, Margaret of Antioch with the staff of the cross in her right, killing the dragon, which she wields with a chain like a dog in her left, Apollonia with the Bible in her left and with one Forceps and tooth in the right hand. The conclusion of this group is the Evangelist John with the chalice in his hand. The snake in the chalice, which symbolizes the poison with which the apostle was supposed to be killed, was not added until the restoration in the 1960s.
In the Middle Ages, the saints were seen as advocates for certain diseases and emergencies. Katharina helped against tongue diseases, Maria Magdalena against eye diseases, Lucia against sore throats, infections and blood flow, Barbara in distress and dying, Margareta during pregnancy and childbirth, Apollonia against dental problems, and John the Evangelist was responsible for fertility.
Next to the Luther window, Veronika is shown with the sweatcloth. Below you can see a bent king with a purple cloak, crown and globe. This is said to go back to the legend that Veronica gave the handkerchief with the face of Jesus to Pope Clemens, the Markloh church patron, and that he healed Emperor Tiberius from serious illness with it.
Images like Veronica's handkerchief could have been one of the reasons why the “papist images” were removed from Lutheran churches. Because the image of the handkerchief was given an indulgence privilege in the first holy year 1300 .
On the walls from the Old Testament are shown the fall of man, the expulsion from paradise and the sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham ( Gen 22: 1-19 EU ). The Annunciation, the birth, the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus can be seen from the New Testament. At the Annunciation, Mary is portrayed as a wise, pious woman who is absorbed in prayer. The angel gives her a lily, the symbol of purity. This underlines the virgin birth. The Holy Spirit comes down on Mary from above in the form of the dove, symbol of the virgin conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit ( Lk 1.34–35 EU ). In the birth scene, the baby Jesus is not lying in the manger, but on the floor. That goes to the vision of St. Birgitta returned from Sweden . And under the cross stand Jesus' mother Mary and the favorite disciple John on the right and Mary Magdalene on the left.
In the tendrils there is a centaur , a hybrid of animal and human, symbol of the devil, which according to medieval beliefs was banned by the representation, i.e. H. prevented from doing evil. You can also see a unicorn which, according to the Physiologus, can only be caught when it puts its horn in the lap of a virgin. According to Christian interpretation, it is a symbol of the incarnation of Jesus in the womb of his mother Mary. Reinhard Ebeling signed under the unicorn as a restorer in 1907. The griffin, a hybrid of an eagle and a lion, is a symbol of Christ, the "King of Heaven and Earth". A meditating bearded monk, a bagpiper and a flute player with a robin on the flute and many others complete the picture.
Bells
A historically significant three-part bell hangs in the tower. The two big bells should have been handed in during the Second World War along with 14 others from the area. The courageous freight forwarder Friedrich Göllner hid all the bells in his warehouse, so that they returned to their original location after the end of the Second World War. The smallest and oldest bell was spared and did not have to be handed in.
| Bell 1 | Bell 2 | Bell 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| diameter | 130 cm | 104 cm | 58 cm |
| Weight | 1193 kg | approx. 680 kg | approx. 120 kg |
| Caster | Cyclist | Cyclist | Unknown |
| Casting year | 1925 | 1886 | 14th century |
| volume | des' + 6 | f '+ 12 | as '' - 8 |
literature
- Rolf-Jürgen Grote, Kees van der Ploeg: Wall painting in Lower Saxony, Bremen and in Groningerland , catalog volume, Hanover 2001, p. 158.
- Dehio: Bremen-Lower Saxony , Dt. Kunstverlag 1992, p. 910.
- Gabriele Matthias: The frescoes of the St. Clemens Romanus Church Marklohe , Ösingen 2011.
Individual evidence
- ^ The bell ringer of Nienburg. In: viewpoint. Kreiszeitung.de, September 14, 2013, accessed on September 29, 2018 .
Web links
- Church site
- Parish Marklohe on the website of the parish of Nienburg
Coordinates: 52 ° 40 ′ 12.3 " N , 9 ° 9 ′ 21.1" E