St. Firminus (Dötlingen)

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Church in Dötlingen

St. Firminus is an Evangelical Lutheran church in the Lower Saxony community of Dötlingen ( Oldenburg district ). It is named after Firmin von Amiens , who was the first bishop of Amiens ( France ) in the 3rd century , died a martyr and is venerated as a saint .

Construction phases

Wilhelm Scholkmann : Dötlingen around 1909

Romansh I

Although the first documentary mention comes from 1270, the church is much older according to architectural studies. As early as the first half of the 12th century, the first solid building made of field stones , bricks and boulders , a rectangular, four-bay hall church, was built . The nave was approximately 12.5 mx 9.5 m, the choir was about 6 mx 7 m, the walls were about 1 m thick. In the western part of the church there was a north and a south entrance, both of which are now closed by brickwork . The nave received light through three arched windows each in the north and south walls, which were partially bricked up in later construction phases. The roof probably consisted of reed or straw.

St. Firminus (inside)

Romansh II

In the middle of the 12th century, the western tower was added to a height of around 24 m. From the 2nd half of the 12th century the church building was expanded. The choir was demolished and a new choir was built the width of the nave with a groin vault and attached apse . The new choir received light from a round arched window on the north and south sides.

Gothic

The last expansion of the building took place in the second half of the 13th century. The apse was demolished and the choir room was extended by an almost equal-sized yoke with ribbed vaults with box ribs. The windows of this new choir were partly designed in the shape of a cross and in a pointed arch technique . The church was now about 31 m × 10 m in size, the roof covering consisted of semicircular clay tiles .

This is how the Church presents itself today.

Indoor

Entrance area

Today you enter the church through the west portal in the church tower. The tower room was designed in 1923 as a memorial for those who were killed in the First World War, the ceiling is decorated with paintings from the sphere of activity of the painter Jan Zimmermann. There is also the tombstone of Pastor Dietrich Veltmann, who died in 1723 and is buried in the church.

Gallery

A wooden angular gallery from the 17th century with representations of the 12 apostles and St. Firminus in the wooden panels of the parapet surrounds the western and northern part of the nave. These paintings were applied in 1948 by the church painter Hermann Oetken, as were the writing fields arranged between the paintings.

altar

The altar stipes come from the 2nd half of the 13th century, the baroque altarpiece was created in 1687 by Kaspar Elmendorf. The painting by an unknown master, probably also from the late 17th century, on the plinth shows the Holy Communion. The oval central image with the representation of the Trinity also shows the essential components of the Lutheran worship service, namely baptism and the proclamation of the word, and is thus in the tradition of Lutheran confessional images in a baroque interpretation.

pulpit

The builder of the baroque pulpit , donated by Count Anton Günther of Oldenburg in 1644, is unknown. Like that of the altar, the painting dates from the second half of the 17th century. The sound cover hanging over it served to amplify the preaching pastor acoustically.

Baptismal stand

The baptismal stand from the second half of the 17th century is made of oak and was restored in 2003. The brass baptismal bowl was made in 1948.

window

The original windows were destroyed in the last days of the Second World War. The current glazing dates from 1997 and is based on models from the 17th to 19th centuries. The glazing in the Gothic windows on both sides of the altar and above the entrance door was made by the glass painter Georg Reiners in 1947 and shows the symbols of the four evangelists as well as a depiction of the fight between the Archangel Michael and the dragon.

Coloring

As a result of war damage, renovation work was necessary in 1948, which was carried out by the church painter Hermann Oetken. In the process, larger parts of medieval paintings were exposed and supplemented. Another renovation took place in 1997, during which the first medieval painting of the vaults and window frames was reconstructed. So far, there is no binding interpretation of the motifs, as they are interpreted both as Christian symbols and as a reminder of pagan-Germanic mythology.

organ

The first organ from 1717 came from Christian Vater . It was replaced in 1892 by an organ built by Johann Martin Schmid . Today's organ from the Alfred Führer company from Wilhelmshaven was built in 1971. It was completely overhauled in 2002. It has 17 registers with 1072 pipes over two manuals and a pedal .

See also

Literature (selection)

Web links

Commons : St. Firminus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 56 ′ 6.9 ″  N , 8 ° 22 ′ 44.6 ″  E