St. Gangolf (Schlierstadt)
The Catholic parish church of St. Gangolf in Schlierstadt , a district of Osterburken , is a historic church building, essentially from the 18th century. A church at this point is already occupied from around 1100.
history
The oldest church in Schlierstadt was possibly in the Oberländle , where the wetland that gave Schlierstadt (= "place on the swamp") its name once was and where wooden building remains were found in 1958. When there was a transition from wooden to stone church buildings, more solid ground than the wetland was required and the current location of the church was found. It is not known what the first church looked like in its current location and when it was built.
A church in Schlierstadt was mentioned for the first time between the years 1088 and 1104. The church consecrated to St. Gangolf is the oldest church in the Buchen district and was closely connected to the Amorbach monastery and the Seligental monastery , founded in Schlierstadt in the high Middle Ages , which was founded in 1254 Had patronage rights over the church. In 1484 the still preserved Christ bell was cast by Bernhard Lachaman in Heilbronn . At the time of the Reformation , the place remained Catholic because it belonged to the monastery. When the monastery was closed in 1568, the monastery property came to the Mainz court chamber. After the Thirty Years' War , the church temporarily came to the Taubergrund chapter of the Archdiocese of Mainz , but then back in 1786 to the Buchen Landkapitel and the Freiburg Archdiocese .
Little is known about the early building history of the church. Your choir tower was destroyed by lightning in 1589. The church certainly suffered in the Thirty Years' War , after which only three houses are said to have stood in Schlierstadt. The history of the church is only better documented from a new building in the middle of the 18th century, which was decided after the tower of the church collapsed in a storm in 1751 and the nave was badly damaged. The tithe lords had to bear the construction costs of the new building carried out in 1765/66. Half of the building load for the choir, sacristy and tower lay with the rulers, the princes of Leiningen , and the rulers, Rüdt von Collenberg . The princes of Leiningen alone had to pay for the rectory. Since one of the parties refused to do its part in building the church, the church remained without a choir and tower for a long time, its roof only supported by a ridge turret . In 1770 the altar was renewed (using older baroque parts around 1710).
In 1845 the existing building loads were replaced by a settlement. Classes and landlords paid a total of 4,987.40 marks, for which the parish had to bear all construction costs in the future. From 1884 onwards the church was enlarged by a choir. Some old grave slabs from the Seligental monastery from the 15th and 16th centuries were brought into the church and walled up there. Originally they wanted to add a tower as well, but the community's funds had been used up because of major repairs to the rectory, so that the tower was left unfinished for the time being. In 1914 new plans were made for the completion of the tower, but they were no longer started because of the First World War . After that, the money saved was wiped out by inflation. From 1921 to 1923, Pastor Dr. Arnold carried out the first extensive renovation of the nave with the money raised from American donors. At that time, the old cemetery by the church was abandoned and two replacement bells were obtained for an old bell that had been delivered during the First World War. The donation money from America should have been enough for the completion of the tower, but the pastor had poor financial advisors and the tower was still unfinished.
In January 1941 the church received two new stained glass windows with depictions of saints and the names of those who fell, and two more windows were donated in the course of the year.
During the Second World War , the two bells newly procured after the First World War had to be returned. The old Christ bell remained in the now ailing roof turret. The tower of the church could only be completed in 1953. Contrary to the old plans, which still provided for an onion roof , a simple spire was chosen for cost reasons. The new church tower then accommodated the renovated Christ bell as well as three new bells cast by Schilling in Heidelberg in 1957 .
After the local pastor had succeeded in obtaining relics of Saints Wendelin and Gangolf for the churches in Amorbach and Schlierstadt, the annual Gangolf rides began in 1955. H. Horse processions on Gangolf Day.
Extensive renovations followed from 1963 to 1968. In doing so, one came across numerous old bones of the former cemetery, which had already been partially built over with the choir gallery during the renovations in the 19th century. The historic church windows, including those newly donated in 1941, fell victim to the renovation. Furthermore, a historical ceiling painting was also lost because the entire ceiling was knocked off due to rot damage in the beams. A mosaic picture above the church entrance with the church patron St. Gangolf has been removed and re-erected in the Schwabenwäldle above the village. During the renovation, a tragic accident occurred when the former pastor, honorary dean and honorary citizen of Schlierstadt and Rosenberg, Georg Götzinger (1884–1966), collided with a motorcyclist on the way to the church and suffered a fatal skull base fracture.
In 1976 the church's baroque organ was restored.
The last extensive renovation of the church took place from 2011 to 2013. The renovation was largely carried out on the community's own initiative and with donations. Silvia Neid , who grew up in Schlierstadt, was won over as sponsor for the fundraising campaign . During the renovation work, a fragment of a tomb from 1590 was found in the wall of the sacristy. During the renovation, an old painting of the church patron St. Gangolf from around 1860/70 was found in the bell tower. The painting is to be restored and will find a place in the church again in the future. The historical grave slabs from Seligental have meanwhile been brought back to the former monastery grounds, some of which have been owned by the community since the 1990s. The church renovation came to an end with the inauguration on May 12, 2013.
description
architecture
The sandstone portal of the church is crowned by a triangular gable. An old coat of arms of Rüdt von Collenberg is walled up above the door to the tower. It probably comes from the Seligental monastery.
Furnishing
The altar and possibly also the crucifix should originally come from the Schöntal monastery .
The church has a four-part bell. The old Christ bell from 1484 weighs about 400 kg and was cast at Lachaman in Heilbronn . The other three bells are the Pieta bell weighing 1400 kg, the Gangolf bell weighing 900 kg, and the St. Konrad bell weighing 560 kg. They were cast by Schilling in Heidelberg in 1957 and consecrated on September 1, 1957.
Outside the church there is an old tomb from the 16th century for the plebeian Konrad Ort von Hardheim, from the old cemetery there are also tombs of pastors Josef Herderer († 1877) and Josef Weber († 1895).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Seligental Monastery at kloester-bw.de
literature
- A foray through the history and renovation of the Church of St. Gangolf , commemorative publication for the inauguration of the renovated church on May 12, 2013, Schlierstadt 2013
- Rev. Richard Schneider: Old and new from the Schlierstadt parish church , typescript, undated (approx. 1950)
Web links
- http://gangolfanpost.jimdo.com - Private website with extensive chronicle and description
Coordinates: 49 ° 27 '9.8 " N , 9 ° 22' 1.8" E