St. Georg (Auernheim)

St. George's Church in Auernheim from the east, 1985

View towards the high altar, 2007

View from the high altar, 2007

The Catholic St. George's Church is the most important building in Auernheim ( Heidenheim district , Baden-Württemberg ). The baroque church from 1729 was renovated in 1936 and 2001. In the course of the last renovation, the old baroque altar and the ambo were replaced by two newfangled specimens.

location

St. Georg lies above Auernheim with a wide view of the Härtsfeld . An avenue with age-old horse chestnuts and linden trees leads past the war memorials from the First and Second World Wars to the cemetery gate in the old church wall.

Postcard from St. George, 1923

history

The right of patronage came to Neresheim in 1289 via Ellwangen and Oettingen. In 1300 the church was incorporated into Neresheim . The patron saint of the church is St. George . According to tradition, today's church is probably the fourth that was built in Auernheim. When the first church was built is no longer known. The second church is said to have been built between 1141 and 1151 under Abbot Ortlieb. For what is probably the second Renaissance building, the Gmünder painter Christoph Friedel painted an altarpiece in 1619 for 317 fl , depicting the coronation of Mary. This picture was so valued that pilgrimages were made to it from afar. However, since the church had become "ruinous", it was demolished in 1729. On July 29, 1729, the foundation stone for today's baroque building was laid. The building was paid for by what was then the Auernheim Foundation. It cost 5641 florins. The oak wood for the roof structure was obtained from the Heiligenwald, which belongs to the foundation . Friedel's famous picture no longer matched the new church building and was lost.

High altar, tabernacle, 2007

High altar, painting: "Jesus on the cross with Mary and John", 2007

description

The baroque church interior is bright and spacious. The stucco is ribbon-like, not overloaded, but light and playful. The ceiling is flat, three frescoes divide the nave , separated by a triumphal arch is the high choir. The frescoes in the nave are gray-blue and depict St. Scholastica , St. George and St. Benedict (from back to front). Its master (around 1790) is unknown. In 1816 Pastor Reiter painted an "Adoration of the Lamb" in the choir, which was removed during the renovation in 1936 and replaced by the "Resurrection" (church painter Hammer, Neresheim Monastery) that can still be seen today. The coat of arms of Abbot Michael Dobler, which was used in 1798, is emblazoned in the middle of the choir arch; The walls of the church are divided by the bright windows and Corinthian pilasters. The pulpit is adorned by the four evangelists.

Furnishing

On the right side of the church (men's side) are the two saints St. Wendelin , the peasant patron , and St. Sebastian , the patron saint of woodcutters , on corresponding pedestals . First they stood at the choir altar, Pastor Reiter set them up to the left and right of the choir arch, later they found their current location. The lecture cross on the same side is very noteworthy.

Originally the high altar showed St. George, the two side altars the baptism of Jesus and Johann Nepomuk . During the restoration in 1891, the old altarpieces were replaced by new ones: “Jesus on the cross with Maria and Johannes” by painter Kaltenbacher from Munich can now be seen on the high altar. The two side altars show pictures by the painter Gebhard Fugel , also from Munich: on the left “Maria with the Child Jesus” and “Heart of Mary”, on the right “St. Joseph with Pope Leo XIII. ".

Organ: inscription above manual

Organ: Register on the right

Organ: manual

Monument organ

The organ of St. George's Church was made in 1823 by the organ and instrument maker Michael Schultes according to the plans of the pastor Johann Evangelist Reiter . Michael Schultes was living in Neresheim Palace at the time and was a student of the famous master organ builder Johann Nepomuk Holzhey from Ottobeuren ; he was the builder of the main organ of Neresheim Abbey.

Inscription above the keyboard:

"Made according to the plans of Mr. Johann Evangelist Reiter, pastor in Aurnheim, von Schultes, organ and instrument builder, Neresheim Castle."

The organ is a so-called "slider organ". The monument organ has 13 registers and a coupling, i.e. a connection between manual and pedal. Ten registers are for the manual and three bass registers for the pedal. The “choral bass” was added in 1954. Originally there was a trombone here, later a cello bass.

A total of 630 pipes are housed in the organ case. The largest pipe is 2.5 m long and the smallest 5 cm. Six registers have wooden pipes and seven are equipped with tin pipes. Almost all of the pipes date from 1823 until the principal register, the so-called "prospectus", the pipes that can be seen on the front of the organ. These tin pipes were removed and melted down during the war in 1915, and the tin material was used for war purposes. After the First World War, in 1919, tin pipes were made and installed for this purpose. These pipes, which produced a very tinny sound, were replaced by pewter pipes when the organ was renovated in 1954 and restored the soft sound of the organ registers as a whole.

The Reiter Chronicle shows that there was a church choir in Auernheim 180 years ago:

“To cheer up the church singers, a small Randevous was given in the rectory that evening. In response to my (Pastor Reiter) request, the foundation council also decreed that the church singers should in future instead of only 30 xr. ( Kreuzer ) should receive 5 florins ( guilders ) and 30 Kreuzer (xr. ) Per year , which was also approved by the highest authority. "

Acolytes

Around 40 acolytes are currently doing their service at the altar of St. George's Church. The acolyte group is open to all children and young people who want to help shape the service in this way.

Acolytes actions

Carol singers promotion
Participation in the annual acolyte soccer tournament of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese
Group lessons, overnight stays, excursions, film and game evenings ...