Gerzen (formerly also Görzen ), first mentioned as Jorcin in a document from the year 887, is one of the oldest places in the Vilstal . Therefore it is probably one of the oldest and formerly largest parishes in the area. However, this is not clearly proven, since Gerzen first appears in 1286 and 1326 in the parish descriptions of the Diocese of Regensburg .
The first verifiable church building on site, a single-nave building in the late Romanesque style, was probably built around the year 1200. The core of the masonry has been preserved to this day. In the years 1500 to 1522 the late Romanesque church was raised and vaulted in net rib configuration . At the same time, the choir and the north aisle were built. In the 1870s and 1880s there was a redesign in the neo-Gothic style, with the south aisle being built in 1872/1873 and the protruding west tower in 1882. Most of the interior furnishings also date from this period.
architecture
The three-aisled , east-facing parish church of St. George is a pseudo-basilica , in which the heights of the aisles differ greatly, but they are still united under a common gable roof . The five-bay central nave is followed by the two-bay choir with a five-eighth end , which is barely noticeably separated from it by means of a pointed arch . The side aisles each have six bays; the separating arches are also pointed. The organ gallery has moved into the rear central nave yoke .
The exterior is largely undivided except for the ogival window openings. Exceptions are the choir, which is loosened up by buttresses and a roof frieze , as well as the three-storey west tower with a pointed helmet , which is divided by corner struts.
To the north of the church, within the former cemetery , is the former soul chapel , a simple, late-Gothic brick building from around 1500 with a gable roof and a small turret .
Furnishing
Red marble epitaph for Alexander Leberskirchner († 1521)
Jann organ (1983)
Inside, an epitaph made of red marble for the nobleman Alexander Leberskirchner († 1521), created by the sculptor Stephan Rottaler from Landshut , is of particular importance. A late Gothic Pietà from around 1500 and a late Romanesque baptismal font are also worth mentioning.
The instrument has several predecessors. The first, the disposition of which has been passed down, was built in 1866 by Joseph Phillip Frosch junior from Munich . The mechanical slider chest instrument comprised ten registers on a manual and pedal. It was restored in 1870 by Franz Strauss from Landshut . In 1912 the Gerzen parish church received a new organ from Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer from Oettingen . The organ pipes were controlled via pneumatic pocket drawers . The organ with 17 registers on two manuals and pedal had a neo-Gothic prospect and a free-standing console .
Disposition of the Steinmeyer organ from 1912
I Manual C – f 3
1.
Principal
8th'
2.
Tibia
8th'
3.
Dolce
8th'
4th
Octav
4 ′
5.
flute
4 ′
6th
Octav
2 ′
7th
mixture
2 ′
II Manual C – f 3
8th.
Flute Principal
8th'
9.
Lovely covered
8th'
10.
Salicional
8th'
11.
Vox coelestis
8th'
12.
Reed flute
4 ′
13.
violin
4 ′
14th
Sesquialtera
2 2 ⁄ 3 ′
Pedal C – d 1
15th
Sub-bass
16 ′
16.
Bourdon bass
16 ′
17th
Violonbass
8th'
Pair : II / I, I / P, II / P, Super II / I, Sub II / I