St. Georg (Oberbalbach)
The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Georg in Oberbalbach , a district of Lauda-Königshofen in the Main-Tauber district , was built around 1600. She belongs to the pastoral care unit Lauda-Königshofen in the deanery Tauberbischofsheim of the Archdiocese of Freiburg .
history
- From 1600
The Church has not always been Roman Catholic . Since the Reformation was gradually introduced in the County of Hohenlohe from 1550 , Oberbalbach also got a Protestant pastor in 1555. From 1596 the church belonged to the Teutonic Order of Mergentheim and the Barons von Zobel zu Messelhausen, both of whom were Roman Catholic. Nevertheless, the church initially remained Protestant. The situation only changed again in 1628, when the Protestant princes were defeated in the Thirty Years War . Bishop Adolf von Würzburg took the opportunity in 1628 to make the church and the village of Oberbalbach Roman Catholic again. During the Swedish occupation, the population of Oberbalbach had to adopt the Protestant religion again. With the victory over Sweden in the Thirty Years War in 1634, the village and the church finally became Catholic.
- 17th and 18th centuries
The church was built around 1600 on a drained marshland and surrounded by a cemetery. The church was spared during the Thirty Years' War, but it was already in a very poor condition and was poorly renovated in 1683. Despite the superficial renovations, the decline didn't stop. In 1720 the church was in such a bad condition that the course of the services was severely impaired and some of them could only be held at risk of death. The renovation request in 1723 was rejected by the landlord Zobel zu Messelhausen , whereupon the roof of the church collapsed on May 15, 1732. This event led to another renovation request in 1734, which was again denied. When a wall collapsed in 1736 and killed a man, the renovation finally got underway and the foundation stone for the new church was laid in 1738.
- 20th century
In 1935/36 the church was extensively renovated. However, it suffered renewed damage in the Second World War , which was removed in 1951/1952, with the new bells consecrated a year earlier, in 1950. In 1966, numerous renovation works were also carried out. Among other things, the walls were repainted, new doors were installed and the floor was replaced with a new marble floor. Since the altars had no art historical value, they were replaced by Renaissance or Baroque pieces. A new celebration altar was also added, a marble altar with colored wood paneling.
The last renovation work took place in 1992. There the church tower was renovated, the roof insulated and the heating system renewed. In 1994 the old ceiling fresco was exposed again and in 1997 the choir room was refurbished. The church was finally on 28 September 1997 by Bishop Wolfgang Kirchgässner solemnly consecrated .
Furnishing
The church has a celebration altar , the table of bread, which is also the center of the church. This was built by the Berlin artist Paul Brandenburg in 1996 and 1997. The artist used the Christian motif of the tree of life . The fruits and leaves were sculpted from the stone so that the sun can shine through them. Here are also the relics of the church, which were walled up behind a bronze plate.
The ambo is carved from stone with a bronze book shelf.
The baptismal font made of yellow sandstone dates from 1753 and is therefore one of the oldest pieces of equipment. In the lid of the baptismal font, the motifs of the tree with the snake and the Christ on the cross can be seen.
In the church there are also some paintings, including a 270 × 130 centimeter oil painting depicting the Christ Child and the Fourteen Holy Helpers . The original crucifix , on the left wall, was carved in 1916 and was in the baroque style. However, this was replaced in 1966 by a simple, solid crucifix made of wood.
On the two side walls there are paintings of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross , which the church acquired in 1998.
During the Christmas season, the left side altar is supplemented by a nativity scene. This is also in the baroque style and was made in the early 20th century.
Web links
- Interesting facts about the parish church of St. Georg Oberbalbach on the website oberbalbach.de
Parish churches of the pastoral care unit Lauda-Königshofen: Holy Cross (Gerlachsheim) | St. Antonius (Deubach) | St. Burkhard (Messelhausen) | St. Georg (Oberbalbach) | St. James (Lauda) | St. Markus (Unterbalbach) | St. Martin (Oberlauda) | St. Mauritius (Königshofen) with the branches St. Kilian (Beckstein) and St. Josef (Marbach) | St. Vitus (Heckfeld)
Other churches, chapels and crossroads: Friedhofskapelle (Gerlachsheim) | Käppele (Königshofen) | Antonius Chapel (Königshofen) | Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher (Lauda) (also called the Blood Chapel) | Way of the Cross in the cemetery wall (Lauda) next to the Marienkirche (Lauda) | Way of the Cross in the cemetery wall (Beckstein) | Way of the Cross in the cemetery wall (Gerlachsheim) | Way of the Cross in the cemetery wall (Oberlauda) | Way of the Cross to St. Mary's Grotto (Oberlauda) | Mary's Grotto (Lauda) | Mariengrotte (Oberlauda) | Marienkapelle (Hofstetten)
Monasteries: Augustinian monastery Messelhausen (†) | Premonstratensian Monastery Gerlachsheim (†)
(†): Sacred building no longer used
Coordinates: 49 ° 32 ′ 23 " N , 9 ° 47 ′ 37" E