St. Georg (Nördlingen)

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St. Georg in Nördlingen

St. Georg is the Evangelical Lutheran parish church in the center of the city of Nördlingen . The late Gothic church , built from 1427 to 1505, with its tower, the Daniel , which can be seen from afar , is the city's landmark.

history

The council of the imperial city of Nördlingen decided to build the Georgskirche on October 17, 1427. The choir of the hall church was completed in 1451, and in 1454 construction of the tower began. The high altar by Friedrich Herlin was completed in 1462, the tower in 1490. With the completion of the vault in 1505, the construction, which consists largely of suevite , was completed. Because Nördlingen joined the Reformation under Kaspar Kantz , St. Georg became the Protestant town church in 1523/1525.

The first restoration of the church took place between 1877 and 1887. On March 30, 1945 at 9:25 p.m., an aerial bomb destroyed the Steinmeyer organ built in 1889 . On February 2, 1974, a fire destroyed the old baroque organ from 1610. The church was last restored between 1971 and 1977.

tower

View from Daniel to the north over the city and the Nördlinger Ries; on the horizon is Hesselberg, 24 km away

The 89.9 meter high church tower, which is called Daniel and is a symbol of Nördlingen, is visible from afar ; he dominates the cityscape and the landscape of the Ries crater . This name goes back to Dan 2,48  EU : "And the king exalted Daniel and [...] made him prince over the whole country."

The temporary low dome helmet could not be replaced due to lack of money. 350 steps lead to the viewing gallery above the tower room at a height of 70.30 meters . This allows a panoramic view over the roofs of the old town, the city wall and the surrounding villages up to the edge of the Ries. According to the city of Nördlingen, 99 church towers can be recognized from this gallery. In the third level of the tower, which is 35.60 meters high, there is a late medieval impeller . Prisoners once had to move it with their body weight to carry loads up the tower.

The Turmstube lying in the 8th level at 66.40 meters is constantly by a watchman busy: A profession that there are only a few cities in Europe, so in Münster , Bad Wimpfen and in Krakow . Every half hour from 10 p.m. to midnight, the tower keeper calls out the saying “So G'sell So!” From the tower , the origin of which is linked to a legend:

In 1440, Count Hans von Oettingen-Wallerstein tried to conquer Nördlingen due to financial problems . In order to be able to get into the city unnoticed, he bribed several gatekeepers so that they would not lock the Löpsinger Tor on Epiphany Eve . When the wife of the loden weaver Dauser went outside to fetch beer in an inn, she discovered the open gate, as an escaped sow was rubbing against it. Then she shouted the words “So G'sell So!” , Which not only drove the sow away , but also alerted the guards and in this respect can be understood as a threat against the treacherous gatekeepers; these were later picked up while playing dice and wine and then quartered . The core of the legend is that a sow saved the city.

From a historical point of view, the watchman's call probably has a more practical background: the motto that all the towers shouted every hour in the dark was supposed to ensure that all the guards were at their posts and were not sleeping.

Main nave

The 93 meter long and over 20 meter high nave makes St. Georg one of the largest hall churches in southern Germany. The building consists of a three-aisled choir and the three-aisled, twelve-bay hall with twelve central columns.

The baroque high altar is decorated with late Gothic wooden sculptures by the Dutchman Niclas Gerhaert van Leyden . It is a crucifixion group with Mary and John and two mourning angels, flanked by St. George with the defeated dragon at his feet and Mary Magdalene with the anointing vessel in her hand. These figures, which can be seen today in the Nördlingen City Museum , were originally located in a wooden shrine with movable wings that was created around the same time and painted by Friedrich Herlin . The altar was given its baroque appearance in 1683 by Johann Michael Ehinger . The housing of the late Gothic wooden shrine was only discovered under the baroque casing during the restoration in 1971–1973; Today it stands on the north wall with the painted rear front (eight Passion scenes of Christ and the Last Judgment ) to the front. Although the case is signed by Herlin (dated 1462), it is assumed that the panels on the rear panel did not come from the master because of their inferior quality compared to the winged altar panels.

At the choir stalls from the late Middle Ages (the local cabinetmaker Hans Tauber Schmid , who worked in 1500, attributed) carved animal and human heads, and mythical creatures are attached. The font dates from 1492.

Also noteworthy are the sacrament house in the north-east corner of the choir, which was made by the stonemason Ulrich Creycz according to a design by the church master Stephan Weyrer , the gallery parapet with a representation of the Twelve Apostles and the late Gothic pulpit with reliefs of the four evangelists with their symbols (Augsburg 1499 ) under a baroque sound cover on which Christ is enthroned with the globe (Johann Michael Ehinger, 1681).

A special feature of the Georgskirche are the numerous epitaphs and death shields on the side walls. They bear witness to Nördlingen's past as a rich bourgeois and trading town.

  • tower

  • Epitaphs on the south wall

  • Carving on the choir stalls

  • Carving on the choir stalls

  • View into the main nave

  • Choir altar

  • Side organ

  • epitaph

pulpit

Gothic pulpit

The late Gothic stone pulpit has a plinth with lush, intricate ribs and a staircase with an open-work tracery parapet . The four evangelists with their symbols are depicted as reliefs on the pulpit . In between, the Man of Sorrows , Mary , Mary Magdalene , John the Evangelist and St. George can be seen under canopies .

The baroque sound cover , on which Christ is enthroned with the globe, was made by Johann Michael Ehinger in 1681. The wooden sound cover is decorated with putti and angel heads. See also: Pulpit of St. Georg (Nördlingen)

Organs

The St. George's Church has three organs : the main organ on the west gallery, the side organ in a Renaissance prospect (above the sacristy) and a small organ positive.

Main organ

The main organ was built in 1977 by the organ building company Willi Peter and restructured by the organ building company Rensch in 2005. The instrument now has 56 registers on four manuals and pedal . The fourth manual makes the stops of the side organ playable from the main organ. The sound tracts are mechanical, the register actions are electrical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Pommer 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Wooden flute 8th'
4th Viol 8th'
5. Octave 4 ′
6th Pointed flute 4 ′
7th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Principal 2 ′
9. Mixture IV 2 ′
10. Zimbel III 1 ⁄ 2 ′
11. bassoon 16 ′
12. Trumpet 8th'
II Kronwerk C – g 3
13. Coupling flute 8th'
14th Quintad 8th'
15th Prefix 4 ′
16. Reed flute 4 ′
17th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
18th Capstan whistle 2 ′
19th Sif flute 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
20th Pipe whistle 1'
21st Sharp IV 1'
22nd Basson 16 ′
23. Krummhorn 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – g 3
24. Cane-covered 16 ′
25th Principal 8th'
26th Covered 8th'
27. Black viola 8th'
28. Vox coelestis 8th'
29 octave 4 ′
30th recorder 4 ′
31. Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
32. Octavine 2 ′
33. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
34. Plein jeu V 2 ′
35. Trumpet harm. 16 ′
36. Trumpet harm. 8th'
37. oboe 8th'
38. Clairon 4 ′
Tremulant
IV side organ C – g 3
Manual register of
the side organ
Pedal C – f 1
39. Flute 32 ′
40. Flute 16 ′
41. Bombard 32 ′
42. Bombard 16 ′
43. Principal 16 ′
44. Sub-bass 16 ′
45. Quintbass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
46. Octavbass 8th'
47. Covered 8th'
48. Gemsbass 8th'
49. Choral bass 4 ′
50. Hollow flute 4 ′
51. Night horn 2 ′
52. Mixture IV
53. Carillon II
54. bassoon 16 ′
55. Trumpet bass 8th'
56. Field trumpet 4 ′
Tremulant
  • Pairing :
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, IV / I, III / II, IV / II, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P
    • Super octave coupling: I / I, III / III, III / I, III / II, I / P, III / P
    • Sub-octave coupling: I / I, III / III, III / II, III / I
  • Playing aids : 10 × 1000-fold typesetting system (floppy disk drive), crescendo roller .

Side organ

The side organ behind the Renaissance prospect from 1610 fell victim to a fire in 1974. It was reconstructed in 1976 by the Peter company with ten stops on two manuals and a pedal. The disposition is as follows:

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Principal 8th'
2. Reed flute 8th'
3. Octav 4 ′
4th Mixture V 2 ′
II substation C – g 3
5. Covered 8th'
6th recorder 4 ′
7th Octav 2 ′
8th. Scharff II – IV 1'
Pedal C – f 1
9. Sub-bass 16 ′
10. Covered bass 8th'

Bells

Big bell or apostle bell from 1862

Of the four bells , the Osanna is the oldest. It was cast in 1496 by Peter Gereis from Augsburg.

The big bell or apostle bell (formerly also called Marienglocke or snake bell ) originally hung in the Stargarder Marienkirche and came to Nördlingen in 1952 as a so-called loan bell after the Second World War (see St. Lukas in Munich ). Its rich decor includes generous friezes and a representation of the twelve apostles with names under neo-Gothic aedicules attached to the flank . The bell also bears the inscription CALLS COMFORTABLE, DON'T BE BACK, LIFT UP YOUR VOICE. The two old bells from 1496 and 1862 were restored by welding in the Lachenmeyer company in Nördlingen .

In 1960 the Rincker bell and art foundry added two bells. The larger one bears the inscription CHRIST SPEAKS: I LIVE AND YOU SHALL ALSO LIVE, and the smaller ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM .

According to the chime order, the chime is carried out with the Osanna at 6 a.m., 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. or at 6 p.m. On Saturday at 4 p.m., all four bells ring in Sunday.

No.
  		Surname
  		Casting year
  		Caster
  		Diameter
(mm, approx.) 		Mass
(kg) 		Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 )
1 Big bell or apostle bell 1862 Friedrich Gruhl , Kleinwelka 1,879 ≈3,700 g 0 +9
2 Death bell 1960 Bell and art foundry Rincker, Sinn 1,630 2,593 h 0 +3
3 Baptismal bell 1960 Bell and art foundry Rincker, Sinn 1,460 1.996 d 1 +5
4th Osanna 1496 Peter Gereis, Augsburg ≈1,400 e 1 +6

In the tower lantern there are two bell shells from 1831 and the storm bell from 1536 for the clock strike .

Full bells for the Sunday ring

Church builder

The following builders were involved in the construction of St. George's Church:

year Surname annotation
1427-1429 Hans Kun and Hans Felber It is believed that the Ulm minster builder Hans Kun and his colleague Hans Felber made the design. Felber directed the construction until 1429.
1429-1438 Konrad Heinzelmann After Konrad Heinzelmann had left Nördlingen, he built the new choir in the St. Lorenz Church in Nuremberg in 1439 , where he died in 1454.
1439-1461 Nikolaus Eseler Under Eseler, the nave (without the vaults) and the substructure of the tower were completed up to the first floor. Eseler was the son of Peter Eseler , who worked as a foreman at Mainz Cathedral.
1461 Konrad Roritzer The Regensburg cathedral builder Konrad Roritzer was commissioned to plan the construction of the tower that had already started. In 1461 his son Matthäus presented the design together with a model in Nördlingen.
1462-1464 Hans Zenkel The church master Hans Zenkel came from Regensburg.
1464-1480 Wilhelm Kreglinger Was a church master from Würzburg.
1472 Moritz Ensinger Moritz Ensinger from Ulm was called in to provide advice on the construction of the tower.
1481-1494 Heinrich Echser Called "Kugler", completed the tower in 1490 and erected the choir pillars in 1492.
1495-1505 Stephan Weyrer the elder Stephan Weyrer von Burghausen was recommended to the Nördlingers by Burkhard Engelberg . Under his direction, the vaulting of the nave and thus the completion of the St. George's Church takes place.
1506-1508 Stephan Weyrer Stephan Weyrer built the vaulted west gallery with its elaborate tracery parapet as well as the spiral staircase with great geometric finesse.
1511-1519 Stephan Weyrer Stephan Weyrer added a chapel donated by Reich Vice Chancellor Nikolaus Ziegler in the north wall.
1511-1525 Stephan Weyrer The stonemason Ulrich Creycz made the sacrament house designed by Weyrer. It stands in the northeast corner of the choir and represents the high point of stone carving in St. George.
1539 Stephan Weyrer the Younger After a lightning strike had destroyed the tower roof in 1537, the church master Stephan Weyrer the Younger carried out the new tower end in the form of a Welschen hood.
1552-1563 Stephan Weyrer the Elder J. Completion of the stone carving work on the entrance portal.
1878-1887 Franz Josef Denzinger Although a large suevite stone had fallen from the tower in 1831, the necessary restoration work could not begin until 1874. From 1878 onwards, the municipal building officer Max Gaab was supported by the church builder Josef Denzinger, who had previously worked in Frankfurt.
1971– Michael Scherbaum 1971 Foundation of the St. Georgs Bauhütte to repair the St. Georgs Church.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Daniel in Nördlingen on the website of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment
  2. ↑ Photo of the sign with the height of the tower room and the viewing gallery on commons.wikimedia.org
  3. ↑ Photo of the information board in the tower, on commons.wikimedia.org
  4. ↑ Photo of the sign next to the impeller, on commons.wikimedia.org
  5. ↑ Information on the tower at Nördlingen.de
  6. ^ Secret of the high altar figures revealed Rieser Nachrichten of February 22nd, 2010
  7. ↑ More about the organs in St. Georg
  8. ↑ Information on the side organ
  9. ↑ Internet presence of the Stargard home district in Pomerania
  10. ↑ Nördlingen, St. Georg: Video recording of Osanna (Youtube, 02'52 ")

literature

  • Andrea Steinmeier: 1100 years of Nördlingen . F. Steinmeier, Nördlingen 1998, ISBN 3-927496-54-5 .
  • Albert Schlagbauer: St. Georg in Nördlingen (Small Art Guide; No. 1418). 7th edition. Verlag Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-7954-5128-8 (former title: Nördlingen, St. Georg ).

Web links

Commons : St. Georg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 2.5 ″  N , 10 ° 29 ′ 19 ″  E