St. Jacobi (Schwabstedt)

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View of the church from the east
Interior view to the west

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Jacobi in Schwabstedt in the district of North Friesland ( Schleswig-Holstein ), originally dedicated to St. James , is a medieval field stone building with considerable furnishings.

History and architecture

There is little reliable information about the early history of church building. It is assumed that the single-nave hall with its rectangular choir was built in the decades around 1200. The nave and choir were originally flat roofed. This was followed by a late Gothic extension and next to it a brick portal on the north side, as well as a smaller extension from the Baroque period.

From 1268 the residence of the bishops of Schleswig was in Schwabstedt. The place probably even received city ​​rights at that time . During this time the church received valuable furnishings. A particularly valuable piece, an alabaster altar from around 1430, was loaned to the Thaulow Museum in Kiel in 1931 . It is now in the Schleswig-Holstein State Museum at Gottorf Castle . After the Reformation , the bishop's castle was initially the seat of the bailiff. After the Schwabstedt office was dissolved in the 17th century, the place sank into insignificance. The castle was demolished and the church fell into disrepair. Renovations have been handed down from the years 1651, 1752 and 1862 (see the wall anchor in the gable).

In 1889 the church was radically redesigned: the west gable and roof turret were added. The previous south and north portals were replaced by the western main portal. The roof structure was redesigned and the wooden ceiling in the nave and choir was raised.

Furnishing

The carved altar is the most important work of art left in the church. The altarpiece with a height of 2.81 m and a width of the central shrine of 2.05 m was made for the new choir of the Marienkirche in Husum , which was completed in 1510 . Southern German models have been suggested for the lively style and expressive figures, but an emergence in northern Germany, perhaps Lüneburg, around 1515. A figure-rich calvary in the central shrine is accompanied by four scenes from the passion story ; in the wings there are 12 relief figures of the apostles. On the outside of the wing (not always accessible) full figures of the blessing Christ and John the Baptist , painted in 1604 by Marten vanhaben after copper engravings by Hendrik Goltzius and Jan Sadeler . After the Husum church was demolished in 1807, the retable was sold to Schwabstedt in 1834. Theodor Storm describes the expressive depiction of the crucifixion in a supposedly autobiographical passage from his novella Aquis submersus .

The wooden baptism with a richly carved, lantern-shaped lid, around 1605, comes from the workshop of Hans Peper in Rendsburg. The pulpit from 1606, with biblical scenes and fittings ornamentation typical of the time, from the same workshop is also a foundation of the Danish prince and administrator of the diocese of Schleswig Ulrich of Denmark .

The organ from 1615 is also a gift from Ulrich of Denmark. It was built by Johann Lorenzen, Flensburg. It contains reused parts of a previous instrument from around 1530–1550 before the pipes. The sawed-out side slopes reveal mirror monograms “JK” and “MDK” as well as “1736” and “renov.” As an indication of a renovation. The organ virtuoso Nicolaus Bruhns , who was born in Schwabstedt and whose father was the church organist, played this organ . In 1888 the factory was renewed. Four fields of the adjoining parapet are painted with personifications of the music and show the muses Calliope (epic and string playing), Euterpe (lyric and flute playing), Erato (song and dance) and Polyhymnia ( hymns ).

There is also a wooden triumphal cross from 1500 in the church. Twelve paintings come from a shrine-like epitaph , also from the Marienkirche in Husum, from around 1617. They show scenes from the passion story on the inside, after engravings by Hendrik Goltzius (1598), outside the 12 apostles. The brass chandelier was donated in 1649.

  • Altarpiece around 1515

  • Reredos. Detail from the crucifixion

  • Pulpit from 1606

  • Baptismal font, around 1605

Outdoor area

You enter the cemetery through a brick wall portal with the year 1615.

To the north of the church rises a timbered bell tower on what is presumed to be a burial mound. Its inscription dates back to 1777, but there is evidence that it had older predecessors.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ W.Johnsen: The proclamation of the group Schwabstedter alabaster altar . In: Die Heimat 45 (1935), pp. 115–121
  2. ↑ Theodor Storm: Aquis submersus ( 1st chapter online ).
  3. ↑ Church guide (pdf, accessed on August 5, 2019)

literature

  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein. Munich 1994, pp. 618-619.
  • Heinrich Brauer u. a .: The art monuments of the Husum district. Berlin 1939, pp. 236–245 (with ill.)

Web links

Commons : St. Jacobi (Schwabstedt)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 54 ° 23 '40.4 "  N , 9 ° 11' 18.8"  E