St. Johannes (Wernsbach near Ansbach)

Church of St. Johannes in Wernsbach near Ansbach

St. Johannes is an Evangelical Lutheran church named after John the Baptist in Wernsbach near Ansbach ( Deanery Ansbach ).

Parish

There is evidence of a Lady Chapel in the village from 1168. In their place a church was built with the patronage of St. Martin and Nikolaus . It was originally a branch church of St. Jakob (Weihenzell) .

The patronage was probably exercised by the provost of the Gumbertuss pen . On March 14, 1503, St. John was raised to an independent parish. Brünst , Gödersklingen , Hanmansmühle , Kühndorf , Röshof , Schmalach , Schönbronn and Wernsbach belonged to the parish .

Since 1538 sermon services were held in St. Martin and Nikolaus according to the Protestant understanding. The principality of Ansbach held church sovereignty after the Reformation, the parish was assigned to the newly created deanery of Leutershausen .

After the turmoil of the Thirty Years War, St. Martin and Nikolaus had to be looked after by the parish of Mitteldachstetten . In 1659 St. Martin and Nikolaus became an independent parish again.

In 1734 the newly founded Schmalnbachshof came to the parish , which was re- parish to St. Jakob in the 19th century. At the end of the 18th century the church was dedicated to St. John the Baptist consecrated. The parish has been part of the Ansbach deanery since 1810. In 1829 all of Brünst is parish to St. Margaretha (Lehrberg) . The Rangauklinik in Strüth has been cared for by the parish since 1983 .

In 1843 the parish had 583 parishioners, at the beginning of the 1990s there were 500 parishioners, today (as of around 2017) there are 500 parishioners. Since 2013, the still legally independent parish of Wernsbach has belonged to the Weihenzell parish.

Church building

From the original fortified church , probably built in the 15th century, only the two lower tower floors, the north wall of the nave and the surrounding wall of the fortified cemetery have been preserved. Essentially, the nave was rebuilt in 1716/1717 in margrave style according to plans by the Eichstätter court architect Gabriel de Gabrieli . This has an arched window on the north side and three arched windows on the south side and the portal on the west side. It has a hipped mansard roof with three dormers on the south side. The choir tower has an arched window on the south side. On the first floor it has an ox-eye on the south side and a pointed arch window in a rectangular frame on the east side. In 1757/60, a bell storey with a smaller octagonal floor plan was added according to plans by the margravial court architect Johann David Steingruber . On the north, south, west and east side this has arched openings with dial. The tower ends with an octagonal pointed helmet with a weather vane. The sacristy and the Bahrhaus adjoin on the north side.

The single-nave hall has a barrel vault. A double gallery has been drawn in on the north and west sides. On the east side, the hall is connected to the choir by a high arched arcade. There is a baroque high altar from 1716/17. Above the cafeteria there is an altarpiece with Corinthian column architecture and acanthus carving as a side closure. The predella shows a bas-relief of the Last Supper. Between the columns there is a crucifix, on the left Mary and on the right the Apostle John. At the top it ends with a relief that shows God the Father with the Holy Spirit and angels. An organ gallery has been drawn in over the high altar. On the left in front of the altar is a baptismal wood from 1716/17 with an octagonal floor plan and chalice shape, on the right in front of the altar is the lectern. The wooden pulpit from 1716/17, made by master joiner Müller from Wernsbach, is located in the southeast corner of the hall. The basket and the sound cover have an octagonal floor plan. A painting of the Good Shepherd (19th century) is placed between the pulpit and the soundboard.

literature

• Günther P. Fehring : City and district of Ansbach (=  Bavarian art monuments . Volume 2 ). Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1958, DNB  451224701 , p. 152-153 .
• Manfred Jehle: Church conditions and religious institutions on the upper Altmühl, Rezat and Bibert: Monasteries, parishes and Jewish communities in the Altlandkreis Ansbach in the Middle Ages and in modern times (=  Middle Franconian Studies . Volume 20 ). Historical Association for Middle Franconia, Ansbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-87707-771-9 , p. 295-297 .
• Günther Roesner: Weihenzell. History and present of a Middle Franconian village . 2nd, revised edition. Ansbach 1999, p. 150 (first edition: 1985).
• Hans Sommer with e. Working group d. Dean's office (ed.): It happened in the name of faith: Protestant in the Ansbach deanery (=  series of portraits of Bavarian deanery districts ). Verlag der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Mission, Erlangen 1991, ISBN 3-87214-248-8 , p. 162-168 .

Web links

Commons : St. John  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Wernsbach on the website kirchengemeinden-weihenzell-wernsbach-forst.de
• Johanniskirche on the website wernsbach-evangelisch.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ So GP Fehring, p. 152. According to G. Roesner, p. 150, it was 1167.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} M. Jehle, p. 295.
3. ↑ G. Roesner, p. 82; M. Jehle, p. 295.
4. ↑ G. Roesner, p. 150.
5. ↑ M. Jehle, p. 296.
6. ↑ M. Jehle, p. 297.
7. ↑ ^{a b} H. Sommer (Ed.), P. 163.
8. ↑ Wernsbach on the website kirchengemeinden-weihenzell-wernsbach-forst.de

Coordinates: 49 ° 21 ′ 14 "  N , 10 ° 35 ′ 39.2"  E