St. Johannes Baptist (Rödgen)
The parish church of St. Johannes Baptist Rödgen is located in the political municipality of Wilnsdorf in the Obersdorf / Rödgen district. It has been demonstrable for the first time since March 4, 1328 and, as a double church and simultaneous church with two naves and an ecumenically used tower, represents a structural specialty.
history
The parish church of St. Johannes in Rödgen is first mentioned in documents in the 13th century; it is only documented from March 4, 1328. At that time the church stood on the grounds of the Lords of Wilnsdorf and it is believed that they were also the founders of the church, which was built on their land, away from a larger settlement, but in a location dominating the landscape.
Rödgen has only been an independent parish of the Siegerland since 1480 . In 1533, Count Wilhelm the Rich introduced the Reformation according to the Lutheran Confession in his territory . This was followed by the Count's order to merge the parishes of Rödgen and Wilnsdorf. 1579 and 1581 was by Count Johann VI. introduced to the elder the reformed teaching according to Calvin with the Palatinate church order and the Heidelberg catechism. With Count Johann VII the younger, who converted to Catholicism in 1612 , when he took office in 1624, the religious conditions in the County of Siegen changed, which were implemented in 1626 with an edict of restitution . The edict stipulated the renewal for a Catholic county of Siegen. It was not until 1651 that the Protestant and Catholic county families came to an agreement and regulated the church in the Siegerland.
The church in Rödgen became a simultaneous church, with the Protestant pastor of the double parish having his seat in Rödgen and the Catholic pastor in Wilnsdorf. In 1676 the counts communicated: “The high tower of the church in Rödgen is split from top to bottom into the foundation and has to be completely lifted away and completely new if you don't want to let it go to ruin without the church, which is also quite ruined be built. " It is not known whether these count's arrangement was implemented. It is only known that the tower was built in 1677. The old church was demolished in 1778 because it was dilapidated. Today's church was built at the same location from 1779 to 1782 and was initially used simultaneously. There were many disputes between the two denominations, in particular because of the design of the chancel in line with the Evangelical Reformed church building. This did not correspond to the Catholic understanding of liturgy. The county families decided that the Catholics might build their own church. Then a new church was built between 1787 and 1788 to the west of the tower. The tower standing in the middle between both parts of the church was used by both denominations. The masonry of the tower and the churches, with the exception of the expansion in 1938, was made from local rubble.
The Catholic Church
In 1788, the Catholic church was added to the west of the church tower, about 18 m long and 19 m wide. In 1938 a fourth window axis was added. The entrance is on the windowless west side; the sacristy is housed in an extension on the north side. The roof is hipped towards the west and has the same eaves height as the roof of the Protestant church and forms a uniform, cohesive shape on the outside.
The windows on the south front are also designed in the same way, but are a bit shorter because the church floor is higher than that of the Protestant church due to the terrain.
The interior of the Catholic Church is a simple, undivided space. In 1998 a thorough renovation took place. Instead of the previously flat wooden ceiling, many lights illuminate the church interior, which is painted in warm tones, from a drawn-down light ceiling.
The sanctuary was furnished according to the liturgical specifications of the Second Vatican Council , the altar area is offset by two steps from the rest of the nave. A free-standing crucifix is placed on the back wall of the chancel.
Sculptures, some of which come from the previous church, are attached to the inner side walls, supplemented by a total of twelve bronze Apostle chandeliers . On the back half there is a way of the cross with fifteen stations in bronze reliefs (the 15th station - the risen one with the Emmaus disciples - was deliberately placed on the door to make it clear that one comes into a room in which the Life is celebrated). The earlier sculptures and the modern design in bronze - created by the artist Josef Welling - with the free-standing crucifix and tabernacle represent a valuable addition to the simple church. In 2004 the tabernacle was further decorated. It represents the gorse bush, the toasted bread and the jug with water from the 1st book of kings, chapter 19 (Elijah at Horeb).
The grille in the entrance area and the organ were also included in the renovation.
The Protestant Parish Church of St. John
The Protestant church is around 23 m long and 13 m wide. The building has a 3/6 choir closure. In the facade, the slim, high windows with round arches, three of which are on the choir sides, give it a distinctive shape. The window on the east side is coupled with a double-leaf rear entrance door, which is fitted with wrought iron fittings.
The interior of the church is structured by the window reveals that extend down to the floor. A flat ceiling emphasizes the sobriety of the liturgical space, which, however, only gets its formative shape through the opaque wooden fixtures. The 3/6 end of the room is separated from the rest of the ship by a three-storey wooden wall. The altar (sacrament table) stands in front of this wall in the central axis.
On the first floor there is a bay-like pulpit with a canopy , which is entered from the separate choir area. To the right and left of the pulpit area are the box openings on the first and second floors, the presbyters (church leaders) in the lower area and the first floor for the pastor's family. The second storey accommodates the organ stage. On this level, the parapet design that runs across the entire width of the nave ties the entire prospect together again. Corresponding to the choir prospect, a three-sided gallery with rising rows of seats has been built into the church, which is supported by four slender wooden pillars. The gallery can be reached through the approaching stairs on both sides of the central axis of the tower entrance door. These stairs were installed around 1964 instead of the rotten platform stairs. The benches were also renewed around 10 years later based on the original shape. The original shape of the benches has been preserved in the rows of benches flanking the chancel on the right and left, as well as in the galleries.
The Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Münster has determined that, from its point of view, the wooden fittings in the Protestant church are to be classified as late Baroque , especially since inscriptions from 1858 were discovered. The organ was also repaired in 1858. After the church was rebuilt, the organ was reinstalled in 1782. The fully pneumatic Röver organ in the church today was installed in 1899 and is fully functional. In 1958 the formerly romantically tuned organ was reworked in the classic sense. In 1999 the Röver organ was revised in such a way that it corresponds again to its original concept. The organ is unique among the organs in Westphalia .
The steeple
It was found that the centrally arranged church tower stands on Romanesque foundations. However, it can be assumed with certainty that major renovations were carried out on the tower in either 1676 or 1779 to 1782. However, it is not known whether the decree of the princely government of 1676 cited at the beginning was implemented.
In the tower there is a cast iron memorial plaque with a Latin text from 1765 that refers to the iron casting art of the Siegerland at that time. Above the outer church door there is a sandstone relief by Wolfgang Kreutter from 1953 with the scene of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
Via the simple ground floor area, which serves as an anteroom or vestibule, you enter the Protestant church through a narrow, single-winged arched doorway on the south side. The windowless room on the first floor of the tower is used by the Catholic parish. It can be reached via the sacristy of the Catholic Church, but also has a connection to the Protestant nave. From this floor you can reach the bell chamber, which is approx. 11 m above the base of the tower.
The bell storey in the church tower forms a square with a side length of approx. 4.7 m with a wall thickness of 1.15 m.
The tower has arched sound openings on all sides with a height of 1.80 m and a width of 0.70 m with a round arch. These sound openings are, however, closed on the east and west side of the tower, as they are overlapped by the roof ridges of the churches, which are younger due to the construction date. A slender spire with a spherical cross and cock forms the end of the tower.
There are three bells hanging in the tower of St. John the Baptist, two of them from the 20th century, and the Bell of Mary from 1512.
| No. |
Surname |
Casting year |
Caster |
Mass (kg) |
Diameter (mm) |
Height (mm) |
Chime |
ornament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (without name) | 1959 | Rincker, Sinn | 723 | 1083 | 1050 | f sharp 1 | Verse by Wilhelm Schmidt, Obersdorf; in neo-Gothic minuscule rhyme : “My call resounds far down into the country From my height called Rödgen. My call should preach the eternal God, My call should remind of one thing that is needed ! " |
| 2 | St. Martinus | 1924 | Junker und Edelmann company, Brilon | 500 | 928 | 720 | a 1 | Saint Martin as bishop. |
| 3 | Marienbell | 1512 | Rhenish | 300 | 786 | 662 | c sharp 2 | Inscription: "Maria I heischen de power and violence of dwvels verdriv I ann dni mvcxii (1512)" Ornament: Among other round plaque with Perlrahmen and unknown female figure Saints (r) ?, left shell therefore probably Jacobus Maior |
Similar church buildings
The double church in Althaldensleben (Saxony-Anhalt), which has been in use since 1830, has a very similar architecture with a tower in the middle and two naves on the left and right. Interestingly, both Catholic parishes have the patronage of St. John the Baptist. Despite the great distance, both churches are in the ecclesiastical province of Paderborn (St. Johannes Baptist Rödgen directly in the Archdiocese of Paderborn , St. Johannes Baptist Althaldensleben in the suffragan diocese of Magdeburg ).
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 20 ″ N , 8 ° 4 ′ 9 ″ E