St. Laurentius (Thurnau)
The Evangelical Lutheran St. Laurentius Church in Thurnau is the parish church of the Upper Franconian market. It stands across from Thurnau Castle on the church square in the center of the village.
history
After the Christianization of the area was already completed in the 11th century, a church building in Thurnau was mentioned for the first time in the second half of the 12th century. Before that there was probably a chapel on the site of today's church. A pastor was mentioned for the first time around the year 1300, which shows that the place had a parish church at that time. This upgrading made it necessary to rebuild the church in the Gothic style , which the late Gothic tower still attests to. On February 2, 1546, Lutheran teaching was introduced in the village. The driving force was the patron saint Wolf Förtsch von Thurnau , who also appointed the first pastor.
In 1696, a pietist, the pastor and Magister Georg Christoph Brendel, took over the pastoral office. He took in the painter Johannes Adam Raab, who had fled from Erlangen , and granted him refuge in Thurnau. The new building of the church also goes back to Brendel. In 1701 the foundation stone was laid for a new nave . The inauguration was celebrated just one year later, although the final completion took until 1706. In 1767/1769 the Laurentiuskirche received an organ that went back to the organ builder family Wiegleb.
In the following centuries the church was renovated several times . In 1911 the building was renovated and the colored windows were also replaced. In 1965 and 1966 the church was restored again. In 1994, the roof structure was extensively renovated, followed by a further renovation of the building in 1997. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation classifies the church as a historical building under the number D-4-77-157-13.
architecture
The church presents itself as a hall building . It corresponds to a late Gothic choir tower church , which was renovated according to the Bayreuth margrave style. The choir tower is east and square. It has four storeys, which are divided by cornices on the outside. The tower on the first floor has a pointed arched window on each side. A slate pointed helmet completes the building at the top. It was installed in 1874 and has a tower pommel and a simple, golden cross at the top .
The nave is also almost square and is divided from three to three axes. Each side has a central portal, which is characterized by blown gables and Tuscan columns . There is a large window to the left and right of it. Oval ox eyes can be seen above the portals . On the west side, the wooden passage from the castle meets the church building. Inside, the choir occupies two tower floors. Cross vaults run through the choir, which merge into mirror vaults towards the nave.
Furnishing
The interior of the church with large galleries and an impressive rulership is strongly influenced by the village rule of the von Förtsch and von Giech families.
altar
The altar that dominates the east wall of the choir was built in 1703. It is attributed to Elias Räntz . A stone substructure leads over to the wooden structure. The six-columned altar has a pointed perspective that resembles a stage design. In doing so, it corresponds entirely to the baroque ideal that felt obliged to the idea of staging. The pillars have putti in their rectangular bases . The round column shaft is decorated with gold. On the foremost pillars, golden foliage rises on the edge of the pillars.
The central altar panel shows the rare motif of the teaching Christ and bears the golden inscription: “Joh: 6.v: 51. I am the living bread / come from heaven / whoever eats this bread / he will live for ever. ”A crucifix in front of it covers a small image in the predella . An actual altar excerpt is missing, two seated female figures lead over to a large coat of arms of the Künsberg zu Thurnau line .
Epitaphs
The church was also used as a burial place for the village lords, some stone epitaphs and tombstones have been preserved in the church. Two of these epitaphs are in the choir. To the left of the altar is the tomb of Wolf Förtsch zu Thurnau, who died in 1551. The plate was only created towards the end of the 16th century and shows the deceased in full armor. The helmet is at his feet. The deceased stands on a lion, a crucifix is at eye level. A relief with the resurrection of Christ is attached above.
On the right side of the altar you can see the stone epitaph with the life-size representation of Hans Georg von Giech († 1613) and his wife Barbara, who was born as Förtsch zu Thurnau and died in 1588. There is a crucifix between the couple, Hans Georg von Giech is standing on a lion . The epitaph is framed by two pilasters that lead to a cornice. Both elements have coats of arms, on the cornice is the inscription: "I AM THE AVFERSTE / HVNG VND THE LIFE WE / R TO ME GLAVBET DER / WILL LIVE IF HE GLE / I STVRBE IOHAN XI"
The coats of arms of both spouses are to be understood as a series of relatives. Among other things, one recognizes the coats of arms of the noble families Schaumberg , Giech, Gottsfeld , Bibra , Förtsch, Stein vom Altenstein, Vestenberg , Notthracht , Grumbach , Waldenfels , Künsberg, Wolfstein , Truchseß, Fuchs and Rotenhan . The place where the coat of arms is located determines the degree of relationship. All the coats of arms on the cornice belong to the closer, those on the pilasters to the more distant relationship. Above it is a relief of the resurrection.
Two other grave slabs on the north side of the nave, dedicated to members of the Künsberg family, are older than the epitaphs in the choir. Both are designed similarly and have the family coat of arms in the middle, which is surrounded by four other coats of arms . Both are surrounded by inscriptions, the larger epitaph bears another inscription below the Künsberg coat of arms.
Galleries and mansion box
The two-story galleries in the north and south of the nave are continued in the northeast to the choir arch . The organ is located in the choir on a horseshoe-shaped smaller gallery. The galleries, supported by simple round columns, have simple stucco and are accessible via small spiral stairs. The galleries built on the south side in 1760 offered the officials and pages of the village lords elevated places.
The so-called Herrschaftsloge in the west of the church is centrally located between the galleries and was heated by an Italian chimney, created in 1706 by Elias Räntz and richly carved . The golden decorations stand out particularly from the black rulership. The two floors offered space for the Barons von Künsberg and the Counts of Giech. The stand can be opened with a golden festoon . Above it at the level of the first gallery a Latin inscription praises the builder, Euchar Ferdinand Karl Freiherr von Künsberg. Above the window is the coat of arms of the Künsberg- Bothmer as an alliance coat of arms . A cornice allows the storey above to protrude slightly, thereby emphasizing the difference in class between barons and counts. The inscription on the upper stand is dedicated to Karl Gottfried II. Reichsgraf von Giech- Khevenhüller . His coat of arms is held by putti.
organ
The organ is located above the altar . An organ was installed for the first time in the years 1767–1769, the organ work of which came from Johann Friedrich Wiegleb. The three-part prospectus , which still exists, is said to have been built by Johann Gabriel Räntz, the son of Elias Räntz . In 1978 the Baumgartner company from Neudrossenfeld renewed the organ.
Frescoes
On the ceiling of the Laurentiuskirche there are stucco medallions , putti as well as flowers and tendrils by Bernardino Quadri and colored frescoes . In the choir, the frescoes of the four evangelist symbols are partially covered by the organ. A legend reads: "Gloria in excelsio deo" (Glory to God on high). Gabriel Schreyer created these pictures in 1703.
In the nave, next to the choir arch, the martyrdom of the church patron Laurentius can be seen with the inscription “In the beginning was the word”. On the south side of the nave, this passage from the Bible is continued with “And the word was with God”. There Christ is depicted between the seven candlesticks. On the fresco of Mary clad in the sun , the saying is completed with “And God was the word”.
The central picture in the nave is the Pentecost picture in the ceiling plan . In oval fields, which are arranged around the main picture, one sees the birth of Christ , the scene of the Mount of Olives , the resurrection and the ascension of Christ . These frescoes were also created by Gabriel Schreyer. Two years after the completion of these works, Johann Adam Raab added a few so-called gusset pictures in the four corners of the nave. They are arranged in pairs with banners that stem from the painter's pietistic worldview.
In the southeast you can see a garden on one picture, on the other a vase with the slogan “Life must be better / Alß a dead beautiful glow”. In the southwest, a boatman winds a mountain with a rope in a troubled sea. In the other picture, a sailor pushes himself off the cliff with a pole . The corresponding verse reads: "He pulls whoever wants to move him / He who pushes is against himself". A rainbow and three deer with the saying “The meaning makes you happy / The position makes it appropriate” are shown in the northwest corner. "Lack teaches worry / The most precious is hidden" is the verse on the pictures in the northeast corner. It shows towers with sundials without hands and a small pocket watch with a lid.
pulpit
The pulpit on the left side of the choir arch is accessed through the gallery on the north wall. The stucco pulpit was built in 1706 by the Italian Bernardino Quadri, who also made the stucco for the ceiling. At the entrance to the pulpit and the pulpit there are blind arcades with the kings Solomon and David and the Old Testament prophets Elias, Jeremias, Daniel and Ezekiel. Two more stucco figures carry the sound cover . It is about Moses with the tablets of the law and a figure with a cross staff and lamb, which is interpreted as John the Baptist or as an allegory of the church. In the sound cover a dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit . The edge of the lid is decorated with putti, an angel is enthroned on the sound cover, holding a book with the inscription “Off. Joh. 14.7 Fear God and give glory to him ”.
Pastor
The clergy who worked in the community have been almost completely known since the Reformation. In the 17th century the pastorate remained vacant for a few years. The pastors have also been the deans of the Thurnau dean's office since 1810.
| Surname | Term of office | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Ulrich Zündel | 1546-1576 | Appointment by Wolf Förtsch von Thurnau |
| Johannes Weidner | 1576-1579 | |
| Erhard Crudius | 1579–? | First church ordinance for Thurnau |
| Johann Kerfeld | ? | |
| Wolfgang Kruger | ? | |
| Johannes Hofmann | 1625-1635 | Kidnapping during the Thirty Years War |
| Johannes Trautschelius | 1638-1648 | |
| Georg Wolfgang Frobenius | 1649-1656 | |
| Kaspar Stumpf | 1656-1660 | |
| Johannes Rephunius | 1660-1668 | |
| unoccupied | 1668-1696 | |
| Georg Christoph Brendel | 1696-1722 | New building of the church |
| Wolfgang Adam Schmauß | 1722-1738 | |
| Gottfried Meisner | 1739-1750 | |
| Johannes David Kolbe | 1751-1779 | Editor of the Kolb catechism |
| Johannes Keyßler | 1781–? | new catechism |
| Philipp August Keyßler | 1815 | first dean |
| Friedrich Loew | ? -1830 | |
| Friedrich Heinrich Ranke | 1830-1840 | |
| Moritz Bischoff | 1861-1880 | |
| Gottlieb Tretzel | 1881-1897 | |
| Heinrich Adolf Karl Reich | 1897-1905 | |
| Johann Leonhardt Winter | 1905-1935 | |
| Alexander Haas | 1935-1945 | |
| August Ammon | 1945-1958 | Member of the regional synod |
| Georg Weidt | 1959-1976 | |
| Lothar Sauer | 1976-1988 | |
| Rudolf Kuhn | 1988– | |
| Hans Hager | 1998-2014 |
literature
- Gottfried Baumgärtner: History of the parish and parish Thurnau. Thurnau and Waldhier 1914.
- Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments. Bavaria I: Franconia. Berlin and Munich 1999.
- Evangelical Luth. Parish of Thurnau (Ed.): St. Laurentius Church Thurnau. Thurnau.
- Markt Thurnau (Ed.): Thurnau. 1239-1989. Bayreuth 1989.
- Uta von Pezold: A walk through the Church of St. Laurentius Thurnau. Thurnau.
- Marion Resch (Ed.): Evang.-Luth. Parish Church of St. Laurentius in Thurnau. Short report on the completion of the renovation in 1997. Bayreuth 1997.
- Lothar Sauer: The Evang. Luth. Main church St. Laurentius zu Thurnau. Thurnau 1978.
- Alfred Schelter: The Protestant church building of the 18th century in Franconia. Kulmbach 1981.
Individual evidence
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran. Parish of Thurnau (Ed.): St. Laurentius Church Thurnau . P. 30.
- ↑ Geodata: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Monument number D-4-77-157-13 ), accessed on October 27, 2013
- ^ Dehio, Georg: Handbook of German art monuments . P. 1022.
- ↑ Dr. Bernhard Peter: Church of St. Laurentius 1 , accessed on November 4, 2013
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran. Parish of Thurnau: St. Laurentius Church Thurnau . P. 29.
- ↑ Dr. Bernhard Peter: Church of St. Laurentius 4 , accessed on November 5, 2013
- ↑ a b Pezold, Ute von: A walk through the church of St. Laurentius Thurnau . P. 2.
- ↑ Cf.: Sauer, Lothar: Die Evang. Luth. Main church St. Laurentius zu Thurnau .
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran. Parish of Thurnau (Ed.): St. Laurentius Church Thurnau . Pp. 20-27.
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran. Parish of Thurnau: St. Laurentius Church Thurnau , p. 5: female figure who is supposed to symbolize the church. Cf .: Dehio's starting point in the art monuments is John the Baptist.
- ↑ Markt Thurnau (Ed.): Thurnau. P. 148 ff.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 1 ′ 29.4 ″ N , 11 ° 23 ′ 47.5 ″ E