St. Martin (Mihla)
The Evangelical Church of St. Martin in Mihla is a Baroque church ( nave ) with a Romanesque church tower in West Thuringia .
history
Previous church buildings at this point
Franconian missionaries probably reached the Werra as early as the 8th century .
Since Mihla was mentioned in documents as early as 780 and 802 (deed of donation from the Fulda monastery ) and since it is a St. Martin's church ( St. Martin was the preferred saint of the Franconian missionaries), the first Mihla church can be traced back to the 8 Close century. This first church building was probably made of wood, as stone construction was only used in this region from the 11th century.
In the course of the 12th century - due to the growing importance of the Mihla church location - the second church was built. The west tower with its Romanesque arched windows and the carved altar have been preserved from this second church building. In the 1930s, the foundations of the earlier nave were found.
In the course of the Reformation in 1523, the then Mihla pastor converted to the Protestant faith . During the Thirty Years War there were repeated looting in Mihla, which also severely affected the church.
History of the Church in its present form
At the beginning of the 18th century, planning began for a new church. In March 1711 Pastor Malsch requested the demolition of the old church and a new building. After its approval in April of the same year, the old church was torn down and on April 23, 1711 the foundation stone was laid for the new building, the main components of which were completed in 1711. Main Lettenkohlen sandstone from the Steinbruvch in Lauterbach was used to build the walls .
A new organ was installed in 1715/1716 and the sermon pulpit was completed around 1720 . The construction was completed with the painting / final coloring in 1751/1752.
The interior furnishings and design after the new building were preserved in this form for a long time. In 1873, master organ builder Guido Knauf from Tabarz widened the baroque prospectus for a new organ . This has two manuals , pedals and 21 stops .
During the First World War , two bells were melted down, as were the new bells, consecrated in 1933, during the Second World War. Only the bell from 1516 was spared. In 1956 two new bells were added. Since the church tower clock was reinstalled in 1998, the small hour bell has been striking again.
The complete restoration took place from 2008 to 2010 . In 2011, work on the barrel ceiling was completed.
Separate bell house
In the years after the church was rebuilt, it was found that the tower tilted further and further. It was decided to hang the bells in a separate bell house, which was built on the market in 1781. In 1825 the current bell house was built on the former dead field .
Works of art in St. Martin's Church
Mihlaer carved altar
The carved altar was probably made around 1490 in Erfurt . The artist of the altar is unknown. The altar depicts the Passion story in 13 scenes . The central shrine is 202 × 114 cm in size, so that when opened it results in a display area of over 4 m².
Gothic cupboard niche and the crucifix
The "Gothic cupboard niche" is the oldest sculpture in the Mihla Church. The illustration shows the risen Christ in the midst of Mary and John. Based on an inscription in the lower area, it was made between 1420 and 1436. In the lower tower room of the west tower there is a life-size crucifix depicting Jesus Christ as a suffering person. Nothing more is known about the history of its origins. It probably came to Mihla in the period after the Reformation.
Crown of death
At the instigation of his grandmother, the death's crown resting on a pillow was placed in the church in memory of Ludwig Karl Adolph von Harstall . He had died three weeks and two days at the age of nine months.
Romanesque arcades in the church tower
In the west tower there is a row of arcades in the Romanesque style on the first floor in the direction of the nave . Four Romanesque columns with capitals originally open the west tower to the nave (the predecessor of today's nave). At that time, the tower served as an oratory and, as a place of prayer, was usually not open to the public, but reserved for clergy and local authorities.
The arcades were probably closed when the new building was built in 1711 and were forgotten. As part of restoration work, they were exposed and restored.
Church with tower and bell house
Interior view of the nave
Overall view of the Passion Altar
Mihlaer Bell House
Inside view of the bell house
Mihlaer bell house & side view of the nave
Romanesque arcades in the west tower of the church
Window in the west tower
literature
- Rainer Lämmerhirt : St. Martin Mihla / St. Nicolaus in Lauterbach - churches and their art treasures in Lautertal . Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza, 1999, ISBN 3-932554-81-7 , pp. 6-42.
- Rainer Lämmerhirt : History of Mihlas. The development of the place from the beginning to the end of the First World War . Heimat- und Verkehrsverein, Mihla 1992, ISBN 3-87022-180-1 .
- Parish Mihla: St. Martin Mihla - Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2012
Web links
- Evangelical Church District Eisenenach-Gerstungen - Mihla
- St. Martin Church Mihla on www.vg-mihla.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Geyer, R. et al. (no year): experience geology. Geological route through the nature park, p. 18.
Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 38.1 ″ N , 10 ° 20 ′ 1.1 ″ E