St. Martin (Niederkirchen near Deidesheim)
 View from the southeast |
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| place | Niederkirchen near Deidesheim, Germany |
| diocese | Diocese of Speyer |
| Patronage | Martin of Tours |
| Building history | |
| architect | Lochner ( Ludwigshafen am Rhein ) (renewal of the nave 1955/56) |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Transept and crossing tower: Early Romanesque ; Choir: Gothic |
| Construction type | Choir tower church |
| 49 ° 24 '42.8 " N , 8 ° 12' 54.4" E | |
The Catholic Church of St. Martin in Niederkirchen near Deidesheim in the Palatinate is dedicated to St. Martin of Tours . The church is listed in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate as an individual monument and as one of the few surviving village churches from the 11th century in the Palatinate of particular art-historical importance.
location
The building is in the center of the village, its address is Hauptstraße 21.
history
The building probably had a predecessor from Carolingian times, which was built in a cemetery, but no remains of this have survived. The church was first mentioned in a document in 1235, but it was built earlier, presumably by craftsmen who came from a construction site of the Speyer Cathedral or the Limburg monastery church . At that time, Niederkirchen was the parish seat of Mark Deidesheim until it was moved to Deidesheim in the middle of the 15th century ; Around the same time, the construction of the Ulrichskirche began there. In 1750 Niederkirchen was raised again to an independent parish. During the Revolutionary Wars , the church suffered considerable damage in 1794 when it was looted by French troops. The new building of the nave in 1955/56 brought to light decorated Romanesque finds, which were examined in detail and then found their way to the Palatinate History Museum ( Speyer ). From 2006 to 2015, the Niederkirchen parish of St. Martin and the parish of St. Agidius in Meckenheim formed a parish community, and since January 1, 2016, Niederkirchen has belonged as a parish (parish) to the parish of St. Michael, based in Deidesheim.
Building stock
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The oldest parts of the church, the crossing tower and the transept , were built in the second half of the 11th century. In its original form, the "crossing" fulfilled the function of a choir , which is why the church can also be called a choir tower . Around the year 1300 in the east, instead of the Romanesque apse , the high Gothic choir was added and in the northern corner between the transverse building and the choir a sacristy .
The mighty crossing tower that dominates the place is made of small rubble stones that have disappeared under the plaster. The tower is three-story, its two lower floors have a recessed field with a wavy arched frieze on each side . The upper floor, the bell floor is, on each side with two twin sound windows provided. Above it is a crenellated structure that probably dates from the late Middle Ages and carries a hipped roof .
The interior of the tower room, the transverse rectangular crossing , forms the center of the church. Four arcades separate the crossing room from the adjoining rooms; these are alternately set with red and white sandstone blocks. In the south aisle there is a Romanesque portal with a richly decorated tympanum , which is now walled up , and a Romanesque arched window on the north transverse arm. On the eastern outer wall of the southern lateral arm is a war memorial for those who fell in the First World War .
The old single-nave nave was torn down in 1955/56 and replaced by a modern, three-aisled new building made of concrete.
Furnishing
Much of the furnishings in the Martinskirche come from the Pauluskirche in Worms . They were brought here at the beginning of the 19th century after the church with its baroque furnishings had been devastated by French revolutionary troops; these include the figures of Saint Wendelin and Saint Sebastian , Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd , a Saint Joseph and a Saint Barbara.
The figure of Saint Pantaleon , who is particularly venerated in Niederkirchen, on the other hand, comes from a later era, and the sculpture of Anna Selbdritt dates from around 1500, the baby Jesus she is carrying in her arms was added later.
meaning
The Martinskirche is the most important sacred building in the Deidesheim community . Due to its stylistic similarity to the nearby Limburg monastery church ( Bad Dürkheim ), as well as to the Speyer Cathedral , which is also not far away , and as one of the oldest surviving village churches from the 11th century in the Palatinate, it is of outstanding art-historical importance. Its monumental crossing tower is one of the oldest preserved in Germany.
Surname
The parcel “Am Martinsweg” east of Deidesheim (“Martenweg” / “Martinsweg” used to be the name of the connecting road between Deidesheim and Niederkirchen), the Martental (popularly incorrectly called Madental), as well as the Martenberg ( Kirchberg ) in the Palatinate Forest , where Niederkirchen - later together with Deidesheim - was able to demonstrate forest ownership since Franconian times.
literature
- Georg Peter Karn, Rolf Mertzenich: Bad Dürkheim district. City of Bad Dürkheim, municipality of Haßloch, municipalities of Deidesheim, Lambrecht, Wachenheim (= cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany . Volume 13.1 ). Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1995, ISBN 3-88462-119-X , p. 226-227 .
- Markus Weis: Art and architecture in Deidesheim . In: Kurt Andermann, Berthold Schnabel (Ed.): Deidesheim - Contributions to the history and culture of a city in the wine country . Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1995, ISBN 3-7995-0418-4 , p. 165-166 .
- Berthold Schnabel : Art historical guide through the Deidesheim association . Deidesheim 1976, p. 46-47 .
Web links
- St. Martin - Niederkirchen on pfarrei-deidesheim.de
Individual evidence
- ^ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - Bad Dürkheim district. Mainz 2020, p. 81 (PDF; 5.1 MB; see: Catholic parish church St. Martin Hauptstraße 21 ).
- ↑ Schnabel: Art Historical leader ... . P. 46
- ↑ Weis: art and architecture ... . Pp. 165, 166
- ↑ Karn, Mertzenich: cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate . P. 226
- ^ Arnold Siben : History of the Deidesheim city forest . Publishing house G. Braun, Karlsruhe i. B. 1948, p. 197-198 .