St. Nazarius (Ober-Roden)
The Catholic parish church of St. Nazarius Ober-Roden is a neo-Gothic church building in Rödermark - Ober-Roden , which belongs to the Rodgau deanery in the diocese of Mainz . The church is under the patronage of St. Nazarius and St. Johannes Nepomuk . With its 52.7 meter high tower, the church, also known as Rodgaudom, shapes the silhouette of Ober-Roden.
history
Rotaha Monastery
With the Christianization of the Franconian Empire , Christianity also came to Ober-Roden. As can be seen from a deed of donation from Abbess Aba, who came from the Carolingian aristocracy, to the Lorsch monastery from the year 786, a Benedictine monastery called Rotaha was supposed to have stood in the district of Roden near Niwenhof, an early medieval castle, above the Rodau river .
Archaeological excavations between 1985 and 1991 suggest that this monastery could have stood on the site of the church hill in Ober-Roden, where the parish church of St. Nazarius is today. The patronage of St. Nazarius, the patron saint of Lorsch Monastery, supports this hypothesis. In addition to traces that prove the existence of church buildings there, in the course of the excavations it was also possible to find settlement findings that indicate a settlement of the church hill since the 6th century.
The archaeological excavations between 1985 and 1991 proved the existence of a small single-nave wooden building on the church hill. The floor plan of the building suggests that it was probably a church building, oriented from east ( choir room ) to west. Consequently, it can be assumed that this building was the oldest church in Ober-Roden.
Also in the course of the excavations, the ground plan of a stone building could be detected, which wraps around the ground plan of the older wooden church like a coat. Therefore, it is believed that the wooden church was replaced by a stone church towards the end of the 8th century in Carolingian times . It was also single-aisled, facing east, and had three different altars . The existence of additions to this stone church as well as a uniquely patterned tile flooring could also be proven; they support the assumption that said stone church was the house of worship of the Rotaha monastery. Around the end of the 13th century, Rotaha Monastery fell into decline.
The time after the decline of Rotaha Monastery
As can be seen from a document from 1303, a church was already being built in Ober-Roden at that time. Based on the archaeological findings, it can be assumed that this is the stone church already mentioned, which presumably functioned as the monastery church of the Rotaha monastery. In the 14th century, a new Gothic multi-corner choir was added to the existing stone church. A tombstone from 1393 reveals the pastor of that church, Johannes Schank, as the builder of the choir. In 1518 a north aisle was added. For this purpose, the northern outer wall was pierced in several places.
The right of patronage (right to occupy the pastor's position) initially belonged to the Lords of Hagen-Münzberg, but in 1256 it was transferred to the Counts of Hanau . Even when Ober-Roden fell under the rule of Kurmainz in 1425 , the Hanau counts retained their patronage rights until 1578.
At the time of the Reformation , the situation in the parish of Ober-Roden was at times unclear, as the place was politically subordinate to Kurmainz, but the gentlemen of Hanau exercised the patronage rights. The Augsburg Imperial and Religious Peace , passed in 1555, allowed the sovereigns to freely decide on the beliefs of the population within their territories using the formula "cuius regio, eius religio" (whose country, whose religion). Conflicts arose because the Lords of Hanau had converted to the Lutheran faith and wanted to fill the pastoral position in accordance with the new teaching, while the Elector of Mainz clung to the Catholic faith. In 1578 an agreement was finally reached: Mainz was allowed to occupy the pastoral position (ius praesentandi), while Hanau was given a certain say in the occupation (ius conferendi).
In the Thirty Years' War , the stone church Ober-Roden was sacked and pillaged . However, large parts of the masonry withstood the flames and the weather, so that the Ober-Rodens church was rebuilt immediately after the end of the war using the foundation funds from the Ober-Roden donation and was finally inaugurated in 1660.
As early as the middle of the 18th century, efforts were made to expand the church in view of the growing local population and to remedy the structural defects that had arisen over the years in the course of renovation. The collapse of the gallery at the end of the 18th century also testified to the dilapidation of the church . An inspection of the church by a building commission in 1829 quickly showed, however, that the church building was in such a bad condition that the existing problems could not be solved by adding an extension alone. So the church was initially only poorly repaired, an expansion was not possible due to lack of financial means.
The Catholic parish church of St. Nazarius (today's form, built 1894-1896)
Although the old church was declared dilapidated in 1829, it was not until 1894 - 1896 under Pastor Dockendorff that the parish church of St. Nazarius was rebuilt in its current form in the neo-Gothic style.
Pastor Dockendorff broke ground on October 9, 1894, and the tower of the old church was demolished just one day later. The last service in the old stone church was held on May 1st, 1895, the foundation stone of the new church finally followed a few days later on May 5th, 1895. The construction was led by the Frankfurt architect Josef Röder, who at the same time also built the stylistically similar one cath. Parish church of St. Matthias in Nieder-Roden . For the construction of the huge building, farmers even fetched stones with their carriages from the Spessart . In contrast to its predecessors, the axis of the new church runs from west (tower) to east (choir) parallel to Heitkämperstraße, from south (tower) to north (choir) parallel to Frankfurter Straße.
On October 4th, 1896, the neo-Gothic church was built on St. Nazarius and St. Consecrated to Johannes Nepomuk. The building was popularly nicknamed "Dom des Rodgaues " because of its enormous and magnificent dimensions for a village community at that time .
With the exception of broken windows on the west side of the church, the two world wars had left no significant damage, but extensive renovation was necessary due to the deterioration of the roof and tower caused by the weather.
A partial renovation of the interior (choir and side altars) took place in 1953/1954, which was carried out in line with the reconstruction phase after the end of the Second World War and little consideration was given to the preservation of old structures. Gothic elements were replaced, the new elements were characterized by factual forms and simplicity. A second, thorough renovation followed in the years 1956 - 1958, as a result of which the colorful tiled roof of the church was torn down and replaced by a dark gray artificial slate roof. All dormers were removed, and the roof spire of the baptistery was also removed. The red sandstone of the church was emphasized, the pulpit was removed, the side altars were renewed and lighter windows were inserted on the west side. After that, nothing was left of the neo-Gothic color scheme.
Another extensive renovation work inside the church as well as on its outer facade took place between 1986 and 1991. These renovations also enabled archaeological excavations to take place on the church hill during this period, which dealt with the previous buildings of today's parish church.
The aim of the exterior renovation was above all to restore the neo-Gothic building fabric or its old concept. The focus was on removing the main damage to the building; certain elements that are important for the neo-Gothic appearance, such as the colorful tiled roof, were deliberately omitted. Above all, damage to the sandstone had to be removed. The dormers were also put back on, the baptistery was again given a roof helmet and the weathercock on the top of the tower was replaced. In addition, the exterior renovations were combined with an enlargement of the sacristy through the addition of the sacristy , which was completed in 1988.
The interior renovation, like the exterior renovation, aimed to restore the original, neo-Gothic elements. A neo-Gothic high altar from Mainz - Gonsenheim was set up in the choir of the parish church, the neo-Gothic side parts of the benches were retained, and the organ gallery was restored. The baptistery, which was bricked up to form the main nave in the 1950s, was made accessible as a day church. This was achieved by tearing the wall to the main nave, building a sandstone and glass closure to the main nave and redesigning the interior. The altar and the ambes were also fundamentally adapted and redesigned to reflect the neo-Gothic style. The windows on the west side of the church, which were destroyed during the Second World War, have been restored in the original neo-Gothic motifs. Walls were repainted and new tiles, the color of which took up the color of the historical tiles, were laid.
Building description
In terms of design and conception, the building shows strong similarities to the Catholic parish churches St. Matthias (Nieder-Roden) and St. Pankratius (Offenbach-Bürgel) , which were also built according to plans by the architect Josef Röder in the neo-Gothic style.
The Catholic parish church of St. Nazarius Ober-Roden has a basilica-like floor plan. It measures 38.00 m in length and is divided into six separate bays by five sandstone pillars. Its width is 18.60 m with the side aisles and 23.00 m in the transept. The tall ship has a height of 14.00 m. Its tower with a base area of 6 m × 6 m is 52.70 m high.
Furnishing
The room of the church
The parish church of St. Nazarius has three naves. The central aisle leads directly to the choir, in the middle of which is the altar, which is reminiscent of a table due to its wooden top. The front of the altar bears the inscription carved into the sandstone: “God's house is here and the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). The altar is lined by two ambes, which consist of a sandstone base on which a wooden plate is attached.
The high altar
The neo-Gothic high altar on the back wall of the chancel originally comes from the neo-Gothic St. Stephen's Church in Mainz-Gonsenheim. Due to its resemblance to the former high altar of the parish church of St. Nazarius, it was selected to redesign the interior during the renovation work between 1985 and 1991.
The center of the high altar is the cross, although the actual center is the suspension throne below the cross. The cross is lined with St. Nazarius (patron saint of the church) on the right and from St. Johannes Nepomuk (patron saint of Ober-Rodens) on the left. To the right of the suspension throne the birth of Jesus Christ is depicted, to the left of it the celebration of the Last Supper . At the height of the suspension throne, figures of St. Mary and St. Johannes remove the high altar to one side.
The high altar is lined on both sides by two relief panels . They come from the old high altar of the parish church of St. Nazarius, which was removed in the 1950s. The left of the two represents the wedding at Cana , the right the Last Supper.
The windows in the choir room
The three windows in the choir room all date from the 20th century.
The left of the three windows shows events of the Old Testament sorted chronologically from top to bottom: the creation story (creation of man and woman, fall , expulsion from paradise ), Abel's sacrifice for God, Noah's sacrifice after the flood for God, the Sacrifice of his only son Isaac through Abraham for God, the sacrifice of Melchizedech for God, Moses with the ten commandments .
The right of the three windows shows the events of the New Testament, also sorted chronologically from top to bottom: the Annunciation , the Visitation of the Virgin Mary , the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the wedding in Cana, the crucifixion of Jesus , the resurrection of Jesus , the Ascension of Christ , the event of Pentecost .
The middle window, which is covered by the high altar, shows the return of Christ on Judgment Day.
The side altars
The Joseph altar is located in the right side choir. The builder of today's church, Pastor Dockendorff, is also buried in this side choir. The octagonal baptismal font is also located here . The St. Mary's altar is located in the left side choir.
The statues of saints
The entrances to the side choirs are flanked by figures of saints. On the left are the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul , on the right a figure of St. Martin .
In the transept, too, four figures of saints can be found on both sides of the window on the right and left: next to the west-facing window, a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a Sacred Heart of Mary, next to the east-facing window, figures of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Aloisius' by Gonzaga .
The Way of the Cross
The 14 similar pictures on the walls of the left and right aisles show the 14 stations of the cross . These are old Alsatian ceramics.
The windows of the aisles
The seven windows of the same design in the side aisles together form a “cycle of Mary”. They show the life of St. Mary in seven different motifs, the so-called Seven Joys of Mary: starting with the proclamation of the birth of Jesus through the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the stay of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the descent of the Holy Spirit, the ascension Mary to the coronation of Mary Queen of Heaven.
The organ
The organ of today's parish church of St. Nazarius with 24 registers and electric fan was built in 1906 by the Michael Körfer company from Sobernheim . It was heard for the first time on December 16, 1906. The original organ pipes were confiscated during the First World War and are no longer preserved.
In the course of the renovation work from 1986 to 1991, thought was given to repairing the organ, which was no longer functional at that time. However, in view of the high costs, the decision was made to install a digital organ. This digital organ made in the USA is the largest on the European continent.
The bells
During the First and Second World Wars, the bells of the Catholic parish church of St. Nazarius were confiscated for the purpose of metal extraction for war purposes in 1917 and 1940 (twice in total). In 1950, today's four bells were hung in the tower. It consists of the following bells:
| Bell jar | inscription |
|---|---|
| Biggest bell | "Christ yesterday and today and forever" |
| Big bell | "Mary help us all out of our deep need!" |
| Little bell | "St. Nazarius and St. Johannes Nepomuk, protect our community " |
| Smallest bell | "Dedicated to the builder of the church, Pastor Jakob Dockendorff" |
literature
- H. Appelt: Ober-Roden through the ages. Verlag Helmut Appelt, Ober-Roden, 1967.
- 100 years of St. Nazarius: Festschrift for the 100th anniversary of the parish church of St. Nazarius in Ober-Roden. Publisher Rita M. Schallmayer, Marxzell, Rödermark, 1996.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 58 ′ 42.7 " N , 8 ° 49 ′ 38.2" E