St. Nikolai (Wettin)
St. Nikolai is a listed church in the village of Wettin in the municipality of Wettin-Löbejün in Saxony-Anhalt . The patron saint of the church on Nikolai-Kirchplatz is Nikolaus von Myra . In the local register of monuments it is recorded as a monument under registration number 094 55419 .
history
The beginnings of the church go back to the 12th century. In the course of time the church underwent a number of structural changes. At the end of the 13th century, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style that still characterizes the church building today. In 1290 the church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Magdeburg , Erich, in honor of the Holy Cross . St. Nicholas of Myra was chosen as namesake and patron saint .
Between 1500 and 1615 the church was completely rebuilt and enlarged. The presbytery was raised and equipped with large late-Gothic windows, a new tabernacle and wall paintings. In 1589 a further floor with a Renaissance stepped gable was added to the Romanesque church tower . The onion dome of the church tower dates from the early 17th century.
Of the baroque interior, which was made possible by donations from the citizens over the next few decades, little is left in situ , but largely fell victim to renovations that had become necessary due to the increasing decline of the church. In 1902 the altar, choir galleries and gallery entrances were removed. The decay of the church was accelerated by sponge infestation , from 1958 the church could no longer be used. From 1990, the tower, roofs and masonry were thoroughly renovated. In 1999 a support association was founded, which endeavors to preserve and use the church for various events.
A new vestibule was built on the tower side in 2006, above which a gallery was built in 2011 to accommodate the organ.
architecture
The simple hall church is divided by three Gothic windows, the tracery of which is still preserved. The elongated presbytery has a straight end, in which three Gothic lancet windows and an additional window on each side open. The building, made of unplastered field stones , is covered with slate roofs. The church tower is essentially still Romanesque , while the nave and choir are Gothic .
Interior
The hall and presbytery have flat ceilings, the walls are smoothly plastered and are not structured except by windows.
Baptismal font and baptismal angel
A baptismal angel made of filigree, translucent metal mesh is installed above the historic baptismal font of the church . The figure emerged from a competition organized by the Sachsen-Anhalt Cultural Foundation . The “baptismal angel” refers to a tradition that had developed in Lutheran churches from northern Germany to Upper Franconia in the second half of the 17th century , which was not undisputed in church circles and which went out of fashion in the mid-19th century.
Celestial body , the baptismal angel of the artist Thomas Leu, is 150 × 1120 × 80 cm in size, consists of very fine-meshed aluminum fabric, which gives it an airy, almost disembodied appearance. It reacts to the finest air movements and changing lighting conditions. Due to the strong transparency of the sculpture, the individual contours - body, wings, head - can hardly be grasped and depending on the effect of the light, the angel seems to merge with the room.
The organ
The organ of the Nikolaikirche has an eventful history. In the second half of the 19th century it was commissioned by a parish in Bremen. In 1939 it was overhauled, expanded and equipped with a new gaming table by the Steinmayer company . In 1942 it was badly damaged in an air raid. It was not until the mid-1960s that the organ was restored by Orgelbau Kreienbrink and installed in 1966 in the church of St. Ludgerus in Ennigerloh , which was profaned in 2013. In 2013 it was built by the Paul Organ Builder in the Nikolaikirche.
The organ has three manuals and 11,645 pipes.
Monuments and plaques
On the outside of the south wall of the choir is the war memorial for the fallen soldiers of the First World War . It is a memorial plaque in the form of an unfolded altar . The inscription in the middle part reads The faithful dead from Wettin 1914 1918 . On the five panels to the left of the center are the names of the fallen from 1914 to 1916, on the right those from 1917 and 1918. The three outer panels on the right are badly weathered and hardly legible. For the fallen of the Second World War , the inscription The fallen of the Second World War and the civilian victims of the post-war period was subsequently incorporated into the memorial plaques .
On the outer wall of the tower is a bilingual memorial plaque for Johann Ernst Glück , born in Wettin and former pastor in Livonia and Moscow, who first translated the Bible into Latvian ( NT 1685, AT 1689).
literature
- Gustav Schönermark (Hrsg.): The art monuments of the city of Halle and the Saalkreis. Art monument inventories of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Vol. 7, new edition Halle 1996/1997.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Short question and answer Olaf Meister (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Prof. Dr. Claudia Dalbert (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Ministry of Culture March 19, 2015 Printed matter 6/3905 (KA 6/8670) List of monuments Saxony-Anhalt
- ^ Nikolaikirche Wettin, keyword history , accessed on February 8, 2018.
- ↑ St. Nikolai (Wettin) , Saalekreis im Bild, accessed on February 8, 2018
- ↑ A new baptism angel for Wettin ( memento of the original from February 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on February 11, 2018.
- ↑ Bettina Seyderhelm (Ed.): Baptism angel in Central Germany - Winged baptismal devices between Salzwedel and Suhl. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner 2009. ISBN 978-3-7954-2292-9
- ↑ Figuration - Celestial Bodies , accessed on February 11, 2018.
- ^ Church flyer St. Nikolai. Edited by the Nikolai Church in Wettin. Wettin-Löbejun [around 2013]
- ^ First World War (Wettin) , Saalekreis im Bild, accessed on February 8, 2018
Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 9.8 " N , 11 ° 48 ′ 20.4" E