St. Nikolaus (Obermarsberg)
The St. Nicholas Church (also Nikolaikirche , Nikolaikapelle ) is a Roman Catholic church in Obermarsberg . It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas . It was first mentioned in 1247 and is now a listed building .
History of origin
The construction of the Nikolaikapelle is based on a document from the year 1229. In it the citizens of Horhusen (today Niedermarsberg ), who moved to the Eresburg in 1217 at the instigation of the elector and archbishop of Cologne , committed themselves to build a church for the prince-bishop of Paderborn . By moving, they withdrew from his rule, which is why they were subordinate to the Prince Abbot of Corvey from then on. There are only a few records of the construction phases, but the start of construction in 1229 seems certain. The completed church was first mentioned in September 1247. It was consecrated to Nicholas of Myra, who is especially venerated by merchants as a patron saint , which suggests that the citizens of both cities were not farmers, but craftsmen and merchants. The magistrate of Obermarsberg expressed the wish to raise the church to the rank of parish church , which the bishop did not pursue.
Exterior construction
The church is one of the best early Gothic sacred buildings in Westphalia.
The relatively unadorned west facade is particularly emphasized by the octagonal tower, five eighths of which protrude from the gable. Under the main cornice it has four small Gothic glare windows and a slender pointed arched window with tracery on both sides . The eight-sided tower spire with a lantern rises above the gables, with larger and smaller windows at the bottom and the tower clock . A narrow, windowless stair tower is built on the northwest corner. The portal of the west facade is very simple and does not serve as an entrance. It is framed by a blind gable and unadorned drapery.
The south portal is the most magnificent of the three portals. The columns and their capitals in the triple stepped reveal are ornately decorated with foliage and tendrils, as are the archivolts , which extend over the pointed arch . A flat clover-leaf arch is formed from the inner columns. The patron saint St. Nicholas is enthroned in this arched field. Above the portal and above the north portal there is a wheel window designed with six three-passes.
The low choir building stands out clearly from the nave through its late Romanesque wall design. Pilaster strips and blind arches structure the choir in the exterior. From the blind arches on the south side three larger-than-life heads emerge - on the left Charlemagne , in the middle Ludwig the Pious (as a child) and on the right Otto I - which are connected with local history. Like the nave, the choir is also covered by a gable roof.
St. Nicholas from the air
Entrance portal (south)
Side view
Choir
Gargoyles
Information board
inner space
The floor plan shows a three-aisled hall church with an almost square choir. The central nave consists of two bays, which are supported in the middle by round pillars with services . The aisles are formed from half the width of the central nave. The vault is a ribbed vault with keystones. The secondary choirs are located as niches in the wall. The west building is formed from a choir-like 5/8 end that rises into the octagonal tower of the west facade. At the northwest corner is a slender stair tower. The interior is 34 m long, 22 m wide and the ceiling is 15 m high.
There is a neo-Gothic altar in the rectangular choir . Its niches are crowned with eyelashes . The center is particularly accentuated by the towering pinnacles . A sandstone celebration altar was added to it during restorations in the 1960s.
In contrast to the other particularly beautiful Gothic windows, the windows in the altar area are quite plain, without any Gothic design elements. The stained glass from 1890 is outstanding here . The legend of the conversion and baptism of the Saxon Duke Widukind is depicted . In the upper part of the rosette there is the baby Jesus with angels, at the foot the saints Bonifatius , Liborius , Nikolaus and Sturmius .
There is also a stone Pietà in the Nikolaikapelle . It was probably made in Giershagen in the Papen workshop in the early 18th century . A double wooden Madonna in a rosary hangs from the vault of the second yoke under a six-sided canopy. The statue of St. Christopher donated the treasurer Christoph Köchling in 1744. The cross above the north portal dates from the 17th century. An oil painting (above the south portal) depicts the flagellation of Christ from the same period . The degraded several years ago Organ ( remote organ ) was of the expatriate Henry Heide been donated.
Pietà
Altar in the left aisle
Altar in the right aisle
Restorations
In 1800 the spire was destroyed by a hurricane and finally replaced by a low dome. The restoration planned by Friedrich Heinrich Kronenberg in 1850 was not carried out for cost reasons . In 1852 he could only carry out security measures. In 1877 the church was thoroughly renovated and the tower was given its current shape. There were further restorations in the 1960s. The building was drained, the roof and facade repaired, the windows improved. The colorful choir windows were restored, while the rest were renewed without changing their shape. In addition, the Pietà and the Double Madonna were restored.
literature
- Georg Dehio, Dorothea Kluge, Wilfried Hansmann: Westphalia . In: Handbook of German Art Monuments . tape 2 . Munich 1986.
- Heinrich Klüppel: Guide through the Nikolaikirche Obermarsberg . Marsberg 1978.
- Rolf Toman, Barbara Borngässer, Achim Bednorz (ed.): History of architecture . Parragon, Bath 2008, ISBN 978-1-4075-1763-6 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Dehio, Dorothea Kluge, Wilfried Hansmann: Westphalia . In: Handbook of German Art Monuments . tape 2 . Munich 1986.
- ^ A b Heinrich Klüppel: Guide through the Nikolaikirche Obermarsberg . Marsberg 1978.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 26 '58.9 " N , 8 ° 51' 4.5" E