St. Stephan (Marktsteft)

The church in Marksteft

The parish church of St. Stephan is the Evangelical Lutheran place of worship in the town of Marktsteft in the Lower Franconian district of Kitzingen . The church is located in the middle of the Marktsteft fortified church on Herrnstrasse in the center of the village. It belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Dean's Office in Kitzingen .

history

The history of the church is closely linked to that of the village. The village of Marktsteft evolved from an estate . A church quickly established itself in the middle of the village. The landlords of the village were the Counts of Castell . They managed to build their own church in Marktsteft because the village was on the edge of the Würzburg diocese and the influence of the prince-bishop was therefore weak. The counts ensured the preservation of the church and appointed the clergy. The church patronage of the Counts of Castell did not expire until June 10, 1969.

The counts tried to expand their influence and elevated the church to a parish church around 1337 . It was dedicated to St. Stephen , whose portrait is also included in the current coat of arms of the municipality of Marktsteft. The church was assigned to the archdeaconate Iphofen in the diocese of Würzburg. After the Margraves of Ansbach, who in the meantime had risen as the village lords of Marktsteft, introduced the Reformation in their territory, the Stephanus Church also became Protestant.

Marktsteft's coat of arms depicting the church patron Stephanus

The pastor Johann Heyn initially refused to preach the new teaching. Only under his successor Konrad Hartsfelder did the community finally become Protestant in 1534. Large parts of the village burned down in 1564, but the church was probably not affected by the fire. In 1571 the previous branch church , the Michaelskirche in nearby Michelfeld , was parished out of Marktsteft, although the pastor Rotenberger did not want the separation.

The Casteller Counts, whose influence in Marktsteft had waned after the 15th century, often argued with the Margraves of Ansbach during this time . Nevertheless, the new tower of St. Stephen's Church was erected in 1608. The nave and choir of the church were meanwhile in danger of collapsing and the community began collecting funds for the new building in 1623 . This process was unusual in the middle of the Thirty Years War , so the church must have been in very poor shape.

For the new building, wood was procured from the far-away Franconian Forest . The nave was built larger, the site of the church had to be re- petrified because the community had no right to the building site. Therefore, the nave was only expanded in width. The cemetery, which was originally around St. Stephen's Church, was moved to the outskirts as early as 1584. The consecration of the new church was made on September 19, 1625 (July) by the Uffenheim dean Andreas Francisci.

The church underwent further renovations in 1737, 1797 and 1868. In 1796, Pastor Knab began collecting for the renovation, which yielded 474 guilders and 48.5 kreuzers. In 1868 the community created an external entrance to the tower and new church windows. Wilhelm I , King of Prussia, Queen Augusta of Prussia and the Queen Mother of Bavaria took over the costs.

In 1894 the Stephanskirche came to the newly created Dean's Office in Kitzingen. Before that, the dean in Kleinlangheim was responsible for the church. Only between 1810 and 1815 was Marktsteft its own church inspection, a kind of deanery. In the 20th century, the church was extensively renovated between 1970 and 1973. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation classifies St. Stephen's Church as a monument .

architecture

The church is east and presents itself as a hall . In the east it ends with a polygonal choir , in the west there is the attached bell tower, the oldest element of the church. The tower ends with a pointed helmet, its storeys can also be recognized from the outside through cornices. A coffered ceiling was installed inside; the pointed choir arch separates the five-bay nave from the choir.

Furnishing

The furnishings of the church were redesigned in the so-called margrave style in the 18th century . The organ was placed above the altar and the baptismal font was positioned in front of the altar. It symbolizes the equality of word and sacrament . The furnishings were changed in the 19th century and only reconstructed in the 20th century.

altar

The altar is still placed in the church choir today. It was donated in 1737 by the Marktstefter businessman Johann Dietrich and the Büttner Johann Matthäus Full. In 1739 a depiction of the crucifixion by the painter Johann Christoph Pitsch came to the church. In the course of the renovation in the 19th century, the painting was removed in 1868 and replaced by a picture of Christ by the Nuremberg painter Weigand. In the 20th century the altar got the old sheet back.

The altar has four columns. The round columns end with Corinthian capitals. The framework above is cranked . The focus is the picture of Pitsch, which shows the crucified with the assistant figures Maria (left) and the evangelist Johannes (right). In 1868 five statuettes of the Evangelists and John the Baptist were placed on the entablature of the altar. Today they adorn the north side of the nave.

Pews

The seats in the church in Marktsteft were very popular. In order to prevent disputes, they were laid down by a church seat order from September 8, 1625. For the church stalls, church fees had to be paid on February 11th and July 28th. The height was based on the type and location of the square. In the nave there were initially twelve benches on the pulpit side and seven on the opposite side.

In 1678 there were 107 women in the nave and 44 men in the gallery . In 1708 the population of Marktsteft grew so much that a new gallery was built. This was repeated in 1737. There were preferred places with bars until 1868. Under Pastor Michahelles the bars disappeared , a specialty in the region, despite the great resistance of the population.

organ

There was an organ in St. Stephen's Church for the first time in 1622. Mayor Georg Kintzinger and his wife donated the instrument. The organ was dismantled during the Thirty Years' War and remained hidden until 1649. In 1651 the community improved the instrument. In the 18th century it was necessary to buy a new organ. For this purpose, the Marktstefter hired the organ builder Johann Konrad Brandenstein from Kitzingen , who erected the organ between 1705 and 1707.

However, the instrument was in a desolate condition as early as 1736. The community then commissioned the Würzburg instrument maker Johann Georg Otto, whose new organ was finished by 1738. The old instrument was brought to Reiterswiesen near Bad Kissingen , where it is still in the church. Renovations were carried out in 1765, 1799, 1849, 1878, 1888, 1913, 1933 and 1953.

Bells

The ringing of the Stephanuskirche consists of three bells . The Hosianna bell was cast in the pre-Reformation period, while the margrave bell probably dates from more recent times. The youngest bell to enter the church was the Kesselring bell, probably named after the family of Army and Air Force officer Albert Kesselring .

number	Surname	Keynote	Casting year	Remarks
1.	Margrave Bell	f '	1786	The bell broke in 1786 and had to be repaired. It was collected in 1942 as part of the metal donation of the German people and found again in a bell cemetery after the Second World War .
2.	Kettle bell	as'	1953	The previous bell was released in 1916. In 1916 the Hamm foundry from Regensburg created a new bell. In 1942 the bell was melted down again, and in 1953 the ringing was completed again.
3.	Hosianna bell	b '	unknown	Created as a baptismal bell in the pre-Reformation period and re-cast and reinforced in 1731 by the Würzburg caster Johann Adam Roth.

Further equipment

The church received the baptismal font through a foundation. Pastor Georg Merk brought the baptismal font here on March 22nd, 1626. In 1738 the artist Nikolaus Lender from the market was commissioned to coat the font with pewter. The Renaissance baptismal font, which stood in front of the altar until 1868, has a bulbous base decorated with acanthus . Then he was placed on the side. The baptismal font is flanked by four angel heads. A head bar contains inscriptions and the coat of arms of the donor. In addition, the stonemason mark of the master Erhard Schilling can be recognized.

The frescoes around the choir arch date from the 17th century . On the left is an angel with a hostage column, on the right an angel with a ladder to heaven. The pulpit was donated in 1737 . The galleries were originally two-story, the second floor was removed. In 1934 the galleries were decorated with pictures. The organ is on a gallery in the choir. A neo-Gothic chandelier illuminates the church. A 20th century painting by Russian artist Nikolaij Peremishlev shows the Chernobyl Passion .

Pastor (selection)

The choir of the church in Marktsteft

Surname	Term of office	Remarks
Johann Heyn	1527-1534	October 1527 Reformation introduced, still held a Catholic service, † around 1534
Konrad Hartsfelder	gen. 1534	also Hertsfelder
N. Rotenberger	gen. 1571
N. Amanth	gen. 1594
Georgius Parthacius	1601-1605
Johann Huebner	1608-1609	† 1609
N. Nagel	gen. 1611	† 1611
Jakob Liebler	1611-1615
Georg Merk	1615-1633
N. Egenthaler	1633-1675
N. Stunzel	gen. 1746
N. Obenberger	1792-1796
N. Knab	from 1796
N. Sucro	gen. 1850
N. Freyers	gen. 1860
N. Michahelles	gen. 1868
N. Krauss		also dean
N. Waiting		also dean
N. Krauss	1917-1929
N. Berger	gen. 1934
N. Reuter	1954-1958
N. Brüggemann	1958-1963
Walter Fries	gen. 1973

literature

• Hans Bauer: Blessed Land. Paths through the Evangelical Lutheran Dean's Office Kitzingen am Main . Kitzingen 2012.
• Hans Bauer: District of Kitzingen. An art and culture guide . Market wide 1993.
• Gerhard Grellmann: Renovation of the Marktsteft parish church 1970–1973 . In: Evang. Luth. Parish office Marktsteft (ed.): St. Stephan Marktsteft . Münsterschwarzach 1973. pp. 55-56.
• Fritz Mägerlein: St. Stephan Marktsteft . In: Evang. Luth. Parish office Marktsteft (ed.): St. Stephan Marktsteft . Münsterschwarzach 1973. pp. 7-44.
• Fritz Mägerlein: Timeline 1216–1970 . In: Evang. Luth. Parish office Marktsteft (ed.): St. Stephan Marktsteft . Münsterschwarzach 1973. pp. 46-54.

Web links

Commons : St. Stephan (Marktsteft)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: St. Stephan Marktsteft . P. 8.
2. ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: St. Stephan Marktsteft . P. 12.
3. ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: St. Stephan Marktsteft . P. 17 f.
4. ↑ See: Grellmann, Gerhard: Renovation of the Parish Church of Marksteft 1970–1973 .
5. ↑ ^{a b} Bauer, Hans: District of Kitzingen . P. 94.
6. ^ ^{A b c} Bauer, Hans: Gesegnetes Land . P. 112.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Mägerlein, Fritz: St. Stephan Marktsteft . P. 21.
8. ↑ See: Mägerlein, Fritz: St. Stephan Marktsteft .

Coordinates: 49 ° 41 ′ 47.7 "  N , 10 ° 8 ′ 7.6"  E