St. Viktor (Guntersblum, Protestant)

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The Guntersblum Evangelical Church from the south

The Church of St. Viktor in the Rhenish Hesse community of Guntersblum is a modern Protestant church with a long history. The building is now considered a cultural monument and is a protected cultural asset under the Hague Convention .

location

The Guntersblum Evangelical Church is located in the Guntersblum town center. A few hundred meters to the east is the New Castle , and just a few hundred meters south are the Homburger Hof and the first Guntersblum Castle, today's Leininger Castle . The Deutschherrenhof is also located on the opposite side of the street from the palace in today's main street . In the immediate vicinity of the Deutschherrenhof was the old Guntersblum town hall, before it was demolished in the course of the move to the Leiningen Castle in 1834. In addition, a few hundred meters west of the Polysche Hof and a little further the Guntersblumer Kellerweg and the Julianenbrunnen . The Guntersblum Synagogue and the Guntersblumer Domhof are located a few hundred meters to the southeast.

history

The construction of the St. Viktor church in Guntersblum is estimated to have started around the year 1100. In 1995 and 2002, investigations were carried out with wooden beams from the north tower of the church, the investigations of which revealed that the tree from which the wood was used was felled in the early summer of 1101. It is said that there was a church building in Guntersblum well before 1100. Reasons for a new building are said to have been, among other things, the "expansive population growth" and representative purposes. The financing of the church was distributed among the Xanten monastery , which sold its goods to the Worms cathedral chapter on January 15, 1237 and which, as the owner of the tithe, was responsible for the choir and the nave (from around 1720 the Worms cathedral chapter was responsible for the choir and half of the nave), and the Guntersblum citizens, who were responsible for the aisles and the church towers.

The church at that time was built as a three-aisled basilica ; to this day, hardly anything has changed in the length and width of the building. Another fact that was known about the church at that time in the 12th century was that the church was illuminated inside. In addition, according to a church visit report from 1496, the main altar of the church was in front of the choir . In addition, the two side altars are said to have stood in front of the eastern outer walls of the building since 1300. The left side altar was consecrated to Saint Nicholas and the right side altar to Saint Michael and Saint Margaretha . There was also a walled cemetery around the church . There was also an ossuary on the site of the cemetery . In addition, the name of the building Sankt Viktor was documented for the first time in the church visit report in 1496 . The name probably comes from Viktor von Xanten , to whom the mother church of the Guntersblum Church is dedicated. However, at that time there was one condition associated with the name and the associated patronage of Saint Viktor: the church was only allowed to bear the name of Saint Viktor as long as Catholics could also celebrate services in the church. When the Catholics finally received a new church in the courtyard of the Leiningen Castle in the 19th century , the name was also transferred to this building.

Now the state of the church is not reported again until around 1600. Among other things, the roof of the building, which is now around 400 years old, is said to have needed renovation. The community of Guntersblum hired a roofer every year from 1595 to 1617 to have the necessary work done on the church roof. In 1618 the nave of the Guntersblum Church was finally torn down due to severe dilapidation. As a result, the ruling Counts Johann Ludwig (1579–1625) and Philipp Georg (1582–1627) demanded the wine and fruit tithe of the Guntersblum parish in order to rebuild the nave of the Guntersblum church. The eastern portal with the year 1619 was also added to the new building . However, after the Thirty Years' War broke out shortly afterwards and arrived in Guntersblum, the new building of the nave had to be canceled. When the Spaniards in the Palatinate, the home of the Liningian counts, became the occupying power and subsequently set the re-Catholicization in motion, the Liningian counts were indirectly prevented from demanding the tithe income from the Worms cathedral chapter for the building of a Lutheran church . However, after Count Johann Ludwig died in 1625, his son Emich XII tried. (1612–1658) to exploit the Lutheran-influenced Swedish government in Mainz to put the Worms cathedral chapter under pressure to give up the tithe income again. But finally the Swedish government rejected Emich's request on July 17, 1634, stating that the amount of money currently available was too small for such a building project.

After difficult times for the Guntersblum population after the Thirty Years' War, the brothers Emich Christian and Johann Ludwig, who had ruled Guntersblum since around 1667, finally began to take the grain from the tithe of the Worms Cathedral monastery and then to sell it on the market in Mainz. In June 1683, the Worms Cathedral Chapter finally allowed the community of Guntersblum to use the tithe income to pay the costs for the choir and half of the nave; The Guntersblum population had to pay the other half for the new building of the nave. In order to finally finalize the construction project and to prevent all possible obstacles during the following construction, the municipality of Guntersblum drew up a contract with the Worms cathedral chapter after two reports from construction experts, which finally the judges Georg Schad, Hans Caspar Reiß and Niclas Adam Greuel, the Guntersblum citizens Georg Jakob Mantz and Georg Loos signed on behalf of the Guntersblum population. The contract was then confirmed by Count Emich Christian and Johann Ludwig zu Leiningen on behalf of the Guntersblum local authorities. Finally, from 1685 to 1688, the new nave was built. In a church book, the first use of the church as part of a baptism is reported: “(On) June 13th, 1688 Johann Jacob Kissel and his wife Catharina were baptized and named Johann Philipp, this is the first (child), which was baptized in the new church. ”One innovation was that the church at that time was only open to Protestants, the Catholics now attended the services in Hangen-Wahlheim and Oppenheim .

The south tower, which collapsed in 1702 and was rebuilt between 1838 and 1843

As a result of the French occupying power ruling Guntersblum, which was dominated by Lutherans at the end of the 17th century, a Catholic pastor named Matthias Ritter was appointed from December 1688. As a result, the Guntersblum Church now became a simultaneous church . As a result, from shortly before the end of the 17th century, there were numerous conflicts between the two denominations, the consequences of which continued well into the 20th century. In addition, now that Catholics were also visiting the church, new crucifixes , portraits of the Virgin Mary , a holy water kettle , a high altar with an image of St. Victor, a large cross in the choir, a confessional and numerous church flags were procured, which also aroused resentment among the Protestants. In 1702 the south tower of the church finally collapsed. As a result, important repairs were made to the church building, including those that had become necessary due to the consequences of the War of the Palatinate Succession . They were financially supported by income from the Guntersblum Catholics, who now had to pay taxes after the war. From 1698 onwards, money was collected for the church windows destroyed in the war , which were finally repaired four years later. In addition, from 1702, after the south tower collapsed, money was collected for its reconstruction. In addition, new church stalls were procured from the collected taxes in 1714 . Furthermore, the church received an organ in 1719 . In 1731 the community of Guntersblum was informed that from now on they would have to finance the reconstruction of the church on their own. Due to the high debt of the community of Guntersblum, only the nave could now be renovated with the tithe income, the new construction of the south tower had to be temporarily stopped. Nine years later, the entire facility was finally inspected and all damage documented. One of the results was that the small wooden tower with a bell on the church was very dilapidated. On June 17th, 1740, the Guntersblumers finally got permission to fell a new young tree and replace the old, unstable wood from the wooden tower.

In 1838 a five-year large church renovation began, during which the south tower, which collapsed in 1702, was rebuilt. At the end of 1840, both Protestants and Catholics confirmed in writing their intention to no longer celebrate their services together in one church, but rather to celebrate their services in different places of worship. On July 28th, they finally got the "permission to dissolve the simultaneous relationship". Finally, on November 16, 1845, the new Catholic church was inaugurated in the courtyard of the Leiningen Castle by the Mainz Bishop Peter Leopold Kaiser . Since then, the relationship between the two denominations in Guntersblum has relaxed considerably.

Furnishing

"Saracen Towers"

The north tower, the oldest building in Guntersblum
The main entrance on the west side of the church
The east entrance of the church

A special feature of the Guntersblum Protestant Church are the so-called "Heiden" or "Saracen Towers". Their "crowning" is often called "crusader helmets", "Armenian" or "Rhine-Hessian helmets". There are only five church tower crownings like this in Germany and four times in Rheinhessen: except in Guntersblum, they can only be found in Alsheim ( St. Bonifatius ), Dittelsheim-Heßloch ( All Saints' Day ) and at the Worms Pauluskirche . Research today is very certain that their appearance was inspired by returnees from the first crusade of the Christian peoples against Seljuks in Asia Minor . Furthermore, such a tower closure could also have found favor with Guntersblum citizens who stayed at home during the crusade and wanted to calm their conscience and promote salvation. In addition, one could also have chosen these domes for simple architectural considerations.

The north tower is the oldest building in Guntersblum. It is also the only structure in the church's building complex that has remained virtually unchanged since its construction around 1100. Both towers consist of five, almost cube-like, floors and are connected by an elaborately designed portal. In 1702 the south tower finally collapsed, and the need to renovate the north tower became apparent at the beginning of the 19th century. The reconstruction of the south tower and the renovation of the north tower now took place during the church renovation from 1838 to 1843. A tower clock has now been installed on the south tower at the latest . Furthermore, the notch windows in the north tower directly under the newly designed tower closings were bricked up. Furthermore, “segment-shaped relief arches” were used above the “biforias” below . In addition, new stones were used in the redesign of the exterior cladding. Another difference to the previous buildings, especially to that of the south tower, was that much less emphasis was placed on the ornate design of the towers than when the towers were built at the beginning of the millennium. In addition, the previously smooth dome of the south tower was replaced by an eight-sided ribbed tower end. In addition, the two towers of the Guntersblum Protestant Church were renovated from 2003 to 2004.

Another special feature of the north tower are four stylish sculptures . Despite frequent restoration work, they now look very similar to the original shape and initial expression. The reason for adding such sculptures was to drive away evil spirits and devilish goings-on and influence. There are also two crosses on each of the towers, which today also function as lightning rods . In addition, since the church renovation, there are four more crosses made of sandstone below each tower end of both towers . In addition, there is another, somewhat larger cross made of sandstone on the western gable wall . Thus a total of eleven crosses adorn today's Guntersblum Evangelical Church.

Tympanum

There is also an elaborately designed tympanum above the entrance to the church . The tympanum is said to have been built around the year 1200. The tympanum has a flat arched shape. In addition, two semicircular fields lean against the tympanum from the left and right, which at the same time connect the tympanum with the door posts. In the middle of the tympanum, Jesus Christ can be seen hanging on a cross . His feet are connected to the ground. Immediately to the left and right of Jesus there are also the smallest figures on the work of art: the thieves . Furthermore, to the left and right of the thieves, directly at the edge of the tympanum, there are two further figures: the person on the left is John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene kneeling to the right of Jesus Christ . In the half-arches to the left and right there are also two figures without a halo . These are likely to be secular people. The people could also be angels .

Baptismal font

Another work of art in the church's building complex is the font . The font made of red sandstone was "probably made around 1490". Furthermore, the font is one of the so-called lion fonts . So four lions wear the cup , which is octagonal. The baptismal font is also decorated by intertwined branches, the Virgin Mary and other saints who are unrelated to other altar and church patrons in the church. The other figures are the apostles Paul , Simon Peter , John , Andrew , Bartholomew , Saint Sebastian and James the Elder . All men except Johannes and Sebastian are shown with beards . In addition, every figure on the baptismal font has something in hand: Mary has the baby Jesus in her right arm, Paul has a sword in his left hand and part of his cloak in his right hand, Simon Peter has a key in his left and a book in the right hand, Johannes has a goblet in his left hand, Andreas has a book in his left hand, Bartholomew also has a book in his left hand and a broken knife in his right hand, Sebastian holds some arrows and James with his two hands the elder holds a staff in his left hand.

organ

In 1719 at the latest, the Guntersblum Church received an organ. Around 1770 the church received a new organ, built by the Stumm family . Since its acquisition, it has been on a large gallery opposite the altar. Since it was only paid for by Protestant donations, it was only allowed to be used by Protestants, which aroused great resentment among Guntersblum's Catholics. Today we know that Count Carl Friedrich Wilhelm von Leiningen-Hardenburg donated 1,000 guilders and the Protestant community Guntersblums 1,300 guilders to build the organ. In 1912 the Guntersblum Church finally received a new organ from the Bechstein workshop in Groß-Umstadt . However, since the lavishly decorated organ front was still in good condition, the old front was used in the new organ. This organ is still used today.

Todays use

The Guntersblumer Church with the address Marktplatz 6 and its congregation are now organized in the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau . The building of the Guntersblum Church is mainly used by the local evangelical parish as a room for their services. The church building with around 600 seats is also used for a wide variety of concerts and readings.

See also

literature

  • Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, published by the local community Guntersblum, Verlag Stefan Kehl, October 1997, pp. 60–76
  • Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, published by the local community Guntersblum, Verlag Stefan Kehl, October 1997, pp. 23–37

Web links

Commons : St. Viktor (Guntersblum)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Source: Informational directory of cultural monuments Rhineland-Palatinate for the Mainz-Bingen district as a PDF file, p. 22 f.
  2. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 60
  3. ↑ a b c d e Information on the website of the Guntersblumer Kulturgutverein ( Memento from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Gisela Grupe : Environment and population development in the Middle Ages in Bernd Herrmann : Mensch und Umwelt im Mittelalter , Stuttgart 1986, p. 28
  5. ↑ a b c d Hartmut Hofrichter : Stone church tower crownings in the former diocese of Worms , Eltville 1984, p. 50
  6. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 69
  7. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 70
  8. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 71
  9. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 23
  10. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, pp. 23–34
  11. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, pp. 35–36
  12. ↑ a b c Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 24
  13. ↑ a b c Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 72
  14. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 33
  15. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 37
  16. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 63
  17. ↑ a b c Evangelical Church Community Guntersblum ( Memento from May 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Guntersblum Association
  18. ↑ a b c Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 64
  19. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 30
  20. ↑ a b Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 66
  21. ↑ Otto Böcher : The development of the Löwentaufstein in the Hessian and Rhenish Franconian Gothic , in: Der Wormsgau , Volume 5, Worms 1961/2, pp. 54-55
  22. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 1, p. 68
  23. ↑ Guntersblumer Geschichte (n) , Volume 2, p. 28

Coordinates: 49 ° 47 ′ 50.5 "  N , 8 ° 20 ′ 37.8"  E