Murrhardt town church
The Protestant town church Murrhardt emerged from the monastery church of St. Januarius of the monastery founded in the 9th century in Murrhardt and has existed in its present form since the 15th century, it has served as the town church since 1867. The Walterich chapel, which was added to the town church around 1230, is considered to be one of the most important examples of late Romanesque architecture in southwest Germany.
history
Around the year 817, Ludwig the Pious founded a monastery in Murrhardt , which also included a monastery church, which was consecrated to St. Mary , the Holy Trinity and St. Januarius . The first abbot of the monastery was the Franconian nobleman Walterich , who had previously been the landlord of the Murrhardt crown estate . The church stands on the foundations of Roman stone houses dating from the second century of the castle Murrhardt incurred Vicus . The location is about five meters above the bottom of the Murr valley and was probably settled early on because of its flood-protected location.
The old Carolingian church, which was roughly the size of the nave of today's church, was demolished around 1020 and replaced by a Romanesque , double-choir and three-aisled basilica. Between 1050 and 1080 the west choir was redesigned and a crypt was built . The eastern part of the church was rebuilt around 1150 and the two towers of the church were built. The Walterich Chapel was added to the north tower around 1230. After Count Albrecht von Löwenstein-Schenkenberg was buried in the east choir in front of the Marien Altar in 1304 , this area was completely redesigned around 1325 under Nikolaus von Löwenstein into an early Gothic burial place for the Counts of Löwenstein.
Between 1430 and 1450, the west choir and the transept , then the nave were rebuilt in Gothic style, giving the church roughly its current shape. The construction measures can be dated through style-critical, but above all through the coat of arms of Abbot Johannes von Leuzenbronn with the year 1434, which is preserved in the south transept next to a Württemberg coat of arms. The vaulted ceiling was originally painted red and decorated with tendrils of flowers, murals adorned the walls. Up to twelve altars have been found in the church for the late Middle Ages. Have their large number, the three Gothic sacrament niche in the choir back and another such niche on the east wall of the north transept.
Even after the church was reformed in 1552 under Duke Christoph von Württemberg , the (now Protestant) monastery continued to exist. For a while there was a monastery school, and until the early 19th century there was also a monastery office.
The north tower of the church was largely rebuilt after being damaged in the 16th and 18th centuries. In 1682, the Gothic painting of the church was whitewashed. The vaulted ceiling was painted gray, and in place of the Gothic murals there was a hint of baroque scrollwork .
From 1766 the controversial theologian Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702–1782) was the parish priest in Murrhardt and at the same time abbot and prelate of the monastery. After secularization , a parish was established in place of the prelature in 1807, but the nearby Walterich Church was initially the city's parish church. In 1867 the monastery church was elevated to the parish church of the city. The Murrhardt parish today belongs to the Backnang church district .
Significant renovations of the modern era took place in the 1870s (installation of the neo-Gothic pulpit, the stone altar and the baptismal font), 1968 to 1970 (exterior renovation under Professor Hannes Mayer ) and 1973 to 1975 (interior renovation under Peter Haag and architect Laichinger). When the interior was renewed from 1973 on, extensive archaeological excavations were undertaken, during which remains of the foundations from all construction phases could be documented. Wall paintings from around 1500 were also uncovered. When repainting the interior of the church, it was decided to paint it in two colors (reddish and gray) in order to do justice to both historical paintings.
description
Main nave of the nave
The Murrhardt town church is a cruciform three-aisled basilica with a western transept, a polygonal eastern choir and a rectangular western choir. The church has been oriented to the east since the 1870s, before the pulpit and altar were located to the west in the crossing area. The church has only loose seats, so that the seating can also be rotated for special occasions. On both sides of the main nave there are five arcades with three vaulted yokes. The pillars in the nave carry a total of twelve painted consecration crosses . These crosses mark the places that were touched with anointing oil during the consecration of the church by the bishop, their number is also seen in connection with the twelve apostles , which is why they are also referred to as apostle crosses .
The keystones of the vault show the Lamb of God with the flag of victory, three little men in a triangle as a symbol of the Trinity , the handkerchief of Veronica with the face of Christ, the imperial eagle as a sign of the imperial immediacy of the monastery, the coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen with the three lions, a single lion (Coat of arms of those von Löwenstein) and in the vault of the south transept, which was renewed in 1975, today's Murrhardt city coat of arms.
East choir and aisles
In the east choir, next to the neo-Gothic wooden pulpit from around 1870, the stone main altar and the baptismal font from the same time stand against the background of the large art window by Walter Kohler from 1930, depicting the risen Christ. In the choir there are three sacraments , which, according to their artistic design, are dated to around 1230, 1330 and 1450. On the east wall of the north transept there are the remains of another sacrament niche. It is believed that each of the twelve altars was once set up in its own niche.
In the south aisle is the so-called All Saints Altar , which was probably once the main altar of the east choir. This winged altar shows three carved figures of saints (Sebastian, Maria and Veit) in the central shrine. On the left wing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is shown above and below Pope Leo the Great with John the Baptist and the Saints Laurentius and Stefanus. On the right wing of the altar you can see the holy virgins above, below a picture with Benedictus, Francis and James. On the pedestal of the statue of Mary in the central shrine, the altar is dated to 1496, a time when Johannes Schradin was Abbot in Murrhardt. The predella , slightly younger and once part of another altar, shows the Man of Sorrows between Mary and John. On the left of the picture, the Murrhardt Abbot Oswald Binder is shown kneeling , on the right is his donor coat of arms.
All Saints Altar around 1500
Predella of the All Saints Altar
Pulpit around 1870
Transept
In the transept, two coats of arms ( Württemberg stag bars and the coat of arms of Abbot Johannes von Leuzenbronn) with the year 1434 indicate the date of completion of the component.
Particularly noteworthy is the cenotaph for Ludwig the Pious († 840), on the cover plate of which the emperor is depicted in Gothic costume. The empty grave was probably built around 1440. On a corner pillar of the transept is the statue of the church patron Januarius , which was also probably made around 1440 .
A walled up arched portal once led into the cloister of the monastery. The Gothic gate at the other end of the south aisle was bricked up from 1870 to 1973. On the neighboring column, a Latin inscription tells of an incident from the Thirty Years' War , when Protestant troops captured Emmerich, the Catholic abbot appointed by the imperial army, and took him to Freiburg, where he died. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, when the monastery became Protestant again, the inscription was partially made unrecognizable and whitewashed, but was rediscovered and restored in 1973.
The so-called meeting room is divided between the south transept and the west choir, which was probably added as the Marienkapelle after 1400 and served as a sacristy until 1972 . The new sacristy is on the first floor of the north tower.
Transept with cenotaph and historical grave slabs
Cenotaph for Louis the Pious
Inscription from the Thirty Years War
In the transept there are numerous historical gravestones and monuments that were in various places in the church until 1972. Most of them are grave slabs of abbots of the monastery or of Counts von Löwenstein. The oldest tombstone shows only a cross and dates from around 1050; it could be the tomb of the abbot under which the church was rebuilt in Romanesque style. Another grave slab of an abbot from around 1300 shows only an abbot's staff . On the grave slab of Nikolaus von Löwenstein from 1340 his name can still be clearly seen. A special feature is the tombstone of Maria Juliana Haselmeier (1670–1721) as the only tombstone of a woman in the church. She was the wife of the Protestant abbot Wilhelm Conrad Haselmeier (1663–1731), whose tombstone has also been preserved in the church. The most ornate tomb is that of Abbot Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702–1782), the inscription stone decorated with coat of arms and floral elements is crowned by two putti with allegorical symbols. In the north aisle there is a wooden plaque for Prelate Berg, who died in 1752.
Grave slab with abbot around 1300
Grave slab of an abbot from 1508
Tomb of Maria Juliana Haselmeier († 1721)
organ
The original west choir houses the large three-manual organ from 1977. The instrument was designed by the Heidenheim church music director Helmut Bornefeld and built by the company EF Walcker . The front view of the organ is dominated by the mighty wooden pipes, but most of the 3400 pipes are made of metal. There are also financial reasons why wood was used for the large pipes; In addition, wooden pipes should be particularly suitable acoustically for a long nave. In 1996 and 2001 the instrument was technically and tonally expanded and improved by the Orgelbau Kreisz company (Schwäbisch Gmünd). The large wooden pipes in the brochure are a special feature .
The slider chest instrument has 37 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The actions are electro-pneumatic. The organist has his back to the congregation; behind his back is the Rückpositiv , a case with pipes removed from the actual organ, which, for reasons of sound, are particularly close to the audience. The Rückpositiv and the breastwork are swellable.
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- Coupling : I / II, III / II, III / I, I / P, II / P, III / P.
- Playing aids : Tutti, tongues down, 16 ′ down, typesetting system: 3 × 1024 storage options, 2 of which are lockable.
- Remarks:
- ↑ a b division from Larigot.
- ↑ a b prospectus.
- ↑ a b Division from Rauschharfe II.
- ↑ From Clairon 4 ′.
- ↑ From It. Principal 4 ′.
- ↑ a b From Pedalmixtur III.
- K = new register from Orgelbau Kreis
- S = register by Schwarz 1904
The organ will sound until July 2017 and then be replaced by a new instrument from the Leonberg company Mühleisen , which should be completed by Easter 2019. The new, three-manual organ with a three-part free pipe prospect and mechanical action will have 50 stops, 30 of which will be taken over from the old ones.
Bells
The church has four bells, the largest of which is in the north tower, the three smaller ones hang in the south tower. The current bells date from 1951 and 1976, an earlier bell from the 15th century was hung in the Walterichskirche after the last new bells were acquired in 1976.
The largest bell is the prayer bell donated by Anna Meyer in 1976 , it has the tone es' and bears the inscription “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The second largest bell is the peace bell purchased by the community in 1951 with the sound f ', it bears the inscription "Lord God, you are our refuge". The ringer bell with the tone as 'was donated by Friedrich Gampper in 1951, its inscription reads “Land, Land, Land, hear the Lord's word!” The baptismal bell , the smallest of the bells with the tone b', was donated by Mathilde Ehrmann in 1976 and is inscribed "Serve one another as good stewards of God".
Walterich Chapel
The Walterich Chapel was built around 1230 in the Romanesque style. Since Walterich's grave is located in the nearby Walterich Church , the chapel is probably a memorial chapel. A steep-gable roof with diamond-shaped roof surfaces is placed on the approximately cube-shaped base of the building. The ornate portal is stepped four times. The enthroned Christ is depicted in the tympanum ( Majestas Domini ). The portal arches and half columns are decorated with animal figures and buds. The east window is also decorated on the outside with a very ornate frame of bulges and fillets with tendrils and foliage and crowned by a lion's head.
Inside the chapel there is a similar ornate round arch frieze with half columns, on one of the capitals on the right you can see a man's head, probably the head of the monastery founder Walterich. Furthermore, the interior of the chapel has four cloverleaf arches, under which there are stone benches for three people each.
Portal of the Walterich Chapel
Detail from the portal of the Walterich Chapel
East window of the Walterich Chapel
Inside: southeast corner of the vault with apse (left)
Leaf capitals with mask
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dehio 1993, p. 556.
- ↑ Information on the Bornefeld / Walcker organ ( memento of the original dated February 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the municipality's website
- ↑ Murrhardter Zeitung of February 24, 2016: A farewell concert for the old organ , accessed on March 22, 2016.
literature
- Richard Eisenhut: City Church Murrhardt . Evang. Church community Murrhardt, Murrhardt 1978 (revised by Hermann Maurer 2005).
- Ulrike Plate, Günter Eckstein and Heinz Krause: The Protestant City Church in Murrhardt - Investigations for the Assessment of Static Security , in: Preservation of Monuments in Baden-Württemberg, News Gazette of the State Monuments Office , 22nd year, issue 3/1993, pp. 154–166.
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments . Baden-Württemberg I. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-422-03024-7 .
- Jochen Ansel, Cornelia Riekert, Barbara Springmann: The restoration of the altar retable of the Protestant town church in Murrhardt. An extraordinary conservation and restoration measure. In: Preservation of Monuments in Baden-Württemberg , Volume 38, 2009, Issue 3, pp. 178–183 ( PDF )
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 58 ′ 46 ″ N , 9 ° 34 ′ 42 ″ E