City Church St. Georg (Schmalkalden)
The town church of St. Georg in Schmalkalden is a late Gothic hall church that was built between 1437 and 1509.
History and architecture
In the place of today's church there was a Romanesque previous building, the southwest tower of which has been preserved. The window arcades of the tower can be dated to the end of the 12th century. Because of its dilapidation, the tower was demolished from 1434 to the second floor.
The construction of St. George's Church began in 1437 and lasted for several decades. The new building was built around the Romanesque church. The new church was consecrated in 1500 by the Bishop of Würzburg . The inscription Anno domini MCCCCC completum est praesens opus (“In the year of the Lord 1500 the present work was completed”) in the choir room reminds of this .
In 1537 Martin Luther preached before the Schmalkaldic League in the Church of St. George.
The partially demolished south-west tower was rebuilt from 1570 onwards. He was given a tower keeper's apartment at a height of about 50 meters , which was inhabited from 1571 to 1935. The north-west tower built in the new building was structurally different, the two different towers are today a landmark of the church.
The church is a three-aisled, broadly proportioned late Gothic hall church, which deserves particular attention due to the various, rich and sometimes virtuoso vaults. Some of them also show tracery forms. The services in front of the pillars rest on differently designed consoles with head motifs. The choir with net vaults adjoins the triumphal arch across the width of the central nave . It ends to the east in a five-eighths ending . On the north side of the choir is the sacristy with the parament chamber and library above .
Overall, the side of the church facing the market is more richly decorated than the side facing away from the market. The choir in particular is richly decorated with tracery and has pointed arched windows with rich tracery. The building sculpture on a choir buttress, which shows a portrait-like representation of a head in a window with a shutter, is striking. A keel arch portal with tracery is arranged on the south side.
Furnishing
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The mediaeval furnishings were largely removed after the Reformation. At the beginning of the 17th century in particular, there were violent disputes about the furnishings. In 1698 the medieval sculptures and altars were removed. The paintings on the galleries from 1503 were rediscovered around 1900 in the baroque parapets.
The altar consists only of the brick cafeteria . The font was created in 1560 and placed in the choir room. The well-proportioned pulpit was completed in 1669. A chandelier was made in 1642.
Charles Crodel created the glass windows that bind the interior to an overall impression . The stained glass in the organ loft play with motifs from the Song of Solomon and achieve the quality of Crodel's early woodblock prints made in Jena .
The so-called "Lutherstube", the former chamber of paraments above the sacristy, is a reminder of Luther's stay. The church reformer stayed here before the services. The "Lutherstube" has a crucifixion painting from the first half of the 15th century, a three-winged carved altar and a seated Man of Sorrows ( Christ resting ) from around 1500.
organ
The company A. Schuster & Sohn created the organ in 1964 . The instrument has 39 registers with around 2800 pipes on three manuals and pedal .
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Bells
The town church of St. George has five bells from the 19th century. The largest bell, called the "Great Easter", is one of the largest and most beautiful bells in Thuringia.
| No. | Surname | Caster | Weight | diameter | Nominal | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Easter | Robert Mayer / Ohrdruf, 1852 | 3606 kg | 1830 mm | a 0 | Mute a swan asleep, I wait for the future to be forgotten.
Oh no sound inspired me, no festive choir greeted me. Yes, my chest glowed in a cleansing flame embrace. Gloriously from ashes and embers, I struggled up, rejuvenated. Again, as before, I hear my uplifting cry from the church. Complain to the weeping sorrow, rejoice to the cheering happiness. Awakens the woes for the heavenly home in the depths of the soul. Celebrate the days of the Lord, sanctify worldly lust. But to you, believing Christian, I am a warning symbol to you. Glorious from earthly night You rise like me once to the light. |
| 2 | Little Easter | CF Ulrich / Apolda, 1844 | 1700 kg | 1400 mm | d 1 | I serve the Lord without spirit and eternal life.
Both have been given to you, people like to serve him. Call, O resounding bronze, as often as your metal mouth opens, over the city blessings and prosperity. |
| 3 | Six o'clock bell | Balthasar Bittorf and son, 1814 | 700 kg | 1080 mm | f sharp 1 | In the year of Christ MDCCCXIV this bell of thirds became from the interest of the building capital
which the citizen and poor friend Johann Michael Kreuter Luther. Confession formerly tin - button manufacturer v. Mayor bequeathed here to the preservation of the local town church. |
| 4th | Nine o'clock bell | CF Ulrich / Apolda, 1845 | 500 kg | 940 mm | a 1 | Half only I belong to the earth, half I belong to the sky.
Earthly matter is my body, my reputation sprout from heaven. Soon it sounds like angels' lament in the mortal ear. Soon like a warning from the Lord, inviting thanks and prayer. " |
| 5 | Death bells or ringing bells | Robert Mayer / Ohrdruf, 1852 | 250 kg | 770 mm | c sharp 2 | Poor sufferer, my call does not reach your mortal ear.
Hail if you heard before I called to eternity. |
The roof turret on the choir also has two bells that strike the hours and quarters.
literature
- Klaus Mertens: City churches in Thuringia. 1st edition. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1982, pp. 179–180.
Individual evidence
- ^ Orgelbau Welde: Catalog raisonné , on the Orgelbau Welde website, viewed May 21, 2016.
- ↑ Information on the organ
Web links
- Information about the church on the homepage of the parish Schmalkalden
- Organ piece and various pictures of the church on YouTube
Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 18 ″ N , 10 ° 27 ′ 3 ″ E