City Church of St. Jakob and St. Dionysius (Gadebusch)
The originally late Romanesque town church of St. Jakob and St. Dionysius is located on a central hill near the market and town hall in the Gadebusch town area. It is believed that the town hall once stood in the same square as the church, as the street that separates the two today was not built until the late Middle Ages .
The elongated brick building with the low west tower is divided into three naves of equal height and thus belongs to the hall church type . This construction is probably influenced by Scandinavian and Westphalian churches, this assumption can be explained on the one hand by the long-term Danish rule over western Mecklenburg , on the other hand by the settlement of the areas once ruled by Slavs by Westphalian settlers. Just like the oldest Mecklenburg village church in Vietlübbe , seven kilometers away , the Gadebuscher town church is now regarded as one of the earliest brick churches in northwest Mecklenburg . The fact that both buildings have parallels to the Ratzeburg Cathedral , begun in 1154 , indicates that the Ratzeburger Bauhütte was involved in the construction. The churches of Ribnitz , Grevesmühlen and Malchin are regarded as successor buildings in Mecklenburg .
Building history
The construction of the church can be divided into two construction phases: in 1215, the former choir square with a supposedly semicircular apse and hardly protruding apsidioles was built in the east . The completion of the building is dated to around 1220, in this year the foundation of the two nave bays in the west, the tower yoke and the former east gable with a quatrefoil and an elaborate frieze on the slopes took place. During the second construction phase, the plan to erect a double tower facade was rejected; the simple tower was probably built around 1300. Its strikingly thick foundation walls and the huge bundle pillars of the western central nave still testify to the original project . The fact that the tower also has three round-arched gates, which are now bricked up, and wall templates up to five meters high, suggests an initially planned threefold structure and also a larger planned dimension of the tower.
At the beginning of the 15th century the eastern yoke gave way to a three-aisled choir in the course of a first expansion, whereby the original east gable of the hall church was retained, but was hidden by the now higher roof. By joining the hall and the choir basilica , two different church rooms were created; it is assumed that it was used as a separate lay and clergy church at that time .
The four adjacent chapels were also built in the 15th century . The chapel adjoining the choir, formerly called St. Anne's Chapel, was probably built as a unitary structure with it, followed by the Lützow or Holdorf chapel, which was crowned with a Renaissance gable in the following century . The Royal Chapel in the west (originally a Lady Chapel ) is the largest of the four extensions. It was donated around 1420 by Agnes, Queen of Sweden and Duchess of Mecklenburg . The last chapel, which was built shortly before 1466 and is attached to the tower, serves as the material chamber.
The gable was renovated at the end of the 16th century, and the first major restoration phase took place from 1842 to 1845 under the direction of the Mecklenburg researcher Friedrich Lisch . In the course of this work, some important exhibits were removed, the floor was raised up to 72 cm and galleries were built. From 1896 to 1898 the royal chapel was repainted, and a short time later the south portal was restored and, in addition, three chapels were converted into a single room. In 1955, the removal of the layers of paint to reveal the original coloring in the Romanesque components was completed. In the course of a restoration of the choir in 1973, the elements that were added after 1842 were removed. In 2010 the floor, which had been raised in 1842, was lowered back to its original level, the chairs removed and four windows in the south wall dismantled and fitted with modern colored glazing.
Description of the exterior
The brick building, which is almost square in plan, was built on a granite foundation. The late Romanesque three-aisled hall consists of three by three bays, three bays adjoining to the west carry the church tower, and in the east nine more bays form the Gothic choir. Four chapels adjoin the north wall.
south
The south side of the building is structured by pilaster strips and a cross-arched frieze that is independent of these and has narrow arched windows. The use of different bricks can be recognized by the color change of the wall in the second yoke: in the east you can see gray-yellow stones, in the western part larger red stones.
The round-arched south portal, which is preceded by a small semicircular staircase, is considered a gem of the church. It is lined with a garment with narrow columns and ornamented brick capitals , the decorative shapes of which show parallels to the late Romanesque art of building in houses in the Rhenish region. The twisted round rod, boxed like a checkerboard, in the archivolt was restored and supplemented according to the original . An arched wall template with three quarter round bulges leads from the portal wall after a distinctive kink along the base of the hall. This motif can also be found in a rectangular shape on the south vestibule of the Ratzeburg Cathedral.
west
Corresponding to the three-aisled structure of the nave, the west facade is structured vertically by pilaster strips and three walled-up arched gates. Centered about a big one is the rose window of bronze casting recessed into the wall. It was built at the same time as the church, its glass windows were used in the 19th century.
The low church tower on the north-west side is crowned by four blind gables and an eight-sided pyramid spire . This roof shape - characteristic of sacred buildings in the southern Baltic Sea region - is also known under the name " Bischofsmütze ".
east
In the east, the three-bay choir adjoins the nave, which almost doubles the total length of the building. As an extension of the hall, this component is divided into three naves, but the central nave is strongly elevated here, in line with the construction of Gothic basilicas. The east wall, which is sloping due to the course of the street, with the slightly protruding three-sided end of the central nave is structured by a high cuboid granite base as well as stepped buttresses and gothic decorated windows. The original east gable with a small six-pass panel is hidden below the choir roof. The framing of its bevels with tooth-cut friezes supported by consoles can also be found in a comparable form on the neighboring Vietlübber village church.
north
The north side of the nave hall is characterized by the four chapel extensions. In the east stands the St. Anne's Chapel, which consists of a yoke. Its gable under the transversely aligned gable roof has dazzling structures. Next to it is the flat, also one-yoke Lützow (named after the Lords of Lützow ) or Holdorf chapel, which can be entered through a newly let in door and is crowned by a rounded Renaissance gable. To the west is the two-bay and thus the largest and most important of the extensions: the St. Mary's or King's Chapel of Queen Agnes. Its facade is structured by flat buttresses and two pointed arched windows. A longitudinal gable roof forms the top. The chapel room, which is equipped with a ribbed vault , can not only be entered via the north aisle, but also has a passage to the adjoining fourth room, today's material chamber. This can also be reached via the stairs leading to the western gallery.
Description of the interior
Particularly in the architecture of the interior there are clear differences between the Romanesque and Gothic components of the church. It can be seen here that the choir, which was subsequently expanded, is much less elaborately designed than the nave from the construction period. The floor, which was partially raised in the course of the restoration between 1842 and 1845, also resulted in a strong shift in proportions; it was lowered back to its original level in 2010.
Longhouse
In the late Romanesque part, the three tower bays in the west are open to the nave with its nine square bays. The uniform groin vault of the hall is supported by differently designed bundle pillars, the circumference of which decreases from west to east, whereby the room is optically aligned with the choir. The huge pair of cantilever piers in the west is provided with six strong half-columns , two of which serve the strong girdle arches, which are appropriate to the more massive walls of the tower yoke. In the middle, two comparatively narrow pillars, each with eight slimmer half-columns, function as arches. The couple in the east each have four strong half-columns as well as narrow round services set in the corners , which, probably inspired by a similarly designed quadruple pillar in the south porch of the Ratzeburg Cathedral, end in sculpted human and animal heads, but their symbolism is not yet clear is determined. On the walls of the aisles there are wall templates in the form of half-columns or in a rectangular shape with round services that serve the shield arches and capitals on which the ridge vaults rest.
Choir
A slightly pointed triumphal arch leads to the three-aisled chancel in place of the original east wall, the width of which can still be seen just like the beginning of the former vault . On the side facing the hall, there are two slim round services with added wood. Their originally preserved bases and capitals serve as supports for the eastern parting arches of the hall. In the openings to the lower aisles of the choir there are also remains of the lateral apsidioles. But not only in the raised central nave there are parallels between the choir and the type of Gothic basilica : in contrast to the nave, there are massive octagonal pillars with simple arcade arches , the room is also crowned by a Gothic cross ribbed vault , which in the central nave is supported by narrow pearles the side aisles rests on simple consoles. The upper facade of the raised choir nave is provided with window windows. The eastern end of the building is formed by the two straight outer walls of the side aisles, which are not entirely at right angles due to the street layout, and the three-sided polygonal closure of the central nave.
Architectural colourfulness
In particular, the color design of the late Romanesque hall, which was created immediately after the construction was completed in the 2nd quarter of the 13th century, is a rare example of its time in northern Germany and is therefore considered to be particularly valuable. The original paintings on the red brick wall emphasized the individual shapes of the hall; they were exposed and restored in 1945/55. The vault of the nave is provided with a variety of figurative and ornamental forms of decoration as well as architectural motifs. The vaults of the belt, scabbard and shield arches also have different white, red or blue-black paintwork. For example, you can find geometric patterns such as circles and triangles, but also zigzag lines and stone imitations, which are created by white joints on a red, or red joints on a white background. Some of the crowns of the vault are also set with round keystones, under which two depict animals. In 1360 more wall paintings were created, especially on the eastern walls of the south aisle. Here, too, remains have been preserved, including a portrait of St. Christopher near the entrance to the pulpit .
Remnants of Gothic glass paintings can also be found in the choir . The south-eastern choir windows, for example, are adorned with an apostle disc , one of the few still existing works of north German glass painting around 1500. Furthermore depictions of Mary with the child and several old coats of arms have been preserved.
Furnishing
Most of the objects inside the church come from the 15th and 17th centuries, much of which was originally part of the furnishings of the St. Mary's / King's Chapel and can now be seen in the nave or choir.
The bronze baptismal font , also called Fünte, is generally regarded as the most valuable piece of the church , which is now placed in the middle of the Gothic choir. According to the surrounding inscription with the corresponding coat of arms and the initials HK, it was donated in 1450 by the current priest Hinrich Koppelmann, who presumably commissioned it according to his ideas. Three kneeling angels carry the round cauldron, which is adorned by two circumferential rows, each separated by the inscription, with eleven separately cast, riveted reliefs . Under low tracery arches , scenes of the Passion of Christ and the founder of the Fünte are depicted. The elaborately carved wooden baptismal border from 1659 can now be found in the southeast corner of the choir, the former roofing of the cauldron is no longer preserved. Both its casting technique and the type of plastic representation make the bronze feet with those of the Marienkirche in Rostock and the Nikolaikirche in Wismar one of the most important ones in northern Germany.
Remains of the former choir stalls , also donated by Priest Koppelmann around 1460, can now be viewed in the choir. It is provided with various cheeks showing carved ornamental decorations and depictions of the apostles. For example, the patron saints of the church can be seen: on the one hand Dionysius , who was the first Parisian bishop to be beheaded at the end of the third century and is therefore depicted with his skull in his hand, on the other hand St. James the Elder with a walking stick. Furthermore, a colored picture of Mary with the baby Jesus can be found here. Remains of a four seat from the second quarter of the 15th century, once part of the furnishings of the St. Mary / King's Chapel, with cheeks on which John the Baptist and the Madonna are crowned by Kielbogen architecture are also preserved.
The pulpit from 1607 is located between the nave and the choir. Elaborate carvings depict Christ with the four evangelists on the pulpit, and God the Father in the tympanum of the portal. The simple altar table was set up during the restoration of the choir in 1973. Originally there was a valuable altar at this point until 1842, which was made by Hermen Rode in Lübeck around 1490 , but left to the Schwerin Museum. Another special attraction is the triumphal cross group from the end of the 15th century, which is located above in the choir. It shows Mary and John standing next to the cross.
There are several important works in the St. Marien / Königskapelle. On the western wall is an altar painting in the so-called Nazarene style , which was made in 1824 by the former court painter Carl Georg Schumacher and which was installed in a neo-Gothic altarpiece twenty years later. The title of the picture is "Christ standing on the Mount of Olives" or "Prayer Triumph in the Garden of Gethsemane". The east wall of the chapel is adorned with a panel from the end of the 16th century depicting the Mecklenburg Duke and Swedish King Albrecht III. († 1412) shows with his son. Although Albrecht is buried next to various other Mecklenburg dukes in the Bad Doberan Minster , he acted as the namesake of the chapel. There were once also two tombstones here , which can now be seen on the south wall of the choir. One of them is dedicated to Albrecht's wife, Queen Agnes of Sweden and Duchess of Mecklenburg, who died in 1434. The limestone plate is engraved with brass , showing the queen in nun's costume with her two coats of arms and the four evangelists in the corners. The original surrounding inscription has not been preserved. In the immediate vicinity there is a second tombstone, that of Duchess Dorothea , daughter of Elector Friedrich I of Brandenburg, who died in 1491 . This has a scratched drawing of the deceased, also in nun's costume and crowned by a canopy . The evangelists and the inscription still visible here can also be recognized on this stone .
The wooden epitaph of a Gadebusch mayor from the 18th century is attached to the top of the chancel (H. Rassow, † 1743). It is adorned with a picture of the former head of the city and allegorical carved figures.
On the south and north walls of the choir there are two holy water basins , and in this part of the church there is also the coat of arms of the medieval mayor's chair as well as a terracotta panel from the third quarter of the 16th century, which depicts the crucifixion and actually used to furnish the Gadebusch Castle Workshop owned by Statius von Düren . Remnants of the former choir screen from the St. Marien / Königskapelle from the 15th are also preserved, but were changed in the 19th century. Other works can be viewed in the nave, such as a sacrificial chest, four wall sconces and three brass blakers from the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as three chandeliers. The oldest of them was donated by the blacksmiths guild in 1582, the other two are relics of the post-war period and were made by the Gadebusch master blacksmith Adolf Wendland. Various small works of art can be found in the rectory, for example several chalices from the 14th to 19th centuries.
The organ on the northern gallery was made by the master organ builder Wolfgang Nußbücker from Plau . It has 28 registers and was installed in 1980; the earlier organs were once in the eastern choir. The sacristy behind the organ houses other sights, such as parts of the former choir stalls with those of King Albrecht III. certain Swedish crown coats of arms as well as two carved and painted vault disks from the royal chapel with the coat of arms of Queen Agnes from around 1420. Furthermore, the center shrine of a late Gothic carved altar, which was formerly adorned by the Madonna in the cloud wreath, and a relief of the Marian deaths received.
In the Middle Ages, the first bells in the church were made by the then important Gadebusch bell foundry. The later bells from 1855 were remelted in 1917 to produce bullet rings, which is why the church tower was re-equipped, including a bell with the Low German inscription “Taun Krieg bün ick gäwen, will caterpillar taun threads” (“For the war given, I want to call to peace ”) was provided. The church's current bells were installed in 1926.
meaning
The Gadebusch town church is not only considered to be one of the oldest Romanesque hall churches in northern Germany, but also as the oldest preserved sacred building in all of Mecklenburg. It is therefore one of the most important church buildings in the north of the Federal Republic and was declared a monument of national importance in 2005.
St. Jakob and St. Dionysius shows the beginning of bourgeois brick building and clearly shows the structural beginnings of the town of Gadebusch, representative of the early north German city foundation. For centuries the church has been used and loved by the community as a place of faith. In addition to Lübeck, Ratzeburg, Schwerin and Wismar with their important sacred buildings, Gadebusch with its hall church is also a popular destination for tourists and those interested in art in the region. It offers a unique interplay of different epochal, regional and stylistic influences.
local community
Since 2000 the parish of the town church St. Jakob and St. Dionysius has been permanently connected with Groß Salitz and Roggendorf . The Evangelical Lutheran Church Community of Gadebusch belongs to the Wismar Propstei in the Mecklenburg parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany .
literature
- Friedrich Schlie : The art and history monuments of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Volume II: The district court districts of Wismar, Grevesmühlen, Rehna, Gadebusch and Schwerin. Schwerin 1898, reprint Schwerin 1992, ISBN 3-910179-06-1 , p. 456 ff.
- Georg Dehio : Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . Revised by Hans-Christian Feldmann. German Kunstverlag, Munich (among others) 2000, ISBN 3-422-03081-6 (series: Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler).
- Horst Stutz: The Gadebusch town church: St. Jakob and St. Dionysius . Schäffer, Gadebusch approx. 1988.
- Peter Singer: The town church of Gadebusch (= Peda art guide, No. 344). Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 1995, ISBN 3-89643-000-9 .
Web links
- Literature about the city church St. Jakob and St. Dionysius (Gadebusch) in the state bibliography MV
- Association website
- private website on the history of St. Jacob and St. Dionysius
- Gadebusch parish
- City Church of St. Jacob and Dionysios, Gadebusch in the portal European Route of Brick Gothic Heritage
- City tour
Individual evidence
- ↑ Förderverein website: Tabular history , accessed on October 4, 2016
- ↑ Membership of the community
Coordinates: 53 ° 42 ′ 7.9 ″ N , 11 ° 7 ′ 2 ″ E