City Church St. Salvator (Neckarbischofsheim)
The city church of St. Salvator in Neckarbischofsheim in the Rhein-Neckar district in northern Baden-Württemberg is a historic church building that dates back to a Marienkapelle built in 1386, was expanded and renovated in the 16th and 17th centuries and has been the city's Protestant parish church since 1612 . The three Renaissance portals and the ornate alabaster pulpit inside are remarkable.
history
At the site of today's town church near the old castle of the Lords of Helmstatt, there was originally a Marienkapelle, donated in 1386 by Weiprecht I von Helmstatt and his wife Anna von Neipperg . At that time, the older Johanneskirche (now known as the Church of the Dead ) was still the parish church of the village. 1543, d. H. In the year of the Helmstatt inheritance, which primarily benefited Johann von Helmstatt and thus also his father-in-law Philipp von Helmstatt , the Marienkapelle was expanded to include a bell tower, which probably already contained a clockwork and a ringing of four bells. Subsequently, the neighboring old castle was significantly rebuilt. In 1610 the old chapel was demolished and the nave was rebuilt until 1612, mainly by master builder Jakob Müller († 1611) from Heilbronn. The five sons of Johann Philipp von Helmstatt († 1594) are named as builders in an inscription on the south portal: Ludwig Carl, Philipp, Weiprecht, Pleickard and Valentin "the Pious" from Helmstatt. After the construction work was completed, the church was named "Templum Salvatoris" (Church of the Redeemer) and elevated to the status of a parish church. In the 17th century there were possibly two parish churches, the Erlöserkirche and the Johanneskirche, before only the Erlöserkirche was designated as a parish church in 1698. The Erlöserkirche was first referred to as the city church in 1767.
The church and its furnishings have been modernized several times. A comprehensive interior renovation took place in 1911/12, during which the galleries were renewed.
description
Architecture and equipment
The city church of St. Salvator is a single-nave , right-angled building in the style of the late Renaissance in the consciously Protestant construction concept of a transverse church with pews and lofts facing the central pulpit. The nave extends to the west, while the choir in the basement of the almost square tower is oriented to the east. Portals richly decorated with figures and ornaments lead into the nave on all three sides. The west gable of the nave is crowned with a figure of Christ. The galleries can be reached through stair towers attached to the south and north of the tower. A gallery runs from the west gable over the north side of the nave to the north side of the tower choir, another gallery is located on the south side of the tower choir.
The wooden altar crucifix from 1716 dates from the Baroque period . In 1911 the crucifix was moved to the Church of the Dead and replaced with a historic bronze cross, but after renovation in 1984 it was returned to its original location.
The historic baptismal table was purchased in 1715 through a donation from Louisa von Helmstatt.
Look at the choir
View to the west gallery
South portal
Baptismal table
pulpit
The most important art treasure inside the church is the pulpit to the right of the triumphal arch, created by Jakob Müller in 1611 and resting on a sandstone plinth . The pulpit is supported at the bottom by a column with a capital and angel heads, its parapet consists of eight alabaster fields with depictions of evangelists, apostles and coats of arms. An angel holds the donor's inscription in one of the fields: “THE NOBLE TVGENTSAME FRAW MARIA MADALENA SCAW (?) FROM HELMESTADT FOUNDED DISE CANTZEL VND BEZEVGT WITH THAT HER LVST VND LIEB ZV GOTTES WORD THAT YOU HEARS FROM THIS GOD CANTZEL DES GEDLEN GEDKELEN GEDKELEN GIVING ETERNAL LIFE M. IOAN. ESTER PASTOR ANNO 1611 ". The founder Maria Magdalena von Helmstatt was the wife of Philipp von Helmstatt zu Bischofsheim († 1633). The coats of arms on the pulpit are the coats of arms of the Helmstatt family branches in Helmstadt and Bischofsheim, both of which have the raven in their shields, but differ in their crest .
The evangelists with their attributes are depicted on four fields of the parapet : Luke , who touches his forehead with his right hand, with the bull, John with the eagle, Matthew with the winged man and Mark with his lion. As a second attribute, each evangelist is given a book. In addition to the evangelists, the apostle Paul is also shown, framed by two fields with coats of arms. In front of the apostle there is a table with closed books and at his feet are two swords as symbols of his martyrdom and the spiritual sharpness in the preaching of the word of God.
The parapet areas are separated by caryatids , who, as allegorical figures , symbolize the three divine virtues of faith, hope, love and the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, strength, moderation and justice.
The church interior of St. Salvator is almost unadorned, which is why the pulpit with the clear depictions of Reformation focuses attracts all attention and is to be understood as an evangelical confession.
Depiction of the Evangelists Luke and John
Depiction of the evangelists Matthew and Mark
Coat of arms of the Lords of Helmstatt
Donor inscription
Organs
Today's organ on the west gallery is the seventh instrument in use in the church. The first organ came from Heilbronn and was purchased in 1630 and replaced in 1681 by a new instrument from the workshop of the Heilbronn organ builder Johann Ludwig Brömmer. In 1704 this second instrument was traded in for a new instrument, which in turn was replaced in 1736 by a new organ from the workshop of the Heidelberg organ builder Müller. In 1768 a new organ was procured, which was replaced in 1911/12 with a new instrument from the Steinmeyer company . In 1967 the present organ from the Mann brothers' workshop in Marktbreit was installed in the church. The instrument has 19 stops on two manuals and a pedal .
Bells
Based on information in the surviving saints' calculation from 1589/90, it is assumed that the bell of the church tower after its construction in 1543 consisted of four bells. In 1788 the old bells were melted down in order to cast three bells, each with the inscription “ Anselm Speck in Heidelberg poured me on Bischofsheim in the canton of Kraichgau in 1788 ”. A fourth bell has recently been added.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lexicon of Christian Iconography. Lim. by Engelbert Kirschbaum. Edited by Wolfgang Braunfels. 8 vols. Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 1968–1976, ISBN 3-451-22568-9 , vol. 8, column 133
literature
- Peter Beisel: From the Marienkapelle to the town church in: Villa Biscovesheim - Neckarbischofsheim 988–1988 , Stadt Neckarbischofsheim 1988
- Martin Kares, Michael Kaufmann, Godehard Weithoff: Organ guide Rhein-Neckar-Kreis . Heidelberg 2001, ISBN 3-932102-07-X .
- Peter Beisel: Jakob Müller. A sculptor and master builder who shaped Neckarbischofsheim . In: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research , volume 18/2003, pp. 123–130, edited by Heimatverein Kraichgau , Eppingen 2003, ISBN 3-921214-28-9
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 33.1 ″ N , 8 ° 57 ′ 39.1 ″ E