City Church of St. Wenceslai

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View from the market in Wurzen through the Wenceslaigasse to the Wenceslaikirche
The Wenceslai Church in the evening hour with an interior-lit tower clock - view from the Cathedral Square
St. Wenceslai, south-east view
The empty nave, occasionally a place for exhibitions
Partition between the nave and the chancel, behind which the so-called "Winter Church"

The Evangelical Lutheran town church St. Wenceslai in Wurzen is a three-aisled hall church , the current appearance of which dates from the years 1663 to 1673. The church belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony in Wurzen in the Saxon district of Leipzig . It is a cultural monument in the Free State of Saxony . Its namesake is the martyr Wenceslaus of Bohemia . With the striking church tower, it is part of the cityscape .

history

The Wenceslaikirche stands on the Sperlingsberg. For the first time a church was named there in a document from the year 961. In the middle of the 13th century it was consecrated as the Wenceslas Church.

Between 1509 and 1513, Bishop Johann VI. von Saalhausen build the chancel , whose rib cell vault still exists today. The church tower was also completed during this time. In 1499 the church burned down completely and was rebuilt in 1513 in the late Gothic style.

With the help of Elector Johann Friedrich , the pastor Johann Hofmann from Thammenhain became the first Evangelical Lutheran pastor at St. Wenceslai on September 12, 1539, and the church has been Protestant since then .

In the Thirty Years' War - in the "Wurzener Marterwoche" in March 1637 - it was destroyed again. In 1663 the citizens of Wurzens began to rebuild. St. Wenzeslai was completed in 1673 as a post-Gothic hall church with a four-bay nave and octagonal pillars.

In 1673 lightning struck the church tower and part of it collapsed. As a result, it was shortened to bell cage height by 1679, rebuilt as an octagon and designed with a baroque, slate-covered hood including lantern , spire and tower knob.

After the extensive renovation in 1873 and 1874, the church offered space for 880 people, also because its gallery had been equipped with two rows of seats - a number that for the then prosperous small town with an up-and-coming economy and high membership rate of the population in the Protestant community. Lutheran denomination was appropriate. The next major renovation took place between 1926 and 1927.

Recent past and present

Due to numerous structural damage, sponge infestation and rot, for the removal of which there was insufficient funds during the GDR era, the sacred building could only be used to a limited extent; on Christmas Eve 1975 the last service for the time being took place.

In order to be able to continue to use the building at least in part despite all the adversities, the parish decided to take a controversial step: They built a wall between the nave and the chancel and created a floor-heated, so-called “ winter church ” with a choir gallery in the chancel October 1989 is used from autumn to spring (from spring to autumn the service is celebrated in St. Marien Cathedral in Wurzen ). Various events take place all year round in the bright hall with colored mosaic glass windows.

exhibition

  • My faith, my power - Johann von Saalhausen in Wurzen, St. Wenceslai town church, 21 May - 3 October 2018.

Steeple

The church tower can be seen from afar with its height of 54 meters and shapes the city silhouette. It houses the belfry , the tower house and the tower clock.

Bells

The ringing continued until April 12, 2019 - its removal from the belfry to the day - of three bells from Eisenhart cast des' with the tones, f 'and AS' from 1918, cast by Schilling & Lattermann .

Before that, the church had three bronze bells from 1678, they were cast in the Herold bell foundry workshop in Dresden. Two of them had to be given in the First World War as a “ metal donation ”, the last remaining in the Second World War in 1942 as a “ bell donation ” .

They were replaced by three sound steel bells made by Schilling & Lattermann from Apolda. They were donated by the wire rope works owner August Wilhelm Kaniß (1847–1927) from Wurzen. The big bell has the inscription God for honor, the descendants for teaching , the middle one I gave ore, I received iron , and the little one God protect and bless Germany . The bell was put into service on July 31, 1919. The large bell measures 190 centimeters in diameter and weighs 2.7 tons, the middle one has a diameter of 148 centimeters and weighs 1.25 tons, the small one has a diameter of 124 centimeters and weighs 700 kilograms. On April 12, 2019, their almost one hundred year "service" ended; they were lifted from the belfry by truck crane.

The steel bells are replaced by bronze bells because of their damage and age-related wear ; a fundraising campaign for this goal began in 2015 on the Day of the Saxons in Wurzen. The artist Peter Luban was commissioned with the artistic design of the new bells.

The costs for the three new bells, the oak bell cage as well as for planning and execution are expected to be 165,000 euros. 50,000 euros come from the regional church as a grant; The fundraising for the project in December 2016 was 43,000 euros. Thanks to a main sponsor who does not want to be named, the Evangelical Lutheran Church Community and the Church Support Association were able to end the bell collection campaign in August 2017.

The community hoped to be able to celebrate the consecration of the bells in 2018 - it took place on June 30, 2019 at the market in Wurzen and in the cathedral in Wurzen. The three new bells were lifted into the Wenceslai church tower on July 5th, 2019. On September 1st, on World Day of Peace, they rang for the first time in their new home.

Türmer apartment

In the church tower above the bell there is a watchman's apartment , in the centuries Wurzens watchman lived with their families. It was used until 1911 and is regularly open to visitors.

Tower clock

The tower has a large-format, mechanical tower clock with four dials illuminated at night for all directions and with hour and quarter-hour strikes.

The tower clock is the property of the city of Wurzen, which received it as a gift from the city councilor Gustav Lieder in 1913. This means that the city is still responsible for the maintenance, servicing and repairs of the tower clock to this day. In 1958, the parish was just able to prevent the city's "compulsory donation" of the clock, with which the city leaders wanted to get rid of the obligations associated with the clock.

Organs

Jehmlich organ from 1902 (photo from September 2017)
Console of the Jehmlich organ from 1902 - as in September 2017
Organ slogan "Sing a new song to the Lord" on the Jehmlich organ, which has been silent since 1975

Since 1706 the church had an organ . In 1874 an organ from the Bernecker company from Leipzig was installed. From 1902 a Jehmlich organ with 2 manuals, pedal, 40 stops and 2,800 pipes played. This organ in the nave is almost in its original condition, but no longer playable. In 2017, the wind machine's motor was refurbished and reconnected. For the Open Monument Day on September 10, 2017, Cantor Johannes Dickert let it be heard for a short time to promote the idea of ​​restoring this organ, the cost of which is estimated at 150,000 to 200,000 euros. The organ has the following disposition:

I main work C – a 3
1. Bourdun 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Fugara 8th'
4th Concert flute 8th'
5. Quintatön 8th'
6th Salizional 8th'
7th Dumped 8th'
8th. Dolce 8th'
9. octave 4 ′
10. Reed flute 4 ′
11. Gemshorn 4 ′
12. Intoxicating fifth II 00 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ +2 ′
13. Mixture IV 2 ′
14th Cornett III-IV
15th Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – a 3
16. Dumped 16 ′
17th Violin principal 00 8th'
18th Viol 8th'
19th Hollow flute 8th'
20th Reed flute 8th'
21st Aeolines 8th'
22nd Vox coelestis 8th'
23. violin 8th'
24. octave 4 ′
25th Harmony flute 4 ′
26th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
27. Piccolo 2 ′
28. Sif flute 1'
29 Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
30th oboe 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
31. Principal bass 16 ′
32. Violonbass 16 ′
33. Sub-bass 16 ′
34. Thought bass 16 ′
35. Octave bass 8th'
36. Flute bass 8th'
37. cello 8th'
38. Octave bass 4 ′
39. Trombone bass 16 ′
40. Trumpet bass 00 8th'
  • Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P, super octave coupling I.
  1. ↑ since 1941.
  2. ↑ since 1941; formerly Salicet 4 '.

An owl organ built in 1999 (2 manuals, pedal, 18 stops, 5 transmissions; Opus 626) stands on the north gallery of the choir room, which was divided into a winter church in 1981 . The owl organ was designed according to the sound concept of a French organ of the 18th century. The third manual functions as a coupling manual, the pedal unit has, in addition to the independent trombone 16 ′, four transmission registers from the main unit. The organ has the following disposition:

I Manual C-g 3
1. Grand Bourdun 16 ′
2. Montre 8th'
3. Drone 8th'
4th Prestant 4 ′
5. Duplicate 2 ′
6th Fittings III 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
7th Cornet V (from g)00
8th. Trumpet 8th'
II Positive C-g 3
9. Drone 8th'
10. Salicional 8th'
11. Prestant 4 ′
12. Flute 4 ′
13. Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
14th Flûte conique 00 2 ′
15th Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
16. Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
17th Cromorne 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Soubasse (= No. 1) 16 ′
Octavbasse (= No. 2) 00 8th'
Flûte (= No. 3) 8th'
Prestant (= No. 4) 4 ′
Trumpet (= No. 8) 8th'
18th Basson 16 ′
  • Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P, Pedaltenorkoppel I (all coupling as trains and steps in interaction)
Coffered ceiling, pillars and upper part of the organ (detail)
Epitaph 2

literature

  • Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Publisher: Association for the preservation of the Wurzner Stadtkirche. Wurzen 1999. (Documentation is available in the archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Community of Wurzen)
  • Cornelius Gurlitt : Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments in Saxony. Bd. 19. Amtshauptmannschaft Grimma. Dresden 1897. ( digitized version )
Bells
  • David Waechtler: What the bells tell us. In: Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Editor: Friends of the Wurzner Stadtkirche, Wurzen 1999, pp. 25–38.
Newspaper articles

Web links

Commons : Wenceslaikirche Wurzen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 1.
  2. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 3.
  3. ↑ http://www.domkantorei-wurzen.de/html/stadtkirche.html
  4. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 5.
  5. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, pp. 9 + 10
  6. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 12.
  7. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 19
  8. ↑ Holger Zürch in the article about the Wenceslai Church in his ten-part series about Wurzen in the special edition of the Leipziger Volkszeitung on the Day of the Saxons , August 28, 2015.
  9. ^ Kai-Uwe Brandt: Lord Mayor opens exhibition in the St. Wenceslai town church. In: LVZ.de ( Leipziger Volkszeitung ). May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b Kai-Uwe Brandt: Crane lifts bells from the tower of the Wurzen city church. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). April 12, 2019, accessed April 16, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Rainer Thümmel in: Bells in Saxony - Sound between heaven and earth. Leipzig 2015, ISBN 978-3-374-02871-9 , p. 371.
  12. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 7.
  13. ^ A corresponding decree to the Reich Ministers had already been issued on February 23, 1940. In this decree by General Field Marshal Hermann Göring it says: “In the last World War, the collection of metal objects was initiated so late that the collection results could not be used to the necessary extent for the purposes of warfare. I therefore order that all objects made of copper, tin, nickel, lead and their alloys, which are owned by the public sector in administration and teaching buildings, libraries, state hospitals, rest homes, etc., are accelerated (... ), to be sorted out and (...) to be kept ready for free delivery to the offices to be named by the Reich Economics Minister. ”- Quoted from: David Waechtler: What the bells tell us. In: Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Publisher: Association for the preservation of the Wurzner Stadtkirche. Wurzen 1999, pp. 25-38. Quotation from page 33. (The documentation is available in the archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Community Wurzen.)
  14. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 33.
  15. ↑ a b Kai-Uwe Brandt: Wurzener Gotteshaus receives three new bronze bells in 2018. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017 .
  16. ↑ July 31, 1919 to April 12, 2019 = 99 years and almost 9 months
  17. ↑ Peter Luban's website
  18. ↑ Community letter from the parishes of St. Wenceslai Wurzen and Kühren-Burkartshain, December 2016 and January 2017 edition ( Memento of the original from December 4, 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. , Pages 16-17. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / evkirche-wurzen.de
  19. ↑ Kai-Uwe Brandt: Festival service: Hundreds of Wurzen people experience the consecration of bells on the market square. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). June 30, 2019, accessed July 1, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Kai-Uwe Brandt: Above the roofs of Wurzen: the church tower receives the new bells. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). July 25, 2019, accessed July 5, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 14.
  22. ↑ Jutta Heller, Fanny Wuttke: The history of the parish church St. Wenceslai zu Wurzen. Wurzen 1999, p. 9.
  23. ↑ Haig Latchinian: Do you have sounds? The organ from Wurzener St. Wenceslai breaks its silence after 40 years. In: LVZ.de (Leipziger Volkszeitung). September 5, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Info sheet The organ in the nave of the St. Wenceslai Wurzen town church, built in 1902, Jehmlich Dresden, pneumatic game and stop mechanism, cone store for the Open Monument Day , September 10, 2017; template
  25. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.domkantorei-wurzen.de
  26. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 18, 2017 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / leipzig.region.travel

Coordinates: 51 ° 22 ′ 3 "  N , 12 ° 44 ′ 6.4"  E