Parish Church of St. Nikolaus (Gundelsheim)
The Catholic parish church of St. Nikolaus in Gundelsheim is a former hospital church of the Teutonic Order , which goes back to a medieval Anna chapel.
history
The Anna Chapel with the choir facing east, which was located at the southern end of the medieval town directly on the city wall and moat, was extended to the south in the 15th century by an early Mess chapel with Gothic reticulated vaults and the church tower with Gothic tracery windows. This first enlargement of the church is most likely connected with the foundation of the Gundelsheim hospital by the German master Eberhard von Saunsheim in 1420 or 1442. The two-storey hospital building with a floor area of ten by ten meters was attached to the west of the church with a covered corridor. For a long time, the St.
In the Peasants' War in 1525, the church and hospital building were damaged, but then restored. The hospital building quickly proved to be too small, so that in 1593 a neighboring building was acquired by the Teutonic Order and converted into a hospital. The church was redesigned in Baroque style around 1700; during this reconstruction, a small extension with an outer door was added to the north of the choir, which bears the date 1701. In 1922/23 the nave was lengthened to the west (where the old hospital was) by about double and a side aisle was added to the north, so that the original west tower, renewed in 1976, is now in the center of the church.
The early mass chapel and the north aisle are openly connected to the main nave by generous Gothic arches.
Furnishing
Baroque main and side altars
There are several baroque altars in the church: The main altar in the choir shows Nikolaus von Myra , who carries three golden apples as a symbol, flanked by Pope Urban I with grapes and Bishop Blasius von Sebaste with a candle. The side altars are dedicated to Mary and Joseph . The main and side altars are made of wood and painted with marble.
Joseph Altar
Mary Altar
Anne Altar
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In the early mass chapel there is an altar that was put together from the remains of several historical altars. The middle shrine shows a relief depiction of Anna herself third : Maria and Anna on throne chairs with the baby Jesus, behind them angels making music. On both sides of the central shrine there are wooden standing figures of St. Catherine and Barbara, each with their attributes in their hands and with a crown on their heads. The predella shows a detailed relief carving with the root of Jesse .
The relief tablet with Anna herself and the standing figures attached to the side are stylistically related to the three wooden standing figures on the opposite wall and probably originated around 1500 like these. The predella shows more recent stylistic features, was probably made around 1525 and probably comes from another altar, the pictorial program of which has been lost.
It is assumed that the parts of the St. Anne's Altar have always been in the Gundelsheim church and may have been procured for the early mess chapel built in the 15th century. The framing of the altar parts comes from the late Baroque era, probably made in the course of a church renovation in 1770. The figures and reliefs were painted in different colors over the years. During a restoration in 1969/70, the oldest verifiable color was exposed and preserved.
Figure decorations
Numerous other figures of saints are placed in the church; the presence of almost all of the fourteen emergency helpers indicates its former importance as a hospital church. The pietà made of terracotta around 1400, exhibited behind glass , was originally in the Michael's Chapel in Böttingen .
Funerary monuments
Inside the parish church are several ornate historical epitaphs . In the choir area to the left and right of the main altar are the tombstones of two Teutonic Knights, who are also buried in the crypt under the main altar: on the left the tombstone of the Teutonic Order Commander Johann Christoph von Buseck , on the right the tombstone of Commander Josef Maria Roth von Schreckenstein . Two very ornate grave slabs from the 16th century are on the south wall of the Frühmess chapel: the left stone from 1541 is probably for Commander Heinrich Wolfgang von Rohmberg, on the right an epitaph for Commander Johann Egolf von Westernach .
Epitaph for Commander von Buseck
Epitaph for Commander von Schreckenstein
Epitaph for Commander von Rohmberg
Epitaph for Komtur von Westernach
Three further historical epitaphs are embedded in the outer wall of the north aisle built in 1922/23. On the left a statue of the Teutonic Knight Fuchs von Kannenberg († 1543), who is said to have distinguished himself in the Peasants' War, in the middle the gravestone of the Jew Jankoff Meyer (1665–1740), who converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, on the right the Gravestone of the notary Carl Rosenacker († 1594).
Epitaph for Ritter Fuchs von Kannenberg
Epitaph for the converted Jew Meyer
literature
- Josef Vassilière: Gundelsheim - A guide through the Teutonic Order city. Otto Welker Publishing House, Neckarsulm 1978
- Hartmut Gräf: Unterländer Altar 1350–1540 , Heilbronn 1983, p. 52/53, No. A 9 (Annenaltar).
- Barbara Springmann, Jochen Ansel: The Lent Cloths of the Catholic Church St. Nikolaus in Gundelsheim. A tradition is revived thanks to the restoration . In: Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg , 41st year 2012, issue 1, pp. 10-14 ( PDF )
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 6 " N , 9 ° 9 ′ 30.8" E