Temple House (Neckarelz)

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Temple house in Neckarelz, view from the southeast

The temple house near the banks of the Neckar in Neckarelz in Baden-Württemberg goes back to the medieval residential tower of a Johanniterburg with the former name Burg Elz . In which since the late 16th century Tempelhaus mentioned building is after the Castle Lohrbach to the second oldest building in Mosbach and the only preserved in its authentic form Johanniter castle in Baden-Wuerttemberg. One of the art treasures of the building used as a Catholic church is the Conradus stone , a grave slab from around 1300.

history

View from the west (Neckar side)

The oldest mention of the presumably even older Tiefburg takes place in a document dated June 11, 1300, according to which the Johanniter had their office in the building that already existed at that time. The origin of the plant can only be guessed. It is assumed that a residential tower was built around 1200 in connection with the nearby Palatinate Wimpfen der Staufer . The tower was surrounded to the north and west by the old course of the Elz , and to the south and east by a moat lying a little higher.

The Order of St. John took over the castle towards the end of the 13th century and expanded it into a hospital with an associated chapel (today's choir), but sold it to Engelhart von Hirschhorn after around 50 years, on February 5, 1350 . In 1422 the facility was owned by the Count Palatine von Mosbach, in 1500 the facility went to the Electoral Palatinate . In 1581 the facility , which was used for a long time as a warehouse and cellar , was first referred to as a temple by the Palatinate office cellar, Hans Albrecht Eysenmenger . In 1606 the basement was given access from the outside in order to be more easily accessible for storage purposes.

After a change of faith in the Electoral Palatinate in 1688, Catholic services were held again for the first time in the old castle chapel, while the rest of the building was still used as a barn and fruit store. In 1698, Elector Johann Wilhelm ordered the Simultaneum for the nearby Martinskirche, so that the Catholics also used it before they were finally awarded the eastern part of the temple house as a church when the Palatinate church was divided in 1705, which they ceremoniously moved into in 1707. At first there was no direct access to the chapel, the only access was via winding paths through the storage rooms. It was not until 1731 to 1735 that the entire first floor was expanded into a church and the church was consecrated in 1737 in honor of the Assumption of Mary. The church did not have a bell until 1875, instead the Catholics made use of the right to ring in the Protestant Martinskirche.

In 1803 the complex came into the possession of the Principality of Leiningen , in 1872 the Catholic parish of Neckarelz acquired the complex and in 1879 added a sacristy . Parts of the building continued to be used as a fruit store, and in 1903 the basement was rented to a nursery. Between 1926 and 1929 the cellar was expanded into a lower church and a second gallery was added in the main church area after removing a wooden ceiling from the 18th century.

After the Second World War, the Catholic community in Neckarelz grew rapidly due to the influx of refugees, so that in 1955 the new St. Mary's Church was built in the village and became the parish church of the community. Extensive renovations were carried out on the temple house from 1963 to 1965, with a wooden ceiling being drawn into the church interior again, so that the upper floor can be used again and the chapter room can be reached more easily. In 2001, load-bearing walls were renovated and the original color scheme from the 14th century restored in the interior.

description

Look at the choir

The temple house is an elongated multi-story stone building. Access to the church is via a stone bridge and a forecourt from the south, where there are some stone figures from 1752. The polygonal choir with Gothic tracery windows and cross vaults faces east. The cross vault has ornate keystones, the choir is colored in a color scheme from the 14th century. A historical fresco of St. Christopher was uncovered on the south wall of the choir . Historical noble coats of arms have been preserved in the window walls of the nave, which makes up the rest of the floor area.

A historical grave slab, the so-called Conradus stone , is embedded in the north wall. His inscription cannot be interpreted without a doubt. According to recent research, it is the grave slab of Konrad von Büchel, who died in 1302 and who is said to have been the founder of the order castles in Neckarelz and Boxberg.

  • Conradusstein

  • Historical coats of arms in the temple house

  • Historical coats of arms in the temple house

Fresco in the choir

A historic carved altar with the depiction of St. Georg set up. The altar was once in the choir, was then kept on the upper floor and came to its present location after restoration.

A stair tower built in the southwest corner leads to the upper floor, which in the polygonal space above the choir again has a ribbed vault. The upper floor is used as an exhibition space on special occasions, there are various historical exhibits from the history of the temple house.

literature

  • Catholic parish of St. Maria Neckarelz (Ed.): Tempelhaus - 250 years of the Catholic Church . Elztal-Dallau 1987
  • History and Museum Association Mosbach (Ed.): 700 years of the Neckarelz Temple House . Mosbach-Neckarelz 2000
  • Horst Uhl: The temple house as a Catholic church in Neckarelz 1707-2007 . In: Mosbacher Hefte , 17, Mosbach 2007, pp. 53–63.

Web links

Commons : Tempelhaus (Neckarelz)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 20 ′ 30.1 ″  N , 9 ° 6 ′ 10.9 ″  E