Trinitatis Church (Braunlage)
The Trinitatis Church is the Evangelical Lutheran church in the town of Braunlage in the Harz Mountains in Lower Saxony . The parish belongs to the provost of Bad Harzburg of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Braunschweig and is part of the parish association Kapellenfleck im Harz . It is located in the center of Braunlage at the address Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 16.
Architecture and history
Previous buildings
The first small church building in Braunlage was built in 1602. It was located in the area of today's property at Marktstrasse 16. There were two small bells that were located in a roof turret on the church. A little later a third, somewhat larger bell was added for 150 Thaler. Other information suggests that a third bell was delivered in 1697. However, it no longer fit on the roof turret, so a bell tower was built, which was probably also built in 1697 and accommodated all three existing bells. A stone with the year 1697 in a dry stone wall between Pfarrstrasse and the rectory reminds of this time. It was probably originally in the base of the tower and later in the wall that separated the parish from the parish garden.
In 1714 a new half-timbered church was built at the current location and plastered with lime. On the outside, the walls were covered with wooden cladding. The joints between the vertically attached boards were covered with strips. The compartments of the framework were filled with small rubble stones and partially crushed roof tiles. The foundation walls consisted of rubble stones. The construction costs also amounted to 2935 thalers.
Initially, this building also received a roof turret in which the church bells were housed. However, severe vibration problems arose during the inauguration, so that the three bells came back into the bell tower of the old church. The tower was also built in half-timbered construction and covered with a hunched gable roof. The church bells were from 1697 and bore the inscription Heiso Meyer pour me zu Wolffenb. Anno 1697.
The floor plan was designed as a rectangle, with small wings protruding in the middle of the long sides. The church was consecrated on the 1st of Advent in 1714 by Duke Ludwig Rudolf . In a solemn procession, the altar Bible, candles and holy implements were carried from the old to the new church. On the occasion of the inauguration, the Duke donated commemorative medals. It showed Jacob pouring oil on a stone on which he had seen the open sky in a dream. A Latin transcription read: This stone, which I erected all at once, shall be called the house of God. Gene. 28 . Below that was the name of the church SSTRINITATI . In 1806 the medals were stolen from looting French soldiers. One last remaining medal disappeared from the local museum in 1945.
The interior of the church was covered with a vaulted, boarded ceiling. Men and women were separated in the church. While the women sat in the nave , the men’s seats were on the large and small gallery. The simple furnishings included a baroque pulpit wall with an altarpiece from the previous church from 1613. The altarpiece depicting the Trinity is now in the Braunlage local history museum . Other furnishings from the first church are also exhibited there, including the baptismal font from 1657 and a baptismal angel . Parts of the inventory of the second church are now in the cemetery chapel.
There were also pewter candlesticks from 1671. A goblet and paten from 1693 that still exist today are noteworthy. They are bequeathed by the chief factor of the Braunlager Eisenhütte, Joh. Friedr. Walther back. The coats of arms of the couple are engraved at the base of the chalice. The coat of arms of the city of Braunlage emerged from this.
The church had an organ with 16 stops. The church was renovated in 1833 and a third bell was cast in 1847. A new baptismal font made of plaster was donated in 1884 and is still in the prayer corner of the church today.
Today's construction
Plans to build today's church had been in existence since 1881, an initial cost estimate of 40,000 marks was made on April 30, 1883. In autumn 1886 the old church building was demolished while the old bell tower was initially retained. The new church was built from 1887 to 1889 using the half-timbered construction typical of the region. The costs amounted to 60,000 marks, for which there was state support in the amount of 41,000 marks. The framework consists of Harz spruce wood. Granite blocks from the quarry on the Wurmberg were used for the foundation . The construction was carried out by the government master builder Heinrich Gebhardt from Blankenburg (Harz) . Construction supervisor Herzberg and master carpenter Ulrich from Hasselfelde as well as master mason Pfeiffer from Walkenried were active . The church also received a steeple on the west side. The framework of the tower received a special reinforcement in order to be able to serve as a bell tower. However, the old bell tower was initially retained. The church button was made by master coppersmith Friedrich Bökemeyer in Blankenburg.
Above the altar there are stained glass windows donated by the Carl Röhrig glassworks from Braunlage in the chancel. In the middle of the three windows Jesus is shown surrounded by a wreath of light. He invites to holy communion. On the left there is the inscription Glory to God on high , on the right peace on earth .
The inauguration with a solemn entry of the community and great public sympathy took place on October 6, 1889. The general superintendent held the consecration speech. The keys were handed over in front of the west portal.
In 1889 a font made of oak was donated, which is still in use today. Other foundations concerned the pulpit, crucifix and lead windows.
A large chandelier , which was purchased in 1895, dominates the interior of the church . It also goes back to a design by Gebhardt and comprises twelve candelabra . These consist of three candles each around a taller one. The number three stands for the trinity . The twelve upper candles each bear a coat of arms, including the white tower of Blankenburg (Harz) , the deer antlers of the princes of Regenstein , the Brunswick lion and the colors of the German Empire . The candlestick is completed by a crown. The candles are now operated electrically.
In 1906 the church received steam heating and aerogen gas lighting , and in 1913 electric light. Between 1904 and 1915 extensive construction work took place on the parish property, the parish pond was filled in and in 1904 the stable, shed and the old bell tower were demolished. In addition, a new commercial building was built. A parish order was adopted in 1911. During the First World War , 35 organ pipes were handed in for armament purposes in 1917, which were not replaced until 1935. In 1917/1918 the two larger bells from the previous building were also given up. For the middle bell with the inscription God bless Braunlage there was a farewell ceremony on July 22nd. She was thrown out of the tower a few days later. On November 11, 1917, a Luther oak was planted .
As early as 1920, three new bells were purchased from donations. The old bell that was still left was melted down. The largest of the bells bore the inscription The great war fell prey to the old bells ringing beautifully . The smallest bell that is still in use today bears the words God bless Braunlage again .
In addition to a new exterior painting, the church received a tower clock made by the Weule company from Bockenem in 1925 . In 1928 the top of the church tower was repaired and rebuilt. The spire of the tower had tilted sharply due to damage to the wood as a result of permanent moisture damage and threatens to fall. The button of the church tower was opened during the work and the documents inside were viewed. Also in the Second World War , deliveries had to be made due to armament. It hit the two largest church bells that were dropped in 1942.
A baptismal jug from 1884 and a baptismal bowl from 1905 also had to be delivered. As a replacement, Pastor Kiel had a new jug and bowl made out of donated silver and the brass of American ammunition cartridges. The bowl bears the Latin inscription. Metal, intended for killing, is now used for acceptance into communion with Christ, who wants to help us achieve peace.
In 1951 the church received bells on loan from parishes in Western Pomerania , in which there were no more German Protestant parishes after the war and expulsion. One bell originally came from Schwolow . It is currently still in the church tower and bears the inscription All that breathes, praise the Lord . The other bell was cast in 1777 and came from Falkenberg (Naugard) . It bears the inscription Soli Deo Gloria . In the long run, however, the bell proved to be too heavy or its tone did not harmonize and was replaced in 1982. It has been in the sanctuary since then.
From 1961 to 1964 renovations took place inside the church. In 1961 the church received a new gas heating system. Double glass panes and new church stalls followed in 1964. The chancel received a new floor, the central aisle a new runner. The pulpit was moved and in 1962 the bell was electrified. The exterior paintwork was touched up and then renewed in 1972. When the old paint was burning off, a fire broke out in the church tower at lunchtime on September 7, 1972, but the fire department was able to contain it. Pastor Wolfgang Wähling then entered the active service of the local volunteer fire department.
A new parish hall was built in 1969/70. In 1975/76 a new parsonage was built at Tanner Straße 8. The church had belonged to the remaining provost of Blankenburg from 1945 until it came to the provost of Bad Harzburg on April 1, 1976 . In 2002 the parish association Braunlage- Fir was formed.
In 1977 the floor in the chancel was renewed. At the same time a new altar chandelier was created as a wood carving from Altenau . The altar also received a sandstone slab and a new altar ceiling. At the same time a lectern was purchased. New Easter candlesticks followed in 1980. From October 1980 the parish published the parish journal Heimatkirche.
The church was given the name Trinitatis-Kirche in 1981 through a church council resolution. On October 3, 1982, on the occasion of Thanksgiving, a new church bell was consecrated Glory to God in on highest and peace on earth .
In 1983 the parish hall was renovated, with the flat roof being converted into a sloping roof. Glazier Uwe Schulze restored the church windows in 1987/88. In 1995 the outer facade was given a new coat of paint. In 2012, the area by the church and the interior of the entrance were redesigned. The old gas heating gave way to a new heating system in 2014, which, in addition to the church, also includes the parish and rectory.
Since January 1, 2017, the parish has been part of the Kapellenfleck parish association in the Harz Mountains .
organ
Organ builder R. Knauf from Bleicherode built the church organ in 1889 for 4,800 marks, after which the price was reduced from 6,000 marks . It comprised 20 registers. The empty spaces of the 35 pipes withdrawn in 1917 were covered with dark fabric. In 1935 the pipes were replaced. In 1968 Friedrich Weißenborn from Braunschweig converted the organ to 23 registers. In 1976/77 the instrument was restored for 40,000 DM. Due to fluctuations caused by the heavy bells and the low humidity , further renovation work was necessary. Organ builder Inigo Korte carried out a general overhaul of the instrument in 2005.
The organ is two-manual with a mechanical action and has around 850 pipes. There has been an electrical registration since 1968.
Monuments in front of the church
To the north of the west portal of the church is a war memorial dedicated to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, inaugurated on June 2, 1901 . In 1922, a memorial to the dead of World War I was erected to the south. A memorial stele for the death march of 1945 was erected in 2005 to the west of the church.
Pastor at the Trinitatis Church
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literature
- Helmut Liersch, Jürgen A. Dittrich: Harz Church Travel. Goslar 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813191-1-8 , page 22 f.
- Claudia and Axel Lundbeck: Ev.-luth. Trinitatiskirche Braunlage. without year (before 2020)
- 125 years of the Trinity Church in Braunlage. Editor: Ev. Lutheran parish Braunlage, 2014
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 125 years Trinity Church Braunlage , publisher: Ev. Lutheran parish Braunlage, 2014, page 6
- ↑ 125 years Trinity Church Braunlage , publisher: Ev. Lutheran parish Braunlage, 2014, page 22
- ^ Claudia and Axel Lundbeck: Ev.-luth. Trinitatiskirche Braunlage. without year (before 2020), page 17
Coordinates: 51 ° 43 ′ 36.7 ″ N , 10 ° 36 ′ 37.4 ″ E