Uplewarder Church

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reformed Church

The Evangelical Reformed Uplewarder Church was built around 1300. It is located in the East Frisian town of Upleward , in the Krummhörn , and was consecrated to St. Donatus until the Reformation .

history

Look inside.
The walled-up clover leaf portal and the tombstones from the 16th century.

It is still unknown whether today's building has a wooden predecessor. Around 1300 the residents of Upleward began building a brick church. After completion, it was consecrated to St. Donatus. In contrast to the churches in the neighboring villages, the Uplewarder church is much simpler. The nave is shaped by the idea of ​​letting as little light as possible into the building and, in this respect, is closely related to the Reformed Church in Campen . In the Middle Ages, the idea prevailed to experience the majesty and mighty greatness of God through the sparse incidence of light. Only in the east was a special space created for the altar, which is divided by a group of three windows. Over the centuries, the church has been rebuilt and repaired several times, so that it now has a completely different appearance than when it was built. During restoration work in the 1990s, cross paintings were discovered on the longitudinal walls of the church. These are supposed to represent apostle crosses.

Building description

The Uplewarder Church is a rectangular one-room church made of brick. It was built in the Gothic style. Due to the many renovations, there is only one old window in each long side. The remaining, originally narrow, pointed arch windows were enlarged after the Reformation to allow more light into the building. The hagioscopes that were subsequently broken in and walled up again , two in the south and one in the north wall, can only be seen on the outside. When it was built, the church had three portals. The two entrances on the south side were used by the men and the priests, while only women were allowed to enter the church through the north-facing portal. The old portals were walled up, including one with a trefoil arch. As an element of high Gothic in medieval building symbols, it is a reference to the Trinity . In East Friesland it is of particular religious and political importance, as it is one of the symbols of Frisian freedom with a representation on the seal of the Upstalsboom from 1324 .

A small meeting room was set up inside the church as there is no meeting house. The roof turret was renewed in 2003. At its tip it has a gilded weathercock, which was created in 1700.

Originally the interior with four was Jochen vaulted, which now by a Voutendecke were replaced. The closed-type free-standing bell tower is located southeast of the main building. It is dated to 1854 and has a bronze bell from 1752.

Furnishing

The remains of a tabernacle from the Uplewarder church can be seen today in the mill museum in Pewsum . The pulpit on the south wall is a work of the 18th century. The organ dates from 1963 and was built by the organ builder Alfred Führer from Wilhelmshaven .

On the outer wall, tombstones were placed, including two with coats of arms, which are dated to the 16th century.

Others

During the Eighty Years' War , many Dutch refugees settled in the Krummhörn. Some worked there as pastors in the Reformed congregations, including in Upleward, where Johann Bogermann worked. His son Johannes Bogermann was born in the rectory in 1576. He is considered an influential Reformed theologian of the 17th century and was elected President of the Dordrecht Synod in 1618/19 .

See also

literature

  • Hermann Haiduck: The architecture of the medieval churches in the East Frisian coastal area . 2nd Edition. Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebs-GmbH, Aurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-940601-05-6 , p. 161, 167 f., 171, 176, 186 .

Web links

Commons : Uplewarder Kirche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Georg Dehio: Dehio - Handbook of German Art Monuments: Handbook of German Art Monuments, Bremen, Lower Saxony . German art publisher; Edition: revision, greatly expanded edition. Munich, Berlin (January 1, 1992), ISBN 3-422-03022-0 , p. 1284.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Reformiert.de: Evangelical Reformed Congregation Upleward , viewed on June 15, 2011
  3. ^ Hermann Haiduk: Medieval architecture in East Friesland . In: Karl-Ernst Behre, Hajo van Lengen : Ostfriesland. History and shape of a cultural landscape , Aurich 1995, ISBN 3-925365-85-0 . P. 271.
  4. ^ Ingeborg Nöldeke: Hidden treasures in East Frisian village churches - hagioscopes, rood screens and sarcophagus lids - overlooked details from the Middle Ages . Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7308-1048-4 , p. 112 ff.
  5. ↑ Greetsiel and the Krummhörn: Upleward , accessed on June 15, 2011.
  6. ^ Ortschronisten der Ostfriesischen Landschaft : Upleward (PDF file; 51 kB), accessed on June 15, 2011.


Coordinates: 53 ° 25 ′ 19.4 ″  N , 7 ° 2 ′ 43.5 ″  E