Fortified church Würgendorf

The fortified church Würgendorf is a 700-year-old fortified church and the landmark choking village in the Siegerland . It stands in the middle of the old town center.

history

It is estimated that the church was built at the beginning of the 13th century. This makes it one of the oldest churches in all of South Westphalia .

According to a report by the Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Münster, the Würgendorf fortified church provides important information about the development of church construction in the southern Siegerland . Furthermore, it is of enormous importance in terms of art and architectural history and testifies to the development of religion and liturgy in the Siegerland.

The Würgendorfer fortified church is a single-yoke, late Romanesque hall building, the core of which has been preserved to this day. During dendrochronological studies (tree bark chronology) from 2004 and 2005 it was found that in 1441 a new roof with a half-timbered east gable was put on. Several of these wooden rafters have been preserved to this day.

In 1441, the east-facing choir and the 23.20 m octagonal tower were added to the central nave, which dates from the High Middle Ages . In 1452 a collar beam roof with pointed columns was made of oak wood over the choir. Several of these oak beams still exist today. In the choir vault there are late Gothic, figural wall paintings from these years, which are a series of images from the story of Christ. There are baroque paintings in the central nave and in the pulpit. There are also three wall niches in the choir vault, one of which was uncovered during restoration work in 2006. In one of these niches, with the original wooden frame from 1445, finds from the church will be exhibited in the future.

In 1749 the baroque roof structure was built over the hall, and the gallery was built in. The parapet, the chairs and the pulpit have been preserved to this day. During these years the church was also given a baroque painting, some of which has been exposed today and which was supplemented and expanded during the restoration.

The bell from 1760 burst when it was rung in 1901. Two years later the church received a new four hundredweight bell, which was melted down during the First World War. The church has had three bells since 1919. Up until 1870 there was an unattractive, small annex to the central nave, but it was demolished because it was in disrepair. In 1891 red stone slabs were laid inside the church. During the work, human bones came to light. This made it clear that burials had taken place in the church for centuries.

Since 2007, the two old plaques with the names of those who died in the First World War have been hanging in the church choir. These boards date from 1920. Another board was also made and hung up, on it the names of the men who died in the Second World War (approx. 70) from Würgendorf are noted.

The church was used until the 1960s. Due to a lack of space, a new church was built and the old fortified church remained unused. For almost four decades the church was in a slow but steady decline. However, the old fortified church has recently returned to the consciousness of the local population and extensive renovation work has been carried out by the Heimatverein. From July 2007 the church will be available again for baptisms, weddings, cultural events, lectures etc. after almost 40 years of interruption.