Defense tower (Lehrensteinsfeld)
The defense tower in Lehrensteinsfeld in the Heilbronn district in northern Baden-Württemberg is the oldest building and the town's landmark. It was built in 1466 as a defensive tower and was later the tower choir and steeple of the old Laurentiuskirche, which was demolished in 1969. Under the tower there was a crypt belonging to the von Schmidberg family. The half-timbered structure of the tower was dismantled in 1998 and rebuilt in a modified form in 2005/2006.
history
In 1463, the citizens of the Steinsfeld district applied for the construction of a defensive tower at Schöntal Abbey . The request was granted and the tower was erected in 1466. Presumably it was designed as a chapel from the beginning , and thus served not only for defense but also sacred purposes. When a nave was added is unknown. The basement of the tower was the choir of the church. In 1493 a bell dedicated to St. Lawrence was cast and hung in the tower. In 1632 and 1650 more bells were added. A crypt was laid out under the tower for the local rule from 1649 to 1777, the Lords of Schmidberg.
In 1698 the tower structure was renovated, and in 1700 a church organ was purchased from the canons of Öhringen . In 1702 the nave was completely renewed and the choir arch, which bears the date of the renovation, was enlarged. This church renovation around 1700 also included the entire interior. The local authority shared the construction costs, i.e. H. the Lords of Schmidberg, the Schöntal Monastery and the citizenship. A sale of church chairs is documented after 1700, probably due to the high construction costs.
In 1830 the church was renewed again after the Schmidberg crypt was broken in and partially filled with water. The found bones, including those of Ludwig von Schmidberg (1594–1657), were placed back in the graves and the crypt was then filled with earth. A found silver, heart-shaped capsule, in which the heart of Johann Friedrich Carl von Schmidberg (1759–1777) had been buried, was sold by the community, for which the Württemberg government issued a reprimand.
The bell from 1493 shattered when the evening toll on February 26, 1900. All three bells were then cast over. The middle and small bells were delivered to be melted down during the war in 1917. Of the bells newly procured in 1920, the two largest had to be returned in the next war in 1942. In 1949 the bell was completed again.
In 1893, the collection of funds to renovate the church began. However, a little later it was decided to build a new church elsewhere, into which the collected money flowed. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Christ Church, which was consecrated on August 29, 1903, took place on July 7, 1902. The old Laurentiuskirche was no longer renovated and used for different purposes, including as a gym. In 1963 the dilapidated church was offered free of charge to the church district of Weinsberg , which wanted to set up a youth home there, but turned down the offer because of the expected high renovation costs. Since there was no other interested party to renovate the building, the nave was torn down in 1969. The defense tower was left standing, it was renovated around 1971. Its dilapidated half-timbered structure , however, also had to be removed in 1998. After only the base of the tower stood for a few years, the tower was given a modified form in 2005/2006.
Ludwig von Schmidberg's tomb, which shows his coat of arms and that of his wife Maria Magdalena von Mentzingen , was placed in the Lapidarium of the Historisches Museum in Heilbronn at the beginning of the 20th century and placed in Heilbronn's Kilian's Church after the Second World War . However, it was to be put up again in 2010 on permanent loan in the Lehrensteinsfeld defense tower.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedhelm Römer: A memorial returns . In: Heilbronn voice . August 5, 2010 ( from Stimme.de [accessed on August 5, 2010]).
literature
- W. Sailer: Municipality of Lehrensteinsfeld Ortschronik , Lehrensteinsfeld 1954/1971
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 45.1 ″ N , 9 ° 19 ′ 35.9 ″ E