Westerholter Church

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Westerholter Church

The Evangelical Lutheran Westerholter Church in the main town of Westerholt , a part of the Holtriem community in East Frisia , is a hall church with a separately built bell tower. It was built around 1250/1270 with an apse that has not been preserved and was heavily fortified in the 15th century. Since 2009 the church in Westerholt has been called Friedenskirche .

history

The church was from 1250 to 1270 on an artificially raised about five feet high mound at the old military and mail from north to Esens built. Originally it was called Elende Kirche because of its free location between the villages of Terheide and Westerholt . The original patron saint of the church is unknown.

Since the 13th century, Westerholt and its church have been the capital of the parish of the same name. This was affiliated to the Provost Ochtersum in the Diocese of Bremen . In the late 15th century, Hero Ohmken expanded it into a fortified church and, surrounded by fortifications, served the local population as a protective castle and as the base for the Harling chiefs in their disputes with the East Frisian counts. In the late Middle Ages the parish belonged to the Harlingerland .

In the course of the Saxon feud , the fortified church was besieged in 1496 by the East Frisian troops of Count Edzard I after Harlingerländer had holed up in the church. Since the defenders did not give up, Count Edzard stormed the church and led the 180-strong crew to Aurich. So the parish came under the rule of the East Frisian Count, who immediately introduced the Reformation here . After the Catholic ally Balthasar von Esens recaptured the area, the Counter-Reformation began , but was stopped again after his death in 1538. The congregation has been Protestant ever since.

By 1800 the original apse was so dilapidated that it was demolished. What remained were two stumps on the east wall. Over the centuries, the original entrances to the church were also walled up, two arched portals framed out of ashlars with a simple rectangular recess. Today the entrance is through a new west portal.

Building description

Hagioscope of the Friedenskirche (south side / outside / west.)

The church has a length of 28.1 meters and a height of 7 meters. Its walls rest on large granite blocks and are up to 1.25 meters thick. It was built from bricks on a flush square base. Bricks in the monastery format were used in the construction, which were built in a wild association with quarter stones. The long sides of the church are divided by three arched windows with an inlaid round bar on the outside and a rectangular recess on the inside. On the south side, four new windows were broken in at irregular intervals, there are also two hagioscopes that were opened later . At half the height of the wall, wall panels ( pilaster strips ) are attached to the corners and between the windows , a console frieze made of grooved quarter stones forms the upper wall. In the pointed arch dazzle decorated west gable is a bull's-eye (oculus) admitted.

Furnishing

Rohlfs organ from 1842

The furnishings of the church are of national art historical importance. The wooden pulpit is one of the oldest in East Frisia. It is provided with late Gothic folding works from the 16th century and is adorned with a coat of arms, presumably the coat of arms of an East Frisian chieftain or princely house. The sound cover was added in the 18th century.

Remains of medieval paintings are visible on the south wall of the church. Nothing has been preserved from the other original furnishings of the church.

organ

The church organ was built by the Esenser organ builder Arnold Rohlfs in the years 1840–1842. When the organ was installed, a wall that led across the church and on which 12 apostle statues stood was torn down. Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the statues. The location of the organ was initially a gallery in front of the choir in the east. The choir and altar are covered by the organ , according to the description of the church from 1860. Around 1900 the gallery and organ were moved to the west side. The one-manual organ with attached pedal and eight stops has largely been preserved and was restored by Martin Haspelmath in 1988/89 . The disposition is as follows:

I Manual C – d 3
Gedact 8th'
Flute traverse 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Nassat 3 ′
Octav 2 ′
Mixture III
Trumpet B / D 8th'
Pedal C – d 1
attached

See also

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e The ev.-luth. Church in Westerholt , accessed April 26, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Christian R. Salewski: Westerholt, administrative seat of the integrated community Holtriem, district of Wittmund (PDF file; 92 kB), accessed on March 25, 2015.
  3. ^ 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. 137 f.
  4. ^ Harm Poppen: Von der Elendskirche zum Friedenskirche Westerholt , accessed on March 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ Reinhard Ruge (NOMINE eV): Westerholt, Lutheran. Church - organ by Arnold Rohlfs (1840-42) , accessed on March 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ Evangelical Lutheran Church Westerholt, organ , accessed on July 27, 2016.

Coordinates: 53 ° 35 ′ 27.9 ″  N , 7 ° 27 ′ 29.5 ″  E