To the holy blood of Christ

On the Holy Blood of Christ, 2011

The Protestant Church of the Holy Blood of Christ is a listed sacred building in Armsheim in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate .

history

The late Gothic village church was built on a fortified cemetery in the 15th century as a pilgrimage church for the veneration of the Holy Blood . A church dedicated to Remigius of Reims had previously stood in the same place .

Construction began in 1431 with a high, star-vaulted choir. This closes on five sides and has three-part tracery windows . The vaults rest on corner services with foliage capitals . The builders of the choir belonged to the school of Madern Gerthener (compare the Leonhardskirche in Frankfurt am Main and the west choir of the Katharinenkirche in Oppenheim).

The long house with 3 ½ yokes probably comes from the Oberdiebach or Oberingelheim masters. The two aisles with the central nave are almost the same height, but narrower by half. The cross-ribbed vaults of the central nave rest on strong round pillars. In the second half of the 15th century, the vaults were decorated with magnificent paintings.

After 1471 the construction of the mighty over 60 m high tower began and was completed around 1500. It closes off like a protective westwork towards the old city wall. The vault of the tower entrance hall was renewed after a fire in 1854. An octagonal upper floor rests on two square high basement floors, around which a walk-in gallery (walkway) leads. A tracery gallery that was previously destroyed was also renewed around 1854. The tower is similar to that of the Heiliggeistkirche in Heidelberg and may have been designed by the same master builder Nikolaus Eseler .

Furnishing

High choir

The over 14 meter high choir in the east has a three-sided steeply hipped roof in the east. The choir opens behind the final arch of the nave and is executed in excellent Gothic architecture. The six large articulated windows dominate. A shining star vault can be seen in the center of the choir building. The keystone shows the dedication of the church, a representation of an angel with a corporal and a chalice. A relic is exhibited in the choir room , which supposedly contains the miraculous blood of Christ . This relic is venerated by pilgrims.

Foolish figures

As a conspicuous design feature of the medieval attitude towards life, several heads look down from two spandrels of the star vault and several fool's faces with mocking facial expressions look down at the church visitors from the side vaulted areas.

Stained glass window

In the sacristy there are fragments of artistic stained glass windows from 1440 that the church was equipped with. A hailstorm in 1859 largely destroyed it. Except for a few remains in the tracery of the pointed arches, they were removed. Otto Linnemann , a glass artist, redesigned several windows in 1914. The three eastern choir windows show Jesus' salvation stations . The glass artist Hans Gottfried von Stockhausen filled the remaining gaps from 2006 to 2008. The figurative window of the Beatitudes deserves special mention .

Main entrance

The main entrance is on the south side and is protected by a vestibule with a magnificent net vault. This is decorated with plenty of floral painting. A representative foundation stone attests to the laying of the foundation stone in 1431. A relief depicting two beautifully dressed angels shows how they hold a chalice and a corporal . This is to show the special dedication and consecration of the church as one of the holy blood of Christ.

Baroque organ

Johann Michael Stumm in 1739 created in the Baroque held organ . The names of the pastor, the organist and the church elder can be read on the pipes . The year of foundation is also recorded. The imposing pipes and the carvings on the sides were gilded in 1760.

Other equipment

Medieval pulpit base around 1500 with symbols of the evangelists and angels, the arms of Christ on the coats of arms .
Gravestones of Siegfried von Löwenstein , Margarete von Heppenheim and Conrad Odenkemmer .
Wappenstein of the Puller von Hohenburg