To the Holy Cross (Wiesenbronn)

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Church of the Holy Cross with walling

The parish church of the Holy Cross is the Protestant church of Wiesenbronn . It is a listed building.

history

In armed conflicts, villages with farms were difficult to defend. The church was often the only building made of stone and also covered with bricks, i.e. protected from arrows. Churches were also regarded as places of asylum and attackers were afraid of a consecrated building. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, the church and the cemetery were surrounded with a strong and high wall in numerous places. The church or Fliehburg was built like in Wiesenbronn.

The church of the Holy Cross dominates the townscape from its elevated position. The still clearly visible walling from the entrance and the fortified northern wall point to the past as a refugee and church castle. Another indication of this is the massive tower, the two lower floors of which were built in 1230. At ground level it has no opening to the outside. Entry is only possible on the first floor on the gallery through a small door from the nave. The tower is also located near the entrance. The endangered entrance to the fortified church could be defended from here.

The parish of Wiesenbronns belonged to the Castell patronage parishes since the 14th century. Pastor David Meise was the first to put his signature on the concord formula , binding Evangelical-Lutheran confessions that were introduced to the castellans.

In 1602 the previous church was demolished. The reasons for this are not known. However, some sandstone reliefs have still survived. They were probably part of a way of the cross that led to the church. The new church was ready just a year later. A wooden pillar in the gallery and the plaque on the pillar in front of the altar remind of this important year 1603. On the latter, to the left of the year, is written in German what was particularly important to the builders for their church: God built the house for you; Give your word in it out loud.

Naming

The name Church of the Holy Cross recalls the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14th. On this date the feast of the consecration of the basilica was commemorated, which had been built by Constantine the great over the rediscovered cross of Jesus in Jerusalem. Until 1775 the residents of Wiesenbronn celebrated their parish fair in mid-September. It was eventually postponed a week because of the harvest.

inner space

altar

Altar of the church in Wiesenbronn

The Renaissance altar was donated by Anna and Johannes Büttner, a lawyer for the Margrave of Ansbach. Two bronze commemorative plates under the gallery on the south side on the right probably replaced stone grave plates after a floor renovation in the choir room.

Originally the altar was not in the choir, but in front of the column. Johannes Heunisch from Kitzingen painted the couple and the two Lutheran sacraments, Lord's Supper and Baptism, according to Büttner's specifications. The carpenter Hanns Rimbel put the three pictures one above the other in the wooden structure. The name and occupation of the painter and carpenter are recorded on the back wall. The cross and angels above complement the altar to this day, but were only added during the renovation in 1738.

The large painting that dominates the altar shows the Last Supper of Jesus with his twelve disciples. The painter left the space at the front of the table. In the free space there is a wine carafe with the name of the painter in a circumferential band. He was invited to the Lord's table, as was the congregation across the way. The disciple who looks at the viewer questioningly has a knife pointed at Jesus and a bag in his hand.

The baptism of Jesus at the Jordan is shown above the communion painting. When the caller performed the baptismal act in the desert, according to Matthew 3:16, heaven opened up over Jesus and the spirit of God descended like a dove and came upon the Son of God. The dove was attached as a bas-relief and made to glow with gold.

In the predella under the Last Supper painting, the donors were immortalized kneeling in front of the crucified Christ with their coats of arms. A city can be seen in the background. Perhaps it represents the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Choir stalls

The local authorities, the mayor's court and the sevens took their places here at the service. The coat of arms attached to the column today hung between the middle windows of the stalls until 1909. With this seating arrangement, the people had their authorities in mind. These in turn looked from their seat to the rear of the altar with inscriptions to the left of Mrs. Büttner and to the right of the legal scholar Johann Büttner. They reminded the superiors of their great responsibility for the people entrusted to them. Today the inscriptions are difficult to read due to the location of the altar in the choir room.

pulpit

The swallow's nest pulpit from the time it was built is missing one side of the hexagon. The viewer can see this very well, as there are no text passages from the banner at the top and bottom of the pulpit. You would be on the field that was replaced by the door. The carved figures were added later. Originally the arches contained pictures. Behind Jesus and John you can see the painted apostle Peter, behind Mark the apostle Paul.

The following slogan is also drawn around the inside of the sound cover: "SO GOT LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GIVED HIS SOME SON TO THAT ALL WHO ARE LOST IN FAITH BUT THE ETERNAL LIFE HAWE." The picture, probably also created by Heunisch, shows in the middle the victorious resurrected one under the outspread arms of his father. Golgotha ​​can be seen on the right and the heavenly Jerusalem on the left.

Baptismal font

It also comes from the time it was built and is attributed to the stonemason Peter Meurer, who worked in Kitzingen, as a similar baptismal font can be found there in the Protestant town church. The baptism of Jesus is depicted on the basin and the story can also be read in Latin in a banner around the pool.

Frescoes

The frescoes were only discovered and uncovered in 1972 . They prove that the choir and nave were built at the same time. The chancel is decorated by the four evangelists and above the entrance to the sacristy the baptism of Jesus with the Latin inscription: ECCE AGNUS DEI QUI TOLLIT PECCATA MUNDI. Next to it are the four evangelists.

  • Baptism of Jesus by John

  • Evangelist Matthew

  • Evangelist Luke

  • Evangelist John

On the walls of the southern and western gallery, the 12 apostles look out over the congregation. Above each there is a word from the creed according to the Württemberg church order introduced in the county of Castell. Only the opening sentence of St. Peter remains. St. Andrew next to him is also covered by the organ. This is followed by St. Jakobus Major, St. Johannes, St. Thomas, St. Jakobus Minor, only the confessional sentence of St. Philip, St. Matthew, St. Bartholomäus is missing due to the built-in stairs, St. Simon, St. Judas and St. Matthias.

On the pulpit side, on the north wall, the Last Judgment from the Revelation of John can be seen in fragments and Christ as Savior of the world.

  • Confession of the Apostle Peter

  • St. Peter and St. Andrew

  • St. James and St. John

  • St. Thomas

  • St. James Minor

  • Received saying from St. Philip

  • St. Matthew

  • Confession of St. Bartholomew

  • St. Simon

  • St. Jude Thaddaeus

  • St. Matthias

  • Christ as judge and savior of the world

literature

  • Rosmarie Hofmann: 400 years of the Church of the Holy Cross . Festschrift for the 400th anniversary of the parish fair. Ed .: Evang.-Luth. Wiesenbronn parish. Wiesenbronn 2003.
  • Jesko Graf zu Dohna (Ed.): In the footsteps of the Counts of Castell . Four towers, Benedict Press, Münsterschwarzach 2004.

Web links

Commons : Zum Heiligen Kreuz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Rosmarie Hofmann: 400 years of the Church of the Holy Cross . 2003.
  2. ↑ In the footsteps of the Counts of Castell, p. 22
  3. ↑ Princely Castell. Chancellery Archives, FII 26, The renovation of the whole church
  4. ↑ John 3:16

Coordinates: 49 ° 44 ′ 57.1 ″  N , 10 ° 18 ′ 29.7 ″  E