St Bartholomew's Church, Themar
Encyclopedia
The parish church St Bartholomew's Church is the town church of Themar
in Thuringia
. It is dedicated to St Bartholomew. It belongs to the most richly equipped churches of the upper valley of the Werra
. It is one of the few buildings of the small town, first mentioned in 796, which outlasted all storms of the time. The Oberkirche (upper church) at the upper gate and the Unterkirche (lower church) at the Werra were the first places of worship in the place. Of the Roman Unterkirche there still exist some remainders in the vestry and in both lower floors of the church tower.
Pope Sixtus IV gave permission for the restoration of the church on 14th of May 1484 with countess Margaretha of Henneberg
intermediating.
On 3rd of May 1488 the Chorherr (canon regular) of the Premonstratensian monastery Veßra and minister of Themar Antonius König founded the building of today's church. In 1502 the hall church in late Gothic style was completed.
The reformation was introduced to Themar on 5th of October 1544 by the count Ernst von Henneberg. After the Protestant Reformation
the church received several smaller carved altars from other churches. Since 1541 the church building was frequently converted in the course of the next decades.
The barrel vault and the two matroneums were inserted, whose support beams were decorated with beautiful Bartmannsköpfen (sculptures). Similar sculptures can be found in the churches of Rohr and Herpf near Meiningen
.
At the columns the matroneum
s were decorated with sculptures of saints and apostles , partially from older Gothic altar works and with famous verses from the bible.
about 1510.
The altar shows in the center Maria with Jesus as a child, to her sides archangel Michael killing the dragon with his lance, and St Bartholomew, the patron of church and town.
On the side panels of the altar there are stations from the life of St. Mary: The announcement to the Virgin Mary, the birth of the Lord , the three Magi and the Lamentation of St Mary by the apostles. At the back of the side panels there are paintings of St Barbara, St Dorothy, St Margaret, St Catherine. On the Predella
of the altar is to be seen the Holy Kinship.
Apart from its artistic value the Marienaltar has also great importance for local history: It retained the town church in the Thirty Year's War of being burned down. After the defeat of Sweden in the battle of Nördlingen
(1634) general Johann Ludwig Hektor of Isolani, „the commander of all Croats“, plundered the countries of the Thuringian princes.
At 16th of October (Gallustag) in 1634 Themar was burned down (on the same day as Suhl) after the plundering by the Croats. The town church would have been burned as well, but a pious Italian officer gave the order to extinguish the fire when it came near to the Marienaltar.
Further carvings and art treasures are: The shrine of the apostles (about 1500), that is called „Nasenaltar" (nose altar) in popular because of the expressive faces of the apostles.
At the back of the side panels there is a painting of the Apostelabschied (Great Commission
). At the north wall there is the altar of pilgrimage one can see the "Hühnchenlegende" (miracle of the chicken) of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (on the way of St James) at the back of a side panel.
At the south wall there are a Pietà altar and a Gothic Mondsichelmadonna, and in the choir area an epitaph in the Renaissance style. Furthermore a fresco painting representing St. Catherine, that was detected in 1934, then the richly decorated Schalldeckel (abat-voix
, or sounding-board) of the pulpit that dates from 1644 and an Epistelstuhl (reading-desk) likewise from the center of the 17th century and some paintings.
About 1900 stained glass was donated for the windows in the choir area. The pictures show Biblical scenes: the prodigal or lost son, the Kindersegnung (benediction of children, St. Luke 18, 15-17), the Good Samaritan. 1972 The last renovation of the St Bartholomew's Church was in 1972.
From 1668 to 1684 Georg Christoph Bach, the oldest uncle of Johann Sebastian Bach
, worked as Kantor at the town church and as a teacher at the Latin school of Themar. In 1684 he was appointed to Schweinfurt
and became the ancester of the Schweinfurt branch of the Bach family.
style contains three bells. The oldest bell was cast in 1488, another in 1507. The Bartholomäus bell that was cast in 1520 had to be delivered in 1942. In 1955 a steel bell was put in instead. In the church tower there lived a family of tower guards called Rust up to the fifties of the last century. The three rooms of their flat and the winch which helped to wind up food, water and coal up to the flat are to be still seen there.
Themar
Themar is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 11 km northwest of Hildburghausen, and 14 km southwest of Suhl.- Main sights :* St Bartholomew's Church* St. John's Church...
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. It is dedicated to St Bartholomew. It belongs to the most richly equipped churches of the upper valley of the Werra
Werra
The Werra is a river in central Germany, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden, forming the Weser....
. It is one of the few buildings of the small town, first mentioned in 796, which outlasted all storms of the time. The Oberkirche (upper church) at the upper gate and the Unterkirche (lower church) at the Werra were the first places of worship in the place. Of the Roman Unterkirche there still exist some remainders in the vestry and in both lower floors of the church tower.
Pope Sixtus IV gave permission for the restoration of the church on 14th of May 1484 with countess Margaretha of Henneberg
House of Henneberg
-Origins:The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Rhine Valley, east of modern-day France. Charibert, a nobleman in Neustria is the earliest recorded ancestor of the family, dating before 636. Five generations pass between Charibert and the next descendant...
intermediating.
On 3rd of May 1488 the Chorherr (canon regular) of the Premonstratensian monastery Veßra and minister of Themar Antonius König founded the building of today's church. In 1502 the hall church in late Gothic style was completed.
The reformation was introduced to Themar on 5th of October 1544 by the count Ernst von Henneberg. After the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
the church received several smaller carved altars from other churches. Since 1541 the church building was frequently converted in the course of the next decades.
The barrel vault and the two matroneums were inserted, whose support beams were decorated with beautiful Bartmannsköpfen (sculptures). Similar sculptures can be found in the churches of Rohr and Herpf near Meiningen
Meiningen
Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra....
.
At the columns the matroneum
Matroneum
A matroneum in architecture is a gallery on the interior of a building, originally intended to accommodate women ....
s were decorated with sculptures of saints and apostles , partially from older Gothic altar works and with famous verses from the bible.
The Marienaltar
In the choir area there is the valuable Marienaltar (altar of St. Mary), which was created by Hans Nußbaum from BambergBamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
about 1510.
The altar shows in the center Maria with Jesus as a child, to her sides archangel Michael killing the dragon with his lance, and St Bartholomew, the patron of church and town.
On the side panels of the altar there are stations from the life of St. Mary: The announcement to the Virgin Mary, the birth of the Lord , the three Magi and the Lamentation of St Mary by the apostles. At the back of the side panels there are paintings of St Barbara, St Dorothy, St Margaret, St Catherine. On the Predella
Predella
A predella is the platform or step on which an altar stands . In painting, the predella is the painting or sculpture along the frame at the bottom of an altarpiece...
of the altar is to be seen the Holy Kinship.
Apart from its artistic value the Marienaltar has also great importance for local history: It retained the town church in the Thirty Year's War of being burned down. After the defeat of Sweden in the battle of Nördlingen
Nördlingen
Nördlingen is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Bavaria, Germany, with a population of 20,000. It is located in the middle of a complex meteorite crater, called the Nördlinger Ries. The town was also the place of two battles during the Thirty Years' War...
(1634) general Johann Ludwig Hektor of Isolani, „the commander of all Croats“, plundered the countries of the Thuringian princes.
At 16th of October (Gallustag) in 1634 Themar was burned down (on the same day as Suhl) after the plundering by the Croats. The town church would have been burned as well, but a pious Italian officer gave the order to extinguish the fire when it came near to the Marienaltar.
Further carvings and art treasures are: The shrine of the apostles (about 1500), that is called „Nasenaltar" (nose altar) in popular because of the expressive faces of the apostles.
At the back of the side panels there is a painting of the Apostelabschied (Great Commission
Great Commission
The Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
). At the north wall there is the altar of pilgrimage one can see the "Hühnchenlegende" (miracle of the chicken) of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (on the way of St James) at the back of a side panel.
At the south wall there are a Pietà altar and a Gothic Mondsichelmadonna, and in the choir area an epitaph in the Renaissance style. Furthermore a fresco painting representing St. Catherine, that was detected in 1934, then the richly decorated Schalldeckel (abat-voix
Abat-voix
In religious art and architecture, an abat-voix is a sort of canopy which is placed above a pulpit and which serves the purpose of reflecting the preacher's voice toward the audience.-See also:...
, or sounding-board) of the pulpit that dates from 1644 and an Epistelstuhl (reading-desk) likewise from the center of the 17th century and some paintings.
About 1900 stained glass was donated for the windows in the choir area. The pictures show Biblical scenes: the prodigal or lost son, the Kindersegnung (benediction of children, St. Luke 18, 15-17), the Good Samaritan. 1972 The last renovation of the St Bartholomew's Church was in 1972.
The organ
Originally the organ of the town church was set up in 1851 at the east wall of the church nave by the organ-builders Johann Michel and Wilhelm Holland (from Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig). Three organ stops of the pedal division were taken over from the Weise-organ built in 1629. In 1866 the organ was moved to the extended second matroneum in the west and renewed and reorganized for the last time in the years 1999/2000 by the company Rösel and Hercher.From 1668 to 1684 Georg Christoph Bach, the oldest uncle of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, worked as Kantor at the town church and as a teacher at the Latin school of Themar. In 1684 he was appointed to Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
and became the ancester of the Schweinfurt branch of the Bach family.
The tower
The church tower in RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
style contains three bells. The oldest bell was cast in 1488, another in 1507. The Bartholomäus bell that was cast in 1520 had to be delivered in 1942. In 1955 a steel bell was put in instead. In the church tower there lived a family of tower guards called Rust up to the fifties of the last century. The three rooms of their flat and the winch which helped to wind up food, water and coal up to the flat are to be still seen there.