St. Bartholomew's Church, Themar facts for kids
St. Bartholomew's Church, also known as St. Bartholomew's Church, is a very old and important church in the town of Themar in Thuringia, Germany. It's named after St. Bartholomew, a saint. This church is one of the most decorated churches in the upper Werra river valley. It's also one of the few buildings in Themar that has survived many years and changes since the town was first mentioned way back in 796!
Long ago, there were two churches in Themar: the "Upper Church" and the "Lower Church." The "Lower Church" was built in a very old style called Romanesque. You can still see parts of it today in the church's vestry (a room for priests) and in the lower parts of the church tower.
In 1484, Pope Sixtus IV gave permission for the church to be fixed up. This happened because Countess Margaretha of Henneberg helped to arrange it.
The building of the church we see today started in 1488. A church official named Antonius König, from a nearby monastery, began the project. The main part of the church, built in a style called Late Gothic, was finished in 1502.
The Protestant Reformation changed many things in Europe. In Themar, the Reformation began in 1544, led by Count Ernst von Henneberg. After this, the church received several smaller altars (special tables used in church services) that had beautiful carvings. The church building was also changed many times over the next decades, starting in 1541.
Inside, a curved ceiling called a barrel vault was added. Two upper levels, called matroneums, were also built. The wooden beams supporting these levels have interesting sculptures of faces, sometimes called "Bartmannsköpfen." You can find similar sculptures in other churches nearby.
The matroneums also have sculptures of saints and apostles on their columns. Some of these sculptures came from older Gothic altars. They are also decorated with famous verses from the Bible.
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The Marienaltar: A Special Altar
In the front part of the church, called the choir, there is a very valuable altar known as the Marienaltar (St. Mary's Altar). It was made around 1510 by an artist named Hans Nußbaum from Bamberg.
The center of the altar shows Mary holding Jesus as a child. On her sides, you can see the archangel Michael fighting a dragon with his spear, and St. Bartholomew, who is the patron saint of both the church and the town.
The side panels of the altar show important moments from Mary's life. These include the angel telling Mary she would have a baby, the birth of Jesus, the three wise men visiting, and Mary crying with the apostles. On the back of these panels, there are paintings of other saints like St Barbara, St Dorothy, St Margaret, and St Catherine. At the very bottom of the altar, called the Predella, you can see a painting of the Holy Kinship, which shows Mary's family.
The Marienaltar is not just a beautiful piece of art; it's also important for the town's history. It actually helped save the church from being burned down during the Thirty Years' War. After a big battle in 1634, a general named Johann Ludwig Hektor of Isolani and his soldiers were plundering towns.
On October 16, 1634, Themar was burned down by these soldiers. The church was also about to burn, but a kind Italian officer saw the Marienaltar. He was so moved by its beauty that he ordered his soldiers to put out the fire near the altar. This saved the entire church!
Other amazing artworks in the church include:
- The shrine of the apostles (around 1500), which is sometimes called the Nasenaltar (nose altar) because the apostles' faces have such strong expressions. On the back of its side panels, there's a painting of the Apostelabschied (the Great Commission, when Jesus told his apostles to spread his teachings).
- At the north wall, there's a pilgrimage altar. On the back of one of its side panels, you can see the Hühnchenlegende (miracle of the chicken) from a famous story about St James.
- At the south wall, there's a Pietà altar (showing Mary mourning Jesus) and a Gothic Mondsichelmadonna (a statue of Mary standing on a crescent moon).
- In the choir area, there's a special memorial in the Renaissance style.
- A fresco painting of St. Catherine was found in 1934.
- The richly decorated Schalldeckel (a sounding-board above the pulpit) from 1644.
- An Epistelstuhl (a reading-desk) from the mid-17th century, and several other paintings.
Around 1900, beautiful stained glass windows were added to the choir area. They show stories from the Bible, like the story of the lost son, Jesus blessing children, and the Good Samaritan. The last time St. Bartholomew's Church was renovated was in 1972.
The Organ: Music in the Church
The church's organ was first put in place in 1851 by organ builders Johann Michel and Wilhelm Holland. Some parts of an older organ from 1629 were used in this new one. In 1866, the organ was moved to a larger upper level in the west part of the church. It was last fixed and updated in 1999 and 2000.
An interesting fact about the church is that Georg Christoph Bach worked here. He was the oldest uncle of the very famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Georg Christoph was the church's choirmaster and a teacher at the local school from 1668 to 1684. He later moved to another town and became the ancestor of a different branch of the Bach family.
The Tower: Home to Bells and Guards
The church tower, built in the Renaissance style, holds three bells. The oldest bell was made in 1488, and another in 1507. A bell named the Bartholomäus bell, made in 1520, had to be given away in 1942 during a war. In 1955, a new steel bell was put in its place.
For many years, a family of tower guards named Rust lived in the church tower, right up until the 1950s! You can still see the three rooms of their apartment and a special winch. This winch was used to lift food, water, and coal up to their home in the tower.
See also
In Spanish: Iglesia de San Bartolomé (Themar) para niños
