St. Jacobi is a
Lutheran church and parish in
Werther, North Rhine-Westphalia
Werther is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Teutoburg Forest, approximately 10 km (6 miles) north-west of Bielefeld. It is best known for the Werther's Original cara ...
, Germany. The present building was begun in the 14th century, and was expanded in 1876. The parish became Lutheran in 1570.
History
The location of Werther appeared as "Wartera" first in a document before 1009.
A church was first mentioned in 1312. Archeological research below the church found remnants of a building from the 9th century,
described as a simple building without tower, surrounded by a cemetery.
Around 1200, a church was built in the shape of a cross from .
The nave of the present church was begun in the 14th century in
Gothic style, with a ribbed vault over consoles and semicircular wall templates.
The church was dedicated to
Jakobus der Ältere, as a document from 1748 supports.
In 1570, Werther and its church became Lutheran.
The building was expanded in 1876/77 by a
transept and a
choir, following designs by A. Hartmann in
Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
. He decorated the south transept with a display facade (''Schaufassade''). The transepts have galleries. The stained-glass choir windows were created by the ''Königlichen Institut für Glasmalerei'' (Royal Institute for Stained Glass) in Berlin in 1878, the central one being a donation by the Prussian King. In 1981, the historic interior of the late 19th century was restored.
The foundation of the west tower was dated in the 13th century, while the upper tower was added in 1876/77.
It is the highest building in Werther, dominating the skyline. The parish belongs to the Halle district of the
Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen
The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged o ...
. It took until 2009 to find confirmation in the archives that the original dedication was to Jakobus the Elder (
James the Great), and not to Jakobus the Younger (
James, son of Alphaeus
James, son of Alphaeus (Greek: Ἰάκωβος, ''Iakōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܚܠܦܝ; he, יעקב בן חלפי ''Ya'akov ben Halfai''; cop, ⲓⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲁⲗⲫⲉⲟⲥ; ) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jes ...
).
References
Further reading
* Lobbedey, Uwe u. Neugebauer, Manfred, Die Ausgrabung in der ev.-luth. Kirche in Werther, in: Westfalen 61 (1983) 1, pp. 175–188.
External links
*
St.-Jacobi-Kirche Wertherarchitektur-bildarchiv.de
Ev. St. Jacobi Kirche in Werther (Westf.)outdooractive.com
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14th-century churches in Germany