Bibra () is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a '' Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghaus ...

, in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. From December 1, 2007 it is part of

Grabfeld The Grabfeld () is a region in Germany, on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. It is situated southeast of the Rhön Mountains. Its highest elevation is 679 metres high in the little Gleichberge mountain range. The Grabfeld gave its name t ...

St. Leo's Church

The church dating from 1492 contains several works from

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...

:''Altar of the Apostles'', ''Altar of the Church Fathers'', and ''Altar of the Annunciation'', ''Carving of St. Kilian'', Crucifix, and epitaph of Hans

von Bibra The House of Bibra () was one of the leading ''Uradel'' (ancient noble) families in Franconia (northern part of Bavaria) and present day Thuringia from the mid-15th century to about 1600. Later on the family rose from ''Reichsrit ...

(the father of

Lorenz von Bibra Lorenz von Bibra, Duke in Franconia (1459, Mellrichstadt – 6 February 1519, Würzburg) was Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg from 1495 to 1519. His life paralleled that of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I (1459– ...

). All are wood except the epitaph. The current church had three benefactors: Kilian von Bibra, Lorenz von Bibra, and Albrecht von Bibra. All three were high church officials in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. Three benefactors hence three altar design and three coat-of-arms stained glass windows.

Photo gallery

Image:BibraSign2024.jpg, Goodbye sign 2024 Image:Bibraknight.jpg, Representation of a Bibra knight in front of the castle Bibra Image:Bibra1870small.jpg, Engraving from 1870 Image:Burgbibra1.jpg, Burg Bibra Image:BurgBibraKeepWvB.jpg Image:BibraBurg02-05-27.jpg, Burg Bibra Image:BibraLuftbild04-09-17.jpg, Bibra Image:BibraSchule02-08-11.jpg, school at Bibra Image:BibraDorfkirche02-05-26.jpg, St. Leo's Church Bibra Image:BibraWappen.jpg, Albrecht von Bibra window St. Leo's church, Bibra, c.1492 Image:KilianvonBibraWindow1492.jpg, Kilian von Bibra window St. Leo's church, Bibra, c.1492 Image:LorenzvonBibra1492.jpg, Lorenz von Bibra window St. Leo's church, Bibra, c.1492 Image:Bibrapostcardesm.jpg, Postcard by Franz Scheiner

References

*Hartmann, Heinrich: ''Der Marktflecken Bibra. Eine Darstellung seiner politschen und kirchlichen Entwicklung. Festschrift zur 400 jährigen Jubelfeier der Grundsteinlegung der Kirche'', den 17. Juli 1892, Vereins für Meiningische Geschichte und Landeskunde, 13. Heft., Meiningen 1892. L.v. Eyes Buchhandlung. 208 pages *Hintzenstern, Herbert von: ''Die Altäre in Bibra. Aus Riemenschneiders Werkstatt'',

Evangelische Verlagsanstalt The Evangelische Verlagsanstalt (EVA) is a denominational media company founded in Berlin in 1946. Its shareholders are the and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony. The managing director is Sebastian Knöfel. Book publisher The range in ...

, Berlin 1969 68 pages *Hintzenstern, Herbert von: ''Von Würzburg nach Bibra, Riemenschneideraltäre in Thüringen'', Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1987 *''Die Untersuchung und Restaurierung des Verkündigungsaltares und eines Corpus Christi aus der Evangelischen Kirche St. Leo in Bibra'', Arbeitsheft des Thüringischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege Neue Folge 3, E. Reinhold Verlag, Druckerei zu Altenburg, 2001, 96 pages, ,

External links

Bibra page on the VG Grabfeld website

St. Leo Kirche

Official Site Burg Bibra e.V.

Google Books ''Der Marktflecken Bibra'' 1892

Markt Bibra, St. Leo Kirche, Burg Bibra, Neue Schloss Pages on vonbibra.net
Bibra Former municipalities in Thuringia {{SchmalkaldenMeiningen-geo-stub