Ceiling and organ The Christuskirche (Christ Church) in , now part of

Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany, is a Protestant church built in 1652 to 1663. It restored the structure of an older church which burnt down in 1644 during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. It features mainly

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

with some Romanesque elements, and its interior was fashioned in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, with a balcony and a ceiling painting. Stained glass windows were added in the 19th century. The church received its name in 1993, 600 years after the mentioning of a chapel. It is a listed building.

History

A monastery of

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

was built in Walsdorf in the middle of the 12th century. A chapel dedicated to Mary was first mentioned in 1393. The parish was assigned to Camberg. The chapel probably stood on a rock, as part of the monastery. St. Vincent was mentioned as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

in 1456. The parish became Lutheran during the Reformation in the 1540s. It separated from Camberg and had its own pastor. In 1644, Walsdorf and its church were devastated by fire, caused by Bavarian soldiers during the

. The church was rebuilt from 1652 to 1663. A ceiling painting by Veit Graf was completed in 1660, with references to Luther's ''

Small Catechism Luther's Small Catechism () is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed, the Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer, the Lord's Prayer ...

''. An

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

was installed in 1697. A crucifixion group, the altar and furnishings from the 17th and 18th centuries were donations from Walsdorf citizens. In 1803, colourful glass windows were donated by Hermann Düssel, created by Centner from Wiesbaden. The organ was replaced in 1858 by an instrument built by Gustav Raßmann. The three bells date back to 1716, 1746 or 1763, and 1920. The church was renovated again in 1934, and from 1966 to 1970. During the latter restoration, Baroque paintings were discovered at the organ and the balconies, and restored. The church was named Christuskirche on the occasion of the 600th anniversary in 1993. It is a listed building.

References

External links

*
Pfarrkirche, Christuskirche
(images) kirchen-galerie.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsdorf, Christuskirche Churches completed in 1663 Protestant churches in Hesse Buildings and structures in Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Gothic architecture in Germany Baroque architecture in Hesse Baroque church buildings in Germany

History

References

Further reading

External links