St. Martinus Parish Church

The St. Martinus parish church was erected in either the 8th or 9th century. Due to a large number of conversions, the original design is no longer visible. Thus, the church features elements of several architectural styles. The oldest part of the church is the 27 meter-high crossing tower, which consists of small undressed stones. The tower is based on four columns with a respective base of one square meter. These columns are connected with four Romanesque, yellow-reddish arches which form the tower’s crossing. The two transepts date from this time, too. It is assumed that they were built between 1060 and 1080 at around the same time that the Cathedral of Speyer and the Limburg, a castle near Bad Dürkheim, were also built. As the St. Martinus church is located directly between these two buildings it is very probable that the guilds of masons responsible for these building sites also contributed to the construction of the transepts.

In around 1300, the Romanesque apse was replaced with a gate from the High Gothic period and the church the old sacristy with the sacrament house was added. The crossing and the transept were also vaulted at that time.

As the church had become too small for the community, the most recent conversion began in 1955. During the construction work, it was discovered that the old nave consisted of two parts. The older part was 12 meters long while the newer one was about 22.4 meters long. It is clearly visible that the design of the old structures was successfully adapted for the building of the new nave, in spite of its modern layout. The clear effect on visitors looking from the west was made possible due to the sale of the high altar, which used to be in the center of the sanctuary. Although the precious item was greatly missed by the community to begin with, the village now had a beautiful church, which is flooded with light. Its plain and simple design ensures that the parishioners are not distracted during prayer.

The upper, modern-style windows show the symbols of the seven sacraments. In the south (from east to west), you will see the Eucharist, the Baptism, the Matrimony and the Anointing of the Sick. In the north (from east to west), there are the Holy Orders, the Confirmation and the Penance. The western upper windows show Marian symbols of the Litany of Loreto as well as angels and coats of arms from Deidesheim and Niederkirchen. The lower windows were manufactured by the family of Hans Maurer from Speyer, in accordance with the designs of Alois Johannes Plum from Mainz. The organ was manufactured by Paul Zimnol from Kaiserslautern in 1964. Günter Zeuner created the ambo and the tabernacle pillar in 1983 and the altar table is the work of Raimund Weisbrodt from Niederkirchen. After the devastation caused by the French Revolutionary Army, the figures of the saints were commandeered  by St. Paul’s monastery in Worms in 1806. The figures include St. Joseph, St. Barbara, St. Wendelin, St. Sebastian, the Good Shepherd and St. Anna Selbtritt Immaculata. The pietà from the 15th century is also among the items. St. Wendelin was originally a St. Raphael figure in a Tobias group. The figure’s wings were removed and it was given a crosier. The figure of St. Pantaleon is a carving by Gragolier from Gröden from 1890. The altar cross, created by a South Tyrolean image-maker, is a donation from the “Katholische Frauengemeinschaft Niederkirchen” (kfd). Mathias Berger from Munich designed the Stations of the Cross, which show the main messages of the 14 stations. The entrance doors were manufactured by Emil Forler, a craft metalworker from Landau, on the basis of designs by the building director Dr. K. Lochner. They show motifs like sunshine, rain, the Haardt, vineyards, rooster and praying hands (watch and pray!). The door handles are shaped like vine knives.

In 1999, a restoration of the bell ring was undertaken. Due to its age and weather factors, the oak bell frame from 1525 was in a very bad condition. Its tilted position was becoming more and more dangerous. So, in order to provide a clear ringing of the bells and to secure the safety of this part of the building, the occasion was used to refurnish the interiors of the whole belfry using modern methods. There are four bells in the bell frame - The Pantaleon Bell (weight: 260 kg) from 1843, the Martinus Bell (weight: 470 kg) and the Trinity Bell (weight 885 kg) from 1949, and the Marian Bell (weight: 190 kg) from 1950.


Internet: http://www.lebendiges-niederkirchen.de