"Description:
Group of buildings consisting of church and rectory standing on the site of the former Amtshaus below the castle and within the walled rocky ridge. Built in 1892/93 according to plans by the district building inspector Natorp from Oldeslohe. Restored after partial destruction in 1944.
The Protestant church is architecturally a remarkably well-organized neo-Gothic church building on the outside, inside and in detail. In terms of town history, the church testifies to the independence of the Protestant community in Saarburg, which developed after 1900. As a dominant feature of the town panorama, it forms the link between the castle and the upper town. Inside, the baroque-looking wooden gallery and the open roof construction date from the time of reconstruction. Original from the time of construction have been preserved the wooden pulpit and the side altar.
History:
The influx of Protestant residents into the newly established districts of Merzig and Saarburg did not begin until after the Congress of Vienna in the first half of the 19th century. These Protestant inhabitants were initially Prussian administrators.
The foundation of an independent parish in Merzig, to which the Protestant inhabitants of Saarburg were also assigned, took place in 1851. In the absence of a church of its own in Saarburg, services were initially held in the hall of the district court. It was not until 1893 that Saarburg was able to inaugurate its own Protestant church, which was built according to plans by the government architect Natorp (Bad Oldesloe). The foundation stone was laid on May 8, 1892, and the consecration took place on July 11, 1893. The local district master builder Heudler was responsible for the construction management.
With effect from April 1, 1895, Saarburg was separated from the parent parish of Merzig and elevated to an independent parish, which, however, was only able to employ a vicar until the turn of the century due to its low financial strength.
In December 1944, the church suffered severe damage, after which it was rededicated on April 10, 1949.
In 1983, the church underwent an extensive interior renovation.
Architecture:
The church building, built in the style of historicism, is divided from west to east into a tower with a pointed helmet, a three-axis nave and a five-sided polygonal choir. The tower, which is built in front of the western narrow side of the nave in the longitudinal axis, is accompanied by a two-story stair tower on the side. The complex is completed by a sacristy annex on the south side of the choir. Yellowish-red sandstone ashlars were used as building material for the rising masonry.
Inside the church, a wooden ceiling closes off the longitudinal rectangular church room at the top, while the choir room, which is two steps higher than the nave, has a ribbed vault. On the tower side is a cantilevered gallery.
Furnishings:
The pews consist of two blocks of straight cross pews, between which a central aisle leads from the entrance portal in the tower to the choir room. In the choir room, which has three tracery windows, stands the altar. On the south side of the triumphal arch, which separates the choir room from the nave, there is a pulpit basket. The altar and pulpit basket are still part of the original furnishings.
After the 1983 renovation, new windows were installed, designed by painter and graphic artist Werner Persy (Trier). The windows in the choir room have as their motif the main Christian feasts of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, while the rosettes of the side windows have representations of possible Christian faith lived today. The windows in the choir room represent a link to the late medieval tradition of the Biblia pauperum.
Almost simultaneously, the following Protestant churches in the area were built under similar conditions: The Protestant Church Konz-Karthaus, the Protestant Church in Hermeskeil and the Protestant Church in Wittlich."
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