The Church of Elmenhorst in a Baroque Perspective
A short history of its construction
The history of the church begins in the 13th century. Approximately around 1200, prince Wizlaw I. gave a 60 square kilometers piece of land in Pomerania to the Cistercian Order. The monks cultivated this area and in 1231 they founded the monastery Neuenkamp, which administered also the village Elmenhorst. The only place of worship was a little stone made chapel. In 1270, a hall, constructed of boulders was constructed, and later a southern vestry added. The polygonal shaped choir was built up with bricks probably in the 15th century, the wooden tower was added two centuries later.
The interior is much younger, because of different wars and crises during the 17th and 18th centuries. Especially the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and the Great Northern War (1700-1721) prevented an effective work on the interior before the 1720s. In 1806-1807, the church was used by the Napoleonic Troops as an ammunition dump, which caused costs in the interior again.
Pulpit
The polygonal pulpit was already renewed in 1723. Originally it had paintings of the savior and the three evangelists: Mark, Luke and John. In past times, the pulpit was probably detached and the missing painting of the preacher Saint Matthew attached to the wall-side. On the back of the pulpit ceiling are images of Moses, Aaron and Joshua in the upper left part. Pictures of other figures from the Old Testament, like Simson, David and Elias, are located below. The polygonal pulpit ceiling is ornamented with a sun, which have the Greek letters alpha, omega and the initials from Christ “Chi-Rho” on it.
The Retable
The two-storied retable, erected up in 1730, has in its socket a painting of The Last Supper, which is framed with several cherubs. Above this, there is picture, which shows the birth of Christ. This painting from 1844 replaced the missing original ones from 1806/7. The principal floor is framed with twisted columns and acanthus ornaments. Over the entablature we witness is a Gethsemane depiction with the all-seeing eye of god with an aureola. Golden, allegoric figures are located on both sides. The retable is crowned with the triumphant Christ.
The Epitaph
The baroque tablet to Ulrich/Erich Ki(e)sow, a son of the pastor, who died in 1687, is surrounded by a wooden, oval carved frame, with an hardly readable inscription.