St. John's Church, Malschwitz

A church has been recorded for Malschwitz since February 22, 1222. The old half-timbered church was destroyed in a village fire on April 12, 1715. This was followed by the construction of today's church, which was consecrated on November 11, 1716. On August 24, 1717, the small and large bells of the first ring were raised, the third bell followed just under a month later. In 1732 the churchyard was fenced in. During the Battle of Hochkirch in the Seven Years War, troops of the Prussian army were housed in the Malschwitzer church. During the Battle of Bautzen during the Wars of Liberation, the church was sacked by French troops. [1]The old wooden tower was renewed in 1836 as it was badly damaged by weathering. In 1868 the church was extensively restored: the boxes were rebuilt, the roof was given a new covering, the sacristy was relocated, the facade was repainted and a vestibule was added to the south wall. In 1905 the outer wall was repainted, and the painting of the interior was changed. The wooden tower was finally demolished in 1913 and replaced by a massive tower. On August 19, 1913, the church received three new bronze bells, two of which were confiscated during World War II and melted down for the benefit of arms production. Chilled cast iron bells were then installed in the church. [2] In 1952 the interior was redesigned again.
The splendidly carved pulpit altar is painted white and gold and was made by Theodor Pausewein. In the base cornice there is a lettering cartouche that dates the altar to the year 1709. Above is a polygonal pulpit decorated with floral decorative elements and lambrequins, on the door there is a figure of God the Father with an orb and a mandorla behind it. The sound cover is decorated with putti heads, on which the Salvator mundi stands in front of a mandorla. The Holy Spirit is shown in another halo. The structure is framed by Arkanthus tendrils.Organ gallery with owl organ (2014)
The organ was built in 1894 by Hermann Eule Orgelbau in Bautzen in an older prospect. The instrument has 20 stops on two manuals and the pedal. [4] In the tower hall of the Malschwitz Church there are tombs for Adam Zacharias Schirach (Hadam Zacharias Šěrach; 1693–1758), who was pastor in Malschwitz from 1730 until his death, and his wife († 1756).
Source: Wikipedia