Protestant Town Church (Former St. Mary's Church) Bad Wimpfen

Nice church opposite the town hall of Bad Wimpfen. Nice old town.

Definitely worth a trip

The Protestant town church, which stands on a hill near the market, is one of Bad Wimpfen's landmarks with its two slender towers and high roof. The old St. Mary's Church was first mentioned in documents in 1234. Around 1270 it received an impressive high Gothic east choir and in 1468 a large sacristy. In 1489 the council of the imperial city called for a new nave to be built, and it was completed in 1529.

If you enter it, it appears to be a large hall. The view can roam unhindered across the room. We admire its magnificent vault, which is formed into nets, loops and loops, and allow ourselves to be captivated by the massive figures of the 12 apostles. Arranged in pairs, they stand larger than life, with tablets at their feet containing the sentences of the Latin Creed, our confession of faith. An unknown painter painted them in 1516 and they were renewed around 1870 as part of a comprehensive renovation of the church. Perhaps at this time the figure of the apostle Philip acquired the facial features of the reformer Martin Luther. Lutheran sermons were preached in the church for the first time as early as 1523, and since 1588 it has been the main church for the now Protestant citizenry. A Lutheran confessional and some epitaphs from the 16th and 17th centuries are still eloquent evidence of their understanding of the faith. And every Sunday the main piece of the Lutheran church equipment sounds: the wonderful baroque organ. Johann Adam Ehrlich (1703-1784), one of the most important organ builders in southern Germany, built it in 1747/48.

Despite all the losses, something significant has been preserved from pre-Lutheran times. It takes us into the religious worlds of a long series of generations. Be it a valuable chalice from the middle of the 14th century, a vespers picture from a little later, a Pietà, or a figure of crucified Jesus with movable arms from the second half of the 15th century. It was once used in the Passion liturgy. Undamaged, the two precious altar shrines from 1500 and 1519 tell us of the believers' longing for eternal bliss, but also of their fear of purgatory and the hope of salvation from punishment for sin, and last but not least of the art of the carvers of the late Middle Ages.
Source: badwimpfen.de/gaeste-bereich/bad-wimpfen-entdecken/kirchen/ev-stadtkirche