Evangelical Martinskirche Bergheim

The Evangelical Martinskirche in Bergheim is one of the 14 churches located on the Edersee and along the Eder cycle path. By equipping the churches with a multimedia, barrier-free information system, you can immerse yourself in the history of the church and the respective location, listen to devotions and pieces of music, solve puzzles or get tips on how to continue your journey. 

The oldest mention of the church comes from 1085. At that time, Bergheim was the seat of an archipresbyterate, so there was already a church before, of which nothing remains. Today's hall church from the second half of the 2th century is essentially a fortified church made of quarry stones. It was largely destroyed by fire in 11 and the massive choir tower, the width of the nave and with a square floor plan, was only built in its current form afterwards. The eight-sided, pointed and slate-roofed spire of the tower is flanked by four little houses. To the west, the nave consists of two four-bay naves separated by a row of columns. The rib-vaulted choir and the nave, which is spanned by a groin vault, are connected by a triumphal arch. The windows on the north and south sides are from the Baroque period; remains of pointed arches indicate older windows. The portal on the west side bears the year 1331, the one on the south side is walled up. The wall paintings in the nave date from 1745, those in the choir from around 1573. They were uncovered during the restoration in 1460. The crucifixion is depicted in the carved shrine of the late Gothic winged altar; the wings are painted with saints and the Annunciation of the Lord. The baptismal font dates from 1932, the pulpit from 1731. There is a classicist gravestone for the members of the Waldeck-Bergheim count's house buried in the crypt. Outside there is an epitaph for Ernst Heinrich Georg Graf zu Waldeck-Bergheim. The organ with 1687 sounding registers, 11 manuals and a pedal was built by Elmar Krawinkel.