Waldeck Town Church

The chancel was begun around 1300 and is older than the nave, which was expanded to its present form in the 16th century. The tower, built alongside the chancel like the fortified churches in Bergheim and Affoldern, may have once had four small corner turrets like those there. The inscription above one of the windows on the east side, "IN THE YEAR OF CHI (=Christ) 1560," dates well back to the time of its construction. The buttresses on the south nave were built in the 19th century, the last one at the chancel in 1867, and were extended down to street level in 1950; the stairs to the tower were not built until 1938 (replacing a wooden ladder).

In 1936, a comprehensive renovation of the church began, which—interrupted by the war—lasted until 1955. In 1988, the church received new windows and an attractive color scheme.
In 2000, a computer-controlled heating system was installed in the church. This became necessary during the restoration work on the medieval winged altarpiece to maintain an optimal indoor climate in the church.

The interior of the church dates back to medieval (i.e. pre-Reformation) times:
1. The carved altar with painted wings.

It depicts the coronation of Mary by the Trinity (the crown and dove are missing). Due to severe damage, it has been in the Hesse State Office for Monument Preservation for restoration since April 1999. Its return is expected in 2002.

There is evidence that the church was equipped with a fourth altar, a Marian altar, in 1483, so this year can be considered the earliest of its construction. It was donated by Margarete Huhn, who can be traced back to between 1460 and 1499 and was abbess of the former Augustinian monastery of Berich, the remains of which now lie in Lake Eder. She is depicted as the donor figure in the lower corner of the left wing. The front of the left wing shows the Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.

On its exterior, the left wing depicts the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) in a very rare "catechetical" style. In the center of a wide, hall-like staircase, carpeted steps lead up to a platform on which a large crucifix stands, and down to the wide-open, glowing dragon of Hell, containing the damned.

At the left edge of the picture, the five wise virgins are lined up side by side. They hold burning lamps in their hands and wear crowns over their braided hair. Opposite them stand the five foolish virgins. They wear white caps and look plaintively and askance at the wise virgins. They hold their lamps downward; the last of the oil drips from them.

You cannot go to meet the expected bridegroom with burning lights.
Placed on the steps between the cross of Christ as a symbol of salvation and the jaws of hell as a sign of eternal damnation, the two rows of women exhort us to give life its proper purpose and to ascend the steps to the saving, life-promising Lord. In this way, Jesus' parable and its interpretation are vividly intertwined.
On the right wing, the Adoration of the Magi is depicted at the front; on the back, it shows Saint Ursula and Saint Valentine, Bishop of Terni, the patron saint of epileptics. Christ and the disciples are painted on the predella of the altar. The carved crucifix is ​​of remarkable quality.

The painted memorial plaque (in front of the choir on the left) is dedicated to the parish priest's wife Christiana Margaretha Schellenberger, née Grubbusch from Wildungen (1633-1667), who died during the birth of her first child.
In the half-height modern north gallery, filler wood from an old gallery has been inserted, as well as a beam whose inscription (from Psalm 27) reads in German: "One thing I ask of the Lord, this I would have: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever, to behold the beautiful services of the Lord."

The lectern was created by the sculptor Wilhelm Hugues from Hümme in 1956.
There are graves throughout the church (members of the Counts of Waldeck, pastors and officials, courtiers and their families).

The following four gravestones are fully or partially preserved:
1. The large sandstone epitaph for Johanna Agathe, the twelfth child of the Count of Waldeck and Elisabeth, née Countess of Nassau-Siegen. The girl died of the plague on May 20, 1636. The Latin inscription reads: "Johanna Agathe, a flower of a famous family and a favorite of her parents, an anchor for the poor, a queen of youth, a shining star before God, and before men, sweet peace itself, preserved a chaste mind in perfect limbs, fearlessly endured the plague, and gave her soul to Christ, her body in hope to the grave, having completed twice eight years less 17 days. Her virgin soul was raised to the throne of heaven when a terrible war shook the earth with continuous blows."

2. The memorial stone for the town pastor and court preacher Heinrich Cölner (1598 to 1640). The Latin inscription translates as: "The highly renowned Heinrich Cölner is buried here, experienced in the fine arts, versed in the Holy Scriptures, and knowledgeable in Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac. Just as he set an example as a vigilant minister of the word for nine years in Adorf, seven years in Goddelsheim, three years in Wildungen, and one year at the Waldeck court through pious preaching and pious conduct, so he now shines like the heavenly stars. He slept peacefully on the day of the divine Jonah. Truly, he will rise again like Jonah on the Last Day. He died on November 12, in the year of Christ, 1640, at the age of 42, with 22 years in office and 20 years married."

3. The gravestone for Anna Maria Matthäi, née Krugk (1939 to 1650), rediscovered in 1676 during the demolition of a church stall and now standing on the wall near the baptismal font, bears the inscription:
"IN THE YEAR 1676 ON THE 3TH OF AUGUST THE NOBLE AND VIRTUOUS LADY ANNA MARIA OF MR. JOH. FRIEDRICHS MATTAEI, COUNT OF WALDECK, RENTWEISTER'S HOUSEWIFE, RESTED Blissfully IN THE LORD AT THE XNUMXTH YEAR, XNUMX MONTH AND XNUMX DAYS OF HER AGES. HER FATHER WAS MR. CASPAR KRUGK, PAST PASTOR IN NEUSTATT IN ROTENBURG, ANCESTOR OF FULDA. HER MOTHER WAS CATTHARINA, NEE RICHARDIN IN ST. GOAR AM RHEIN. TEXT PSALM XXV, VERSES XVII AND XVIII. THE ANGER OF MY HEART IS GREAT. LEAD ME OUT OF MY NEEDS. SEE MY Wretchedness AND MISERY AND FORGIVE ME ALL." MY SIN."

4. The tombstone for Franz, son of Count Wolrad II of Waldeck and Anastasia Günthera of Schwarzburg, who died on March 7, 1552 (fragment), is now walled into the platform at the gallery staircase. There is also a door lintel from 1576. It was formerly in the western outer wall above a now walled-up entrance to the church gallery.
The organ is the fourth in the church. It has two manuals and twelve registers and was built in 1952 by the Bosch company in Kassel. In 1978, the Lötzerich (now Krawinkel) company in Ippinghausen replaced the metal pipework and redesigned the organ case.

Of the four bells in the tower, two date from 1960 and two from the 14th century. These had to be handed over in 1943, but by a stroke of luck, they escaped destruction. One bears the inscription:
BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT IN NOMINE DOMINI + (= Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord).
On the other it says: VOVOS VOCO FULGURA FRANGO + DEFUNKTOS PLANGO (= I call the living, I break lightning, I mourn the dead).

The area around the church used to be a cemetery – the old gravestones still remind us of this.