Festschrift reminds of evangelical beginnings in Schongau

Created: 01/19/2022, 12:00 p.m

By: Elena Siegl

On the aerial photo from 1922, the evangelical church can be found far away from the city center.

© Stadtarchiv Schongau

A commemorative publication that was created as part of the rededication of the Trinity Church is intended to bring the history of the Protestant community closer to people from Schongau and the surrounding area.

Schongau – On the occasion of the completed renovation of the parish hall and the Trinity Church in Schongau last year and the re-inauguration, the evangelical church published a commemorative publication. "We have trawled through our history, looked at what has changed," explains Pastor Jost Herrmann. In addition, the parish wanted to introduce itself and show “who we are”. Especially outside of Schongau, many know very little about the Protestant community, according to Herrmann's experience. That is why we were happy to send a copy of the commemorative publication to all municipal councils. Because not only people from Schongau belong to the church community: from the beginning, the community area also included Altenstadt, Apfeldorf, Bernbeuren, Burggen, Denklingen, Ingenried, Hohenfurch, Kinsau, Reichling, Schwabbruck and Schwabsoien.In 2021 the congregation had 2800 members.

The aim of the evangelical church was to make the commemorative publication appealing so that people would enjoy leafing through it and getting an overview of the history and current affairs, says the pastor.

"Without having to do intensive training."

A similar perspective, almost 100 years later: The Trinity Church is now surrounded by houses, so to speak, in the center of the city.

© Hans-Helmut Herold

The first half of the commemorative publication takes a look back at the beginnings of the community.

“In the 19th century, Protestants still went to Kaufbeuren for church services.

In the horse-drawn carriage.

We have records there,” says Herrmann.

The name of the church they visited: Dreifaltigkeitskirche, which was later to be the name of the evangelical church in Schongau.

A few more years passed before it was built.

Travel pastor comes to Schongau

After all, a traveling pastor came to Schongau from 1894, and the meetings took place in the Ballenhaus hall, reports the pastor.

The number of Protestants continued to increase over time, as did the desire for their own church - which was inaugurated on Whit Monday 1916.

"The basilica in Altenstadt and the St. Anna Church in Burggen were the inspiration for the building of the evangelical church for master builder and architect Adam Stuhlfauth," says the commemorative publication.

"The tiled roof is bright white and red, that's how the church should stand on the hill in front of the city wall."

But today you are in the best location, right in the middle, describes Herrmann.

And he knows: It was similar at the Evangelical Church in Weilheim - first outside, now in the center.

Just as much has changed outside of the church, the interior design has also changed over the years.

Only the pulpit remains from the original equipment.

Extensive renovation work in the Trinity Church in Schongau

The commemorative publication also deals with the extensive renovation work on the parish hall and Trinity Church last year, which has now been completed. "Only the organ is still missing," says Herrmann. It was actually supposed to be renovated in 2007, and the church was renovated for the 100th anniversary in 2016. Nothing came of both plans at the time, according to the commemorative publication. However, the newly elected church council quickly resumed the project in 2018, so that the tenders could be issued in February 2020.

Numerous companies were involved in the renovation and the barrier-free redesign of the Evangelical parish hall, and there were tons of tasks to be done in each area.

The many steps that were necessary for both the church and the parish hall to shine in new splendor are listed in detail in the commemorative publication.

An overview of the costs (909,000 euros in total) and the financing is also given.

The commemorative publication:

If you would like to learn more about the history of the Protestant community in (and around) Schongau and the renovation, you will find the commemorative publication with more detailed descriptions and photographs in the Trinity Church (Blumenstraße).