Evangelische Kirche Marienhagen, Gothic church in Wiehl, Germany.
The Evangelische Kirche Marienhagen is a white-walled church with a dark slate roof in the centre of Marienhagen, a district of Wiehl. Its massive, almost unarticulated west tower is a 13th-century Romanesque rubble-stone structure; the nave measures 17 m by 5.70 m. The tower's steep spire carries a small red-and-white louvered dormer, while the lower polygonal section to the right has a hipped roof, pilasters and tall arched windows with red-brown mullioned panes.
The massive west tower dates from the 13th century and belongs to the group of Romanesque plastered rubble-stone towers of the Oberbergisches Land. The church was founded around 1300 by the Knights Hospitaller commandery at Schloss Burg, and the nave, unusual for the Bergisches Land, may reflect links to Cologne. In 1907–1908 the Cologne church painter Anton Bardenhewer heavily renewed the early Gothic choir paintings; a new uncovering followed in summer 1959 under conservator Wolfhart Glaise.
Locals call it the "Bunte Kirche" rather than "Kerke", though it counts among the Bergisch "Bunten Kerken"; it is also known as the Johanniter-Kirche after the Knights Hospitaller who founded it around 1300 from the Kommende at Schloss Burg. Inside, three grave slabs of the 16th and 17th centuries recall the former lords of Burg Bieberstein: Gerlach von Karthusen, his son-in-law Jost von Lixfelt and Jost's son Albert von Lixfelt.
The church stands in the middle of the village (Ortsmitte) of Marienhagen, in the Oberbergischer Kreis, and belongs to the Protestant parish of Marienhagen-Drespe in the Kirchenkreis An der Agger. As part of the "Offene Kirche" project it is open to visitors daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The massive west tower and the nave are entered at ground level.
The church is known locally as the "Bunte Kirche" rather than "Kerke", although it counts among the Bergisches Land's "Bunten Kerken"; it is also called the Johanniter-Kirche. Inside, three grave slabs from the 16th and 17th centuries commemorate the former lords of Burg Bieberstein: Gerlach von Karthusen, his son-in-law Jost von Lixfelt and Jost's son Albert von Lixfelt.
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