St. Gangolf Neudenau, Romanesque church in Neudenau, Germany
St. Gangolf is a Romanesque church in Neudenau featuring a southwest tower with three tiers marked by exterior cornices and a nave extending roughly 11 meters (37 feet). The building displays characteristic simple forms and proportions typical of Romanesque design.
First mentioned in 1276, when the monastery of Amorbach sold it to the Stift Wimpfen, the church lost its status as parish church of Deitingen and became a filial of St. Laurentius in Neudenau. The village around it was abandoned by the early 15th century. The church was renewed around 1363 and restored in 1962.
The chancel's paintings were made around 1330, with further work up to 1500. They show the Last Judgment, the weighing of souls by Archangel Michael, and martyrdoms from the Legenda aurea, including Saint Gangolf pierced by spears. The opening to the side chancel cut away part of these paintings.
The chapel stands east of Neudenau on rising ground above a bend of the Jagst, enclosed by an old stone wall that opens southward onto a broad stairway. The tower door on the south facade, hung with horseshoes, is the entrance; the interior is small, with a gallery taking up much of the nave. The site is reached on foot from Neudenau.
The entrance door is decorated with numerous horseshoes left by pilgrims who arrive on horseback, a tradition connected to routes that began centuries ago. Modern riders continue this custom with annual processions through the region.
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