Mariae Himmelfahrt, Catholic church building in Hallgarten, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
Mariae Himmelfahrt is a Catholic church in Hallgarten with a square Romanesque tower topped by a Gothic spire and a white-walled nave under a dark slate roof. The tower has a clock with a blue centre and gold numerals, and the interior has dark wooden pews, a pinkish vaulted ceiling, and three tall stained-glass windows in the pointed choir.
A Romanesque predecessor church arose in the 12th century; its square tower and the north nave wall survive. The sacrament niche and the rib-vaulted Gothic choir with 5/8 close and tracery windows date from the 14th century, when the tower received its Gothic helm. In 1733 the nave was extended south into a Baroque hall church with a mirror vault, and in 1895 the building was lengthened westward, one third of the interior spanned by a cast-iron neo-Gothic gallery. A new sacristy and wind porch followed in 1962.
The Hallgartener Madonna, carved around 1415, holds a small wine jug in her right hand and a bunch of grapes with the Christ Child; she was venerated as patroness of the wine porters (Weinschröter), who may have donated the figure. A wooden offering box dated 1525 bears the Hallgarten coat of arms. The church is now a filial church of St. Peter and Paul Rheingau in the Limburg diocese.
The church stands in Hallgarten, part of Oestrich-Winkel, and is reached on foot from the village centre. Since 2015 it has belonged to the parish of St. Peter und Paul in Eltville, whose office handles enquiries about visiting. The tower holds a five-bell peal.
The church holds a 1415 terracotta Madonna, called the "Madonna with the Shard" for the small wine jug in her right hand. She is revered as patroness of the wine-shippers, the Weinschröter, who may have donated the figure. A copy made from the same model stands in the Louvre, long mislabelled "Belle Alsacienne" until 1908.
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