Pfarrkirche, Church building in Zeyern, Germany.
St. Leonhard in Zeyern is a plastered hall church with a recessed choir and a tower at the southwest corner of the nave, beside the village street. The tower has three square storeys, round-arched sound openings and an eight-sided slate cupola with a lantern. The west facade holds a sandstone figure of St. Leonhard and a relief of the arms of Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn.
The core of the chancel walls dates from the 15th century. In October 1553 Albrecht II Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach burned Zeyern during the Second Margrave War, badly damaging the small church; in 1560 it became a Catholic parish church after the mother parish of Seibelsdorf turned Protestant. Burned again in 1632 during the Thirty Years' War, it had a working church by 1638. A new nave followed in 1721 to plans by Johann Andreas Tribl, and the tower was rebuilt in 1747/1748 to modified plans by Johann Jakob Michael Küchel; the sacristy was added in 1754.
The parish is dedicated to Saint Leonard, whose sandstone figure stands in a niche on the west facade beneath a relief of the arms of Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg. Inside, the 1744 high altar shows the Transfiguration of Saint Leonard, flanked by wooden figures of Saints Sebastian and Florian.
The building is easily accessible on foot and should be visited during regular opening hours. Information about accessibility and guided tours is available from local tourism offices.
The church has no monastery origins: the parish was raised to Catholic parish status in 1560 after the mother parish of Seibelsdorf turned Protestant. The tower at the southwest corner was rebuilt in 1747/1748 to slightly altered plans by Johann Jakob Michael Küchel, and the sacristy annex followed in 1754.
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