St. Vitus, a Defensible Church
in Beilngries / Kottingwoerth in the national park Altmuehl valley
The first place of worship in Kottingwoerth was presumahly a wooden construction. This was replaced by a stone construction in the Middle Ages. A dendro-chronological analysis of logs found in the upper storey of the western tower proves that the tower was built between 1245 and 1255. We know for certain that in 1310 the old nave was pulled down and a new one constructed; the new choir had the form of an eastern tower.
In the 16th century the two towers were built higher, and the characteristic bulbous roofs were added.
The ground plan of a nave between two towers, rather unusual for a country church, was changed in the 18th century. The church had become too small and the walls of the nave were partly dilapidated. The Eichstaett 
architect Dominicus Barvieri had the idea to preserve the two towers and to build a new nave which was as wide as the old nave had been long. The result was an imposing facade with double towers, again rather unusual for a country church. The new church was consecrated in 1763.
The interior of the church is bright and serene. There is no stucco on the ceiling, just one large fresco painting. Illusory architecture with stairs and draperies are depicted, in these structures there is the scene of the martyrdom of St. Vitus.
The rococo high altar with its curling ornament and columns is dedicated to St. Vitus, the side altars to the Holy Virgin and to St. Sebastian. The sound board of the pulpit is crowned by a statue of St. Paul. The statues of St. Willibald and St. Walpurgis, patron saints of the diocese of Eichstaett, had been in the big niches of the facade; by reason of conservation they have been put on wall brackets.
The main attraction of St. Vitus is the baptistry in the eastern tower which had once been the choir. The entrance is through a Roman arch. The chapel is a vaulted quadrangular room the walls of which are completely covered by frescoes: the twelve apostles, two female samts with vessels of unction, and St. Margaret with the dragon. On the eastern wall there is the martyrdom of St. Vitus and Doomsday.
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Zuletzt aktualisiert am 10.02.2017