The Türmchen (Little tower) in

Ehrenbach Ehrenbach is a village, first mentioned in 1371, that became in 1971 part of Idstein, Hesse, Germany. Location It is located southwest of Idstein in the Ehrenbach valley. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes borders it in the south. The highest poi ...

, an Ortsteil of

Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany, is a

fachwerk Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

building from around 1780 that served various purposes. The listed historic monument has been a Protestant chapel since 1982.

History

The Türmchen was built around 1780 on an elevated ground as a ''Hirtenhaus'' (shepherds' house). The building belongs to the town of

.The street address is Malbachweg 1. In 19821, it was consecrated as a chapel, and now serves for monthly church services of the Oberauroff/Görsroth/Eschenhahn parish of the

Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of its most prominent churches is Katharinen ...

. The building was completely restored over two years beginning in 2019. It is a listed historic monument.

Building

The Türmchen is located on a level higher than the street, supported by a wall. Based on a high foundation of ''Bruchstein'' (quarry stone), it is a

(timber-framed) construction with a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...

. The roof is built of timber cut in winter 1685/86. The slated

ridge turret A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building. It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing ...

is much younger, built between 1737 and 1757. In was erected as a clock tower, long before the usage of the building as a church. It explains the common name. The only entrance on the south side is reached by stairs. An original second door was blocked. Nowadays, the building comprises only a single simple rectangular room.Two dividing walls were abolished for the conversion to religious use.Hans-Hermann Reck: Bauhistorische Einschätzung der Evangelischen Kirche (Malbachweg 1), Ehrenbach dstein Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, aufgrund der gründlichen besichtigung am 21.8.2013

References

External links

Stadtteil Ehrenbach (Idstein)
(in German) kuladig.de 2021 {{coord, 50.19989, 8.2207, format=dms, type:landmark_region:DE, display=title 1780s architecture Protestant churches in Hesse Buildings and structures in Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Timber-framed churches