St. Vitus church (Gärtringen)

In the process, an oil-fired forced-air heating system was installed, wall and vault paintings were uncovered, and some changes from the 1913 renovation were reversed.

A net stretched underneath the ceiling therefore protected visitors from the falling debris until renovation work began in mid-May 2009.

The upper end is formed by the crippled hipped roof with half-timbered gables, which dates from the time of construction.

A large pointed arch window with tracery infill on each side serves as the sound opening for the bell frame on the fourth floor.

Inside, foliage corbels support the net vault, which ends with a keystone adorned with a depiction of the church saint Vitus in the oil boiler.

This means that the buttresses statically required as abutments of the vault are designed as wall piers, which in the Gärtringer church were completely drawn into the interior.

The nave is thus flanked on both long sides by a series of inset chapels separated by the pilasters and opening in high arcades to the center.

On the south front, which is designed as a showcase, there are four large, three-light, regularly arranged pointed arch windows.

The ogee-arched south portal is placed slightly east of the symmetry axis of the nave, as it would otherwise meet one of the buttresses.

The height of the vault is slightly more than 9 meters, all the rib intersections located on the central axis are provided with decorated keystones.

[6] The sacristy is much changed compared to the time of construction, original are only the profiled ogee arch door to the choir and the net vault with the three keystones.

The stones decorated with plant ornaments usually have no framing, the others have a narrow bead- or ribbon-shaped border, which, however, is usually overlapped by the depictions - especially evident in the Madonna keystone of the nave, where the head of Mary clearly projects beyond the round of the base.

It is a narrow, high brocade pattern that reaches to the vault and is framed by six floating angels arranged in pairs that hold the carpet.

Another painted tapestry, dating from approximately the same time, is located on the northern choir arch wall of the nave at the entrance to the pulpit.

The last three apostles on the north wall were washed away in favor of the late medieval sacrament house carpet over which they were painted.

The text attached to him in place of an article of creed begins with a quotation from Pauline epistles (2 Cor 11:5 EU), which underscores his ambivalent affiliation with the other apostles.

[11] They were created by Adolf Valentin Saile and depict the following biblical scenes: (left from top) six prophets, Adoration of the Magi and Shepherds, Fall of Man; (center from top) Heavenly Jerusalem, Lamb, Stream of Living Water, Angels escorting the redeemed peoples to Heavenly Jerusalem - below the Art Nouveau discs; (right from top) Women at the Empty Tomb, Good Shepherd, Pentecost, Martyr Stephen and Apostle Paul.

On the trunk of the cross is a plaque in honor of the donor Ulrich Oberanns, who was a "Bereiter" - a position between equerry and stable staff - probably also a riding instructor for the noble students of the Collegium illustre.

[12] Originally, since the end of the 16th century, the pulpit together with the stone scroll staircase was located at the central northern wall pillar of the nave.

[13] After a fixed pew was installed, this stone pulpit was moved one pier further toward the chancel in 1774, since otherwise the preacher would have had his seat at the back of the front rows of listeners.

The original base, like the cupola, was strongly profiled and the shaft was surrounded by round rods on cylindrical pedestals.

The present congregational pews date from 1913, the only decoration being the cheekpieces, which consist alternately of a rose window and a recumbent cylinder with incised diamond ornament.

The grave monument of Johann Renhard von Gärtringen, called Harder, who died in 1519, is of outstanding craftsmanship and, apart from a few insignificant missing parts, well preserved.

In comparison with contemporaneous funerary monuments, this one has some peculiarities, for example, the motif of the hovering putti with helmet is iconographically unusual.

The tomb slab was erected in 1913 and placed on the north wall of the choir, but probably inverted because of the fallen coat of arms, so that the writing is upside down.

One is dedicated to Ulrich Oberanns, who, among other things, donated the altar cross, the other to Wilhelm Gmelin, the long-time pastor of Gärtringen, who died in 1612.

The instrument now received a late-Romantic disposition and had 14 stops on two manuals and pedal; by means of transmissions, the variety of sound was inexpensively expanded.

The organ had pneumatic diaphragm chests and a self-playing organization, soon popularly called "Organola"; Weigle described it as "protected by law" and "built directly into the console, complete with tempo control, forward and backward motion, wind intake and wind exhaust, working absolutely exact.

"[15] In the 1980s, experts attested to the organ's good craftsmanship; however, it was deemed too small for the church or insufficient for liturgical requirements and not worthy of preservation musically.

According to the dimensions of the southern separator, this one was only slightly smaller than the largest one, the diameter is estimated at 100 to 110 centimeters, the weight at 600 to 900 kilograms.