Village church of St. Laurentius Freienorla
Village church of St. Laurentius Freienorla
From the outside, the first thing you notice is a beautiful Gothic doorway, which is no longer in use and now houses a Baroque tombstone, the text of which has been weathered to the point of illegibility. The church is a simple building with old Gothic tracery in the choir windows. A damaged Gothic baptismal font stands in front of it. The whole is surrounded by a wall that is still completely intact, but lacks a covering. The building appears to be in two parts and has a ridge turret above the nave.
Inside there is a Gothic triumphal arch, behind which stands the modest altar. Above it, the organ case rises high into the pointed arch. It is richly decorated with flowers and carved veil boards and crowned by two putti with trumpets. The date 1746 is hidden inside, and the organ balustrade in front of it is filled with painted plank grooves. The ceiling above is flat with simple paintings. Remnants of the Baroque decoration that once existed can still be seen in the arch. The single-door presbytery behind the altar is unusual. The baptismal font is in the shape of a vase standing on a cubic base. A modern baptismal font still stands at the side, apparently no longer in use. The pulpit is located in front of the triumphal arch. It is also very simple.
Precious witnesses to the past are the two sacrament houses, one of which still has the old door. They are made of stone and apparently date from around 1500. The nave has two galleries, the lower of which has a remarkably modern design. The transverse part of the upper gallery is filled with Baroque ornamentation, while the wing on the north wall is only sparsely painted. The former lodge of the lords of the manor in the half-timbered extension, accessible via the gallery, now houses a small community room.
There are two bells in the ridge turret. The older one bears the inscription: ANNO MDCXI (1611) GOS MICH IM NAMEN GOTTES HIERONYMUS MOERINCK ZU ERFURDT. It was welded in 2007 after a crack was discovered. In the same year, Rudolf Perner from Passau cast the second, smaller bell.
The church organ dates back to 1742 and was built by the Silbermann pupil Justus Ehrenfried Gerhardt from Lindig.
Details
Germany
Free orla
07768
Village street