© Annika Kolken / Das Bergische

Bonte Kerke Marienhagen

Short facts

  • Wiehl

Die evangelische Kirche in Marienhagen gehört zu den fünf "Bonten Kerken" im Oberbergischen Kreis.

The “Bonten Kerken” - "Bunten Kirchen" in High German (colourful churches) - compel visitors to look up at all times. The mostly simple churches with the medieval ceiling paintings have been preserved hardly anywhere in Germany other than the Bergisches Land. Most of the churches were built in the 11th and 13th centuries. The churches were painted with religious motifs for educational purposes shortly after they were built, so the farming segment of the population, who could neither read nor write, could be taught the contents of the Bible. The paintings also survived the Reformation - many were added to over the centuries and in some cases new paintings were even created.


Today, all of the Bonten Kerken have been lovingly restored. In their simplicity and colourfulness, they offer a precious contrast to the often extremely ornate cathedrals and pilgrimage churches in the area.


The Protestant church in Marienhagen is one of the five "Bonte Kerken" (colourful churches) in the Oberbergisch district. In 1907, construction work led to the rediscovery of the medieval wall paintings at the church in Marienhagen, which were whitewashed at the beginning of the 17th century during a Calvinist (and therefore particularly hostile to the senses) reformation. The fragments of the paintings show the artistically sound outlook of an Early Gothic master of the highest order, attributed to the so-called “Cologne School” by experts.

Good to know

Contact

Bonte Kerke Marienhagen
Am Kirchplatz 1
51674 Wiehl - Marienhagen
Deutschland

Phone: +49 2261 / 77673
E-mail:
Website: tma-bensberg.de/marienhagen

Next steps

It appears that you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer as your web browser to access our site.

For practical and security reasons, we recommend that you use a current web browser such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, or Edge. Internet Explorer does not always display the complete content of our website and does not offer all the necessary functions.