Marktkirche St. Johann

The Marktkirche was built around 900 AD and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. There were a total of 9 different construction periods. The first church was built as a rectangular hall church with a flat wooden ceiling and a recessed square choir. It is older than the churches in Heiligenkirchen, Heiden and Schlangen, which have a semi-circular apse. The Marktkirche could date back to the same period as the church in Stapelage, which itself is somewhat older.

In the 2nd half of the 12th century, the hall church was converted into a Romanesque church with a single nave. The west tower, which still stands today, was built at the same time. The choir received its present form around 1300. The conversion to today's late Gothic three-aisled hall nave took place in the 15th century. According to the inscription on a buttress, this work was completed in 1471.

The Marktkirche has one of the oldest church bells in Lippe. It was cast in 1518, has a diameter of 1.45 meters and bears the name "Maria." The baroque organ is one of the best in Lippe and dates back to 1707. The fortress-like church complex repeatedly offered the population protection, such as during the Bohemian invasion in 1447. However, the church was also plundered several times, such as in 1623 under Tilly. It is known from the history of the Marktkirche that the linen weavers hid their looms in the darkness of the church before the French invasion in 1679.

In times of war, when recruiters traveled through the village to recruit soldiers, the boys of Lagens hid above the church vaults. During the Reformation, the whole of Lage initially adopted the Lutheran faith and later the Reformed faith.

Art station 1: Angelika Leßmeier

Vita:

Born in 1956 in Detmold. 1977 - 1984 studied and graduated in art and Protestant theology. In teaching since 1991. Founding member of the group of visual artists "pickArt". 2000 Foundation of the studio community "e7".

Artistic focus: Painting

About the picture:

Angelika Leßmeier is uncompromising in her art. This starts with the formats of her paintings. Large formats sell poorly, but for her, pictures cannot be big enough. Although she also paints on small formats, it is easier to control emotions there. With the large-format pictures, on the other hand, the pictures dominate the viewer. Angelika Leßmeier combines a lot in her works: structure, surface and the element of realism as well as painterly elements should be united compositionally. The artist prefers acrylic paint, which she also works with paper and sand to create structures. She also likes to paint in several layers, which gives the color more life.

The artist chose the Marktkirche for her views of Laghens. The Marktkirche has always fascinated her. The colors, the shapes, the structures of the walls and the ornaments. Before she began her painting, she made several sketches and took photos from different angles. The result is a picture that is a composition. It radiates comfort, the comfort that people seek and sometimes find in a place like the Marktkirche. And there is peace in the picture. Not a calm that means standstill, but rather a reflection of the saying "strength lies in calm". The Marktkirche is more than just a building, it is a place where people give space to their souls.