I visited the Evangelishe Kirche in Darmstadt-Arheilgen on September 21, 2017. For generations this church has been a place of worship for the Wannemacher family. It was certainly a special moment to see where many Wannemacher cousins were baptized for hundreds of years. Take special note of the baptismal font which is believed to be over 400 years old. Also, after the pictures there are translations for the historical markers.
The Nail Cross of Arheilgen
Gift of the Grein Family, 1984
This cross is a reminder of the time of the struggle between church and state or Kirchenkampf of 1933-1945 that also took place in Arheilgen during the time of National-Socialist rule.
Alongside the majority of the parish, then Pastor Karl Grein (1881-1957) had joined the Confessing Church. Individuals working on behalf of the “German Christians” attempted to prevent Pastor Grein from carrying out his work and consequently nailed the doors of the church shut, along with those of the parish hall (1935).
Parish members later made this cross from the nails, the wood, and the wire with which the parish hall was closed up, and presented it to Pastor Grein.
Church of the Resurrection
Late Gothic single-naved church. Built from 1477-1482 in the place of a Romanesque chapel.
The building consists of a rectangular nave, a large choir with richly reticulated vaulting, and the western tower with a spire added onto it during the Baroque period.
A small, unilateral transept indicates the existence of the previous Romanesque structure.
The church was renovated and altered several times after fires in the 16th and 17th centuries; only the walls and the Gothic choir vaulting survived the destruction.
Lutheran Church in Hessen and Nassau
“We want to serve in spiritual leadership and not as an administrative agency.”
Pastor Karl Grein, May 1945
In the rectory of the Evangelical-Lutheran Resurrection parish of Darmstadt-Arheilgen, preliminary discussions regarding the founding of the Lutheran church took place in Hessen and Nassau with the participation of Pastor Karl Grein in 1944-1945.
Translations provided by:
Ginny Lewis, Ph.D.
Professor of German
Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota
*All photographs were taken by Julia Wannamaker.
Wannamaker Genealogy 