page_title: Homberg (Efze)
section_title: Buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Homberg (Efze) / Culture and sightseeing / Buildings
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Stadtkirche St. Marien (Homberg)
context_page_description: Homberg is a small town in the northern part of Hesse, a state in central Germany, with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district. In 2008, the town hosted the 48th Hessentag state festival.
context_section_description: Stadtkirche St. Marien
  Homberg's town church, St. Marien's or St. Mary's, holds a special place in Hessian Protestantism: in 1526, Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous convened a synod in Homburg that sat in this church, marking the point in time when the Landgraviate of Hesse became Evangelical. Thus the church, one of the most important Gothic monuments in North Hesse, is sometimes called the Reformationskirche Hessens – the Reformation Church of Hesse.
  What follows is something of the church's history:
  A Frankish chapel is believed to have been built on the site before 900.
  About 1000 a Romanesque church or chapel was built.
  In the 12th century, a Romanesque basilica (or early hall church) was built.
  In the first half of the 14th century, the structure was remodelled or expanded in late Gothic style as a hall church of the Hessian-Westphalian form.
  In 1374, building began on the tower.
  In 1640, the tower and hall were demolished by explosion, collapse and fire after the church was occupied by Imperial troops under Piccolomini.
  From 1645 to 1746 the church was being built anew, as it says on the stone plaque on the tower above the gallery.
  In 1709 the tower watchman's dwelling was built.
  In 1893 an endowment made possible the fitting of a choir window depicting the Homberg Synod.
  Since 1965, the church has been given its current shape through the removal of building done from the 17th to 19th centuries (pews, pulpit, galleries). A cloister has also been built.
  Kirchhofslinde ("Churchyard linden")
  Before the church stands a linden tree that is more than 730 years old. Together with the church, the tree makes for a picturesque tableau over the marketplace. The poet Heinrich Ruppel dedicated the poem "Die Kirchhofslinde in Homberg" to the tree as his way of thanking those who had made donations for the tree's preservation after it had been burnt by a fire in its hollow. Also, Erich Kaiser, a "homeland researcher" (Heimatforscher) and writer, often mentioned the veteran tree in his writings.
  Stalls, furniture van and house under the Kirchhofslinde
  In the spaces under the churchyard, stalls were built to serve as sales stands for butchers and bakers, as well as to serve as cookshops or meat storage.
  At the former place of the so-called baker's stall, demolished in early 1820, a newer and notable building was built that Hombergers call the Möbelwagen ("Furniture Van").
  The building next to the church to the right was built on the rubble of the former cookshop in 1719.
  Rathaus (Town Hall)
  This was built in 1704 on the foundations of a former building built in the 15th century and destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The tower was built after the Seven Years' War. The weather vane is from 1767. Since 1989, there has been a carillon. Beside the Gothic entrance at the stairway to Obertorstraße is the Homberger Elle (Homberg Ell), a mediaeval unit of measurement 57.4 cm (22.6 in) long. Its importance reaches as far as Thuringia.
  Remodelled in 1875 was the Simbelschanze ("Simpleton Lair"; Simbel is a 
  Hessian dialect word) before the town hall. Its name comes from a tax levied the same year. The government had approved a tax on simpletons to cover rising expenditures.
  Engel-Apotheke
  This was built in 1668 on the site of a former house, and is the biggest timber-frame house on the marketplace. Since 1701 it has been a pharmacy.
  Fünffenster-Haus ("Five-Windowed House")
  In the early 19th century, a window tax was imposed, and so windows were limited to five on each floor.
  Kyffhäuser-Museum
  This has permanent exhibits with the emphasis on the Kyffhäuserbund, an old warriors' association.
  Krone ("Crown")
  This is a timber-frame house from 1480. Since 1721 it has been a guesthouse. The beams and roofwork are noteworthy. The bay windows were built in the 16th century.
  Geburtshaus des Heimatdichters Ludwig Mohr (House where the homeland poet Ludwig Mohr was born)
  This may be found on the south side of the marketplace. He wrote the novel Rot-Weiß ("Red-White") whose theme was the Dörnberg Uprising.
  Weißer Hof
  This is a Renaissance timber-frame h
caption: St. Mary's
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