The parish church of St Bartholomew, Bindlach

Bindlach is the oldest parish in the region of Bayreuth: the ‘original parish’. There was a church in the 8C or 9C Slavic village long before the diocese of Bamberg was founded in 1007, but nothing remains of it now. The oldest artefact in the present church is on the tower: an angel which bears the date 1464. Rebuilding took place repeatedly , and the former altars may now be admired in Lindenhardt (Grünewald) and in Harsdorf.
Gradually, during a long building phase which lasted from 1766 until 1782, a synthesis of the arts emerged, on which the best architects and artists of the margravate collaborated.The building itself, the exterior of which is also richly decorated, was planned by the court architect C.Ph. von Gontard together with J.G.Räntz. The interior decoration was designed by R.H.Richter and J.G.Riedel. The court painter E.W. Wunder created the large ceiling picture of the Ascension of Christ, whilst the court stucco artist R.Albini fashioned the plasterwork with its Christian symbols. The pulpit altar , the work of A. Neuhauser and F.P.Schuh, is crowned with the scene of the Transfiguration of Christ. Lifesize statues of the four Evangelists shine out in the same sparkling white as those of St Peter and St Paul.
The noble Baroque organ case has also been preserved, even though the inner workings of the organ have been renewed on several occasions.
Double galleries run right around the main body of the church, which is as splendid as a ballroom. At the top of the pulpit two angels carry the initial of Margrave Alexander, during whose reign the building was completed, after his predecessor had borrowed the congregation’s money and omitted to return it. The church of Bindlach is said to have been the most expensive of all the margrave churches.