Neckargartach, Stadt Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg

Gardach was originally an estate located outside of the village of Böllingen. It is first mentioned in documents dating to 767. By the 9th century, the estate had become larger than the nearby village. By 1161, a specific place named Neccargardacha is mentioned in documents - to distinguish it from neighboring Großgartach and Kleingartach. The name is derived from its location at the confluence of the Leinbach (formerly Gartach) and Neckar Rivers.

Neckargartach, northwest of Heilbronn, is today part of metropolitan Heilbronn.

Church:

Kirchbergstr. 6
74078 Heilbronn

In the Middle Ages, the village was surrounded by a fortress, and a fortress church was constructed. The earliest mention of a parish connected to Neckargartach is in 1425 with note of a church being built there in 1439 and again in 1551. The Reformation reached the region of Heilbronn in the 1730s, but was only solidified there in 1542 with the appointment of the first Protestant pastor. Most of this fortress church was demolished in 1767 to make way for the current structure of St. Peter's Church, but the Medieval tower still dates from this earlier period. The clock was added to the tower in 1999.

The Gothic winged altar in St. Peter's Church dates to 1516. The shrine shows three figures: in the middle is St. Peter with a patriarchal cross, key and book; to his left is St. Paul with a sword; and to his right John the Baptist holding a lamb. Below are four church fathers: Pope Gregory, Cardinal Jerome, Bishop Ambrose and Bishop Augustine.

The organ was installed by the Schäfer Organ Company of Heilbronn in 1858.

The original bells from the church were melted down during the First World War. Those that replaced them in 1920 were placed as monuments in the church yard when they were themselves replaced in 1988.

There have always remained Catholics in Neckargartach, but it was not until 1959 when they again had a church building of their own in the village.