St. Cyriakus Church

The oldest substance of the current Curate Church of St. Cyriakus is the typical Franconian Echter Tower. Commissioned by Archpriest Erhard von Lichtenstein, Prince-Bishop Julius Echter carried out the Counter-Reformation in Reichtal from 1592. An important feature of this Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation was the renovation of ecclesiastical buildings, primarily the churches themselves.

In Schwemmelsbach, the tower was brought into its current form. The choir room was set up on the ground floor. To the west, the nave with two bays adjoined it. Inside, typical for the time and region, there was probably a simple wooden flat ceiling in the nave and a vault in the choir room. The paintings on the ceilings and walls were probably made by the same artist (whose name is unknown) from Gerolzhofen, who also painted the churches in Greßthal, Rüschenhausen, and Wasserlosen. The consecration of the church, now completed in the late Gothic style, was performed by Auxiliary Bishop Eucharius Sang in the summer of 1605.

In 1729, Johann Sigismund Kilian was appointed parish vicar by Archpriest Wilhelm Jakob von Reinach. His great wish was to build a large Baroque parish church in Greßthal. Therefore, he had plans drawn up by Balthasar Neumann. However, due to geographical conditions, a building of this magnitude was not possible in Greßthal. The parish vicar therefore suggested to the community of Schwemmelsbach that this building be erected there. Johann Sigismund Kilian himself largely covered the costs.

The foundation stone was laid in 1738, after the old church building from the Echter era had been demolished – only the tower remained. South of it, a three-bay nave with a choir in the east was now erected according to Balthasar Neumann's plans. Prince-Bishop Friedrich Carl Graf von Schönborn donated the vault and its painting to the church building, as a sign of recognition for the great achievement of the community of Schwemmelsbach and Parish Vicar Johann Sigismund Kilian.

The high altar comes from the workshop of the sculptor Johann Georg Gosolovsky. The pulpit was made by Friedrich Münz. He also created the former silk altars, which were removed in the 1920s and replaced by new ones (also in Baroque style). The consecration of the completed church was performed by Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Bernhard Mayer on October 5, 1744.

Particularly interesting is the Gothic seated Madonna (around 1350), which has had a new place on the left nave wall since 2004. The 2004 renovation has made the Curate Church of St. Cyriakus a Baroque jewel in Reichtal once again, inviting prayer.