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The church tower in Schlüchtern-Elm remains a construction site. Despite advances in research, many questions remain unanswered. The start of the renovation is now getting closer.

Schlüchtern – “It is important that we now have a way forward,” says Peter Knorr, chairman of the building committee of the Schlüchtern Protestant parish, about the “permanent construction site” of the Elm church tower. Scaffolding has been standing there for about a year and a half – not to renovate the tower, but to protect visitors.

If everything goes according to plan, the scaffolding will be obsolete in the not too distant future. “The damage to the tower facade has been known for a long time,” says Pastor Simone Schneider during an on-site appointment. “Pastor Kurt Leidorf has already discovered small pieces of mortar that have fallen down,” adds Otto Frischkorn from the parish’s building committee.

Elm church tower: renovation of the permanent construction site in sight

This month marks the 16th anniversary of Pastor Leidorf's retirement. The situation at the church in Elm, where the ARD crime scene will soon be filmedhasn't gotten any better over the years. A more intensive investigation of the damage began in spring 2024. The Frischmuth engineering firm from Gelnhausen was commissioned.

Restorer Stefan Klöckner took a look at the tower in July 2024, whereupon the tower entrance on the west side was closed as an immediate measure. “For safety reasons, we had to cordon off the area around the tower with construction fences, as there is a danger from falling stones and pieces of mortar,” reports Pastor Schneider.

Since access to the cemetery also has to be guaranteed for commercial vehicles, a very sophisticated scaffolding tunnel was necessary. And it still stands. “It was the right thing to put up the scaffolding,” reports Knorr. Despite the costs, people's safety comes first. But it was not yet clear where the damage to the tower came from.

One guess: the vibrations caused by the operation of the bell and ringing system. On July 15, 2024, it was checked whether the bells had negative effects (such as vibration loads) on the structure of the tower. “Even when the three bells were ringing fully, there were no effects on the masonry structure, the tower roof structure and the tower ornaments. The ringing can therefore be carried out without restrictions,” reports Pastor Schneider about the result.

To further clarify the causes of cracks in the tower and nave, foundation trenches should be made – three on the tower, two on the nave – to check the condition and dimensions of the foundations. At the same time, a subsoil investigation (soil report) should be carried out.

In April 2025, the results of the restoration facade investigations, the findings on the architectural and structural assessment of the roof areas and the facade areas as well as the soil expert examinations of the building ground of the church tower were available. There is good and not so good news about this.

High proportion of cavities in masonry

First of all, the less good ones: “According to the current status of the investigation, no clear causes for the formation of the cracks, especially the vertical cracks in the stone material, have been identified,” reports Simone Schneider. The good news: “According to the soil expert's information, it can be assumed that the existing cracks do not result from the condition of the soil or its load-bearing capacity, but are to be found in the area of ​​the masonry.”

As Peter Knorr makes clear, it's all about the foundation masonry, the quality of the stone and mortar. In order to be able to create a meaningful static inspection of the damaged tower masonry structure as well as a static-constructive repair concept, laboratory tests of the stone material and the mortar used were necessary using a few samples. The core drilling and stone removal took place in March 2026 – then we had to wait for the results from the laboratory.

But the core drilling and stone removal itself provided important insights into the masonry structure: The masonry structure consists of a thin outer exposed masonry shell, a thicker inner shell and a significant proportion of predominantly loose infill masonry between the two shells. The backfill masonry consists largely of small sandstone fragments, filled with mortar and a large proportion of voids.

The high proportion of cavities probably results in different load-bearing behavior across the masonry cross-section. In areas with a disproportionately high proportion of voids, the outer exposed masonry shell in particular is subject to considerable stress. In areas with high loads due to the design, such as in the transition from the tower masonry to the buttresses, this results in load redistribution and stress peaks.

This is probably the cause of the cracks forming in the stones of the outer exposed masonry shell. And what does that mean for the church tower? It stands on a solid foundation, but its masonry still needs to be renovated. This can probably be done using mortar grouting. “So far, all of these are preliminary investigations so that the actual renovation can begin,” says Pastor Schneider, curbing the euphoria.

For the actual renovation of the church tower, a few things are still necessary: ​​On the one hand, there would be a suitable offer, on the other hand, the financing must be guaranteed and, thirdly, it is important to consider what has to happen “around it”. “If we were to scaffold the entire tower in order to renovate the masonry, it would be grossly negligent not to tackle the top of the tower straight away,” says Knorr.

Because the roof also needs to be renovated. The interviewees' “pious wish” as to when the renovation should start: “If the financing is in place and everything goes according to plan, it would be great if it started in the spring.” Of the 82 buildings in the Fulda Protestant church district, 25 are considered eligible for allocation. They can apply for funding for construction work and renovations.