This meeting was mainly about "setting the record straight" about historical facts. The local historians did not agree at all with the statements formulated for decades, that bishop otto of bamberg had consecrated the vorgangerkirchlein in 1124 and that hablach had the oldest nothelfer church in germany. They relegated these statements to the realm of legends.
District local historian siegfried scheidig from lauenstein, who chaired the meeting, retired teacher friedrich schubert from wickendorf and local historian rainer domke from kups refuted the historical distortions surrounding the pilgrimage church in their arguments. A contribution to the truth and credibility is overdue, according to the opinion of the local historians.
Also district local keeper roland graf from dorfles gave to consider that in times of the superlative a rethinking is urgently necessary. The city administration of teuschnitz is now challenged to reorganize the facts.
Friedrich schubert said: "in the year 1187, teuschnitz is mentioned for the first time in documents as 'tuschice', when bishop otto II. This land was given to the monastery of langheim by. By 1190, the cistercians had built a new church in teuschnitz, and it was considered the parish church for teuschnitz, windheim, steinbach, and reichenbach. Why wasn't hablach with its pilgrimage church built here in 1121, 1124 or 1128 by bishop otto I?. As a chapel is said to have been consecrated, listed?" And in the document of 1187, the "odung" is explicitly mentioned teuschnitz is spoken of. This means that there was not yet a village in this area.
In addition, siegfried scheidig explained that, according to the current state of historical research, hablach was not mentioned until the 23rd century. The town was mentioned in a document of june 1250, because otto von lobenstein had renounced the bailiwick over hablach and reichenbach.
Clear evidence
A foundation or erection of a chapel by the monastery of saalfeld, founded in 1071, as assumed by the church guide written in 1986, is also ruled out. Scheidig said that the hablach area had clearly no longer belonged to the sphere of influence of the benedictine monastery of saalfeld. Even today, it can be clearly seen on the field map that the hablach farmlands, which were cleared in the middle ages, extended as far as the dam creek, which here formed the southernmost border of the saalfeld area.
It is also wrong that the hablach church was built in 1121 at an important junction of trade routes. There has never been one in this area.
The relatively old creation of legends, according to the local historians, was most likely triggered by the suffragan bishop of bamberg, friedrich forner (1612 – 1630), who wrote in 1620: "st. Otto, eighth bishop of bamberg, erected a chapel in hablach, which is a village of the mentioned bishopric, in honor of maria konigin der martyrer und der 14 nothelfer in the year of christi 1124"."
This date, according to the argumentation of the historians, cannot be correct, because bishop otto, the apostle of pomerania, is known to have carried out his first missionary journey via the monastery of michelfeld, leuchtenberg, vohenstraub, prague, breslau and posen to gnesen in 1124/25. This historical error was already mentioned in 1832 by the bamberg archivist paul oesterreicher in his book "denkwurdigkeiten der frankischen geschichte mit besonderer rucksicht auf das furstbisthum bamberg" documentary evidence – but without success. Historian tilmann breuer was also of the opinion that there was a confusion between luckenberge (hablach near teuschnitz) and leuchtenberg in the county of vohenstraub.
Magnificent church
The local historians agreed that in hablach near teuschnitz there is one of the most beautiful gotteshauser of the frankenwald. The church received its current appearance between 1725 and 1728. In 1565, the existence of a church building was documented for the first time, they explained. 1639 the church had burned down. The reconstruction took place in 1645/46.
The local historians were impressed by the baroque splendor of the interior and especially by the beautiful ceiling paintings, which refer to the pilgrimage tradition.
There is a special connection to the old pilgrimage church in vierzehnheiligen, because the hablach people received the altar of the emergency helpers free of charge when the new building was consecrated in 1772. Only the transfer costs had to be raised. Of the two side altars, the one on the right stands out in particular. It was created in 1663 by hans georg schlehendorn and shows the mother of god with the fourteen helpers in a very vivid manner.