Johanniterkommende Wölchingen

The Johanniterkommende Wölchingen was a commandery of the Knights of St John in Wölchingen, now part of Boxberg in the Main-Tauber district. The site lies in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg, near the border with Bavaria. Wölchingen sits on gentle slopes above the Tauber valley, where vineyards give way to open fields. The commandery once managed farmland, woodland and scattered hamlets across the region. Its buildings stood close to the parish church, which still carries the name Johanniterkirche. The commandery began in 1192 when Count Kraft of Boxberg gave the order income from his estates before setting out on pilgrimage. By 1239 a farm belonging to the Knights is recorded in Wölchingen, and in 1249 Konrad of Büchold appears as the first provisor, or commander. In 1287 the order took over the parish church, though it did not build it. The Knights’ holdings grew when three brothers of Boxberg donated their ancestral castle and the town itself to the order. By 1313 the commandery had moved its seat to Boxberg, leaving Wölchingen with only a farm and the church. Today the former commandery site is marked by the Johanniterkirche and a few low stone walls beside the village street. The church still shows medieval fabric in its nave and chancel. A simple stone cross stands in the churchyard, recalling the order’s presence. The surrounding fields and vineyards stretch away to the Tauber, their lines broken by hedgerows and small woodlots. Visitors walk a quiet lane past the church to a viewpoint over the valley, where the order once watched over its lands.