Loschwitz Church

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The Loschwitz Church is a baroque church in the Loschwitz district of Dresden . It was the first church building by the architect of the Dresden Frauenkirche , George Bähr . The churchyard, which was used as a burial place until 1907, is one of the few churchyards in Saxony that was newly laid out in the 18th century that has still been preserved in its original form, and with around 400 square meters, it is the smallest cemetery in the city . The Loschwitz church and the churchyard are under monument protection.

August Kotzsch - The Loschwitz Church around 1875
The Loschwitz Church 2009

history

The situation before the Loschwitz Church was built

The church “To our dear women”, until 1704 house of prayer for the village of Loschwitz; undated copper engraving by Moritz Bodenehr

Loschwitz was first mentioned in 1315 as Loscuicz. With the expansion of the originally Slavic Rundweiler, the lands were subordinate to the Maternihospital in Dresden as early as the 14th century . Together with 25 other villages , Loschwitz belonged to the parish of the church " To our dear women ", which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Maternihospital , the original parish of the later Frauenkirche, which was between today's Dresden Frauenkirche and the Coselpalais . Loschwitz residents always had to go to the parish several kilometers away for church services, confession or a wedding, which was difficult, especially in winter. Baptisms took place in the Kreuzkirche . The dead in the village of Loschwitz were buried in the Frauenkirchhof and from 1571 on the old Johanniskirchhof .

The old Kreuzkirche, until 1704 the baptistery of Loschwitz

After the end of the Thirty Years' War in the Electorate of Saxony through the armistice of Kötzschenbroda , which was concluded in 1645 , Saxony experienced an economic and cultural boom. With the steady increase in the number of inhabitants in Dresden and the villages belonging to the parish of the Dresden Frauenkirch parish, church services in the medieval Frauenkirche became almost impossible due to overcrowding. It was not unusual that the parishioners from Loschwitz were “pushed out of the church to dear women and shown on the church floor of the small old Frauenkirche” when there were unusually high church visits. At the same time, the pastor of the Frauenkirchgemeinde was only able to visit the surrounding villages for a limited time, as Dresden, a fortress city, kept its gates closed in the evening. "It was often not possible to reach the pastor later or earlier in the day or at night to give Holy Communion to the sick or dying, to perform emergency baptisms, to bring consolation to the seriously ill and the like."

In December 1702 at the council of Dresden and again in 1703 at the senior consistory and the elector, the villages of Loschwitz and Wachwitz applied for the parish of the Frauenkirche. After a "reading service" had been approved in a school building in Loschwitz, which a schoolmaster had held in the school building in Loschwitz on Sundays and public holidays as early as 1702, August the Strong in 1704 agreed to the parish and thus the establishment of a Loschwitz parish. In addition to Loschwitz, the nearby village of Wachwitz and the inn and property "Zum Weißen Hirsch" also belonged to the community.

The City Council of Dresden received the right of patronage over the parish and was therefore also responsible for the financing and construction of a church. She also appointed the pastor. On April 4, 1704 Johann Arnold was appointed as the first pastor of the new parish and confirmed on September 21, 1704. As a parish, the construction of a church could now begin.

The construction of the Loschwitz Church

The Swedish King Charles XII. on a painting by David von Krafft from 1706. In that year he protected the Loschwitz church from destruction in the Northern War

In 1704, the carpenter George Bähr was given the design of the church. He carried it out together with the council mason Johann Christian Fehre , whereby the floor plan of the church to be built underwent multiple changes. As early as March 3, 1704, the community had the first stones disembarked for the church on the "Bachhorn" in Pirna and stored at the school in Loschwitz for the winter. The schoolhouse was located at the transition from Körnerplatz to Pillnitzer Landstrasse and thus in the middle of the village, where the Loschwitz community also wanted to have the church built. Contrary to the will of the community, the City Council of Dresden chose the Materni Hospital “Materni Vineyard ”, which is around 150 meters away and owned by the Council, as the church site. In contrast to the village center , the place on the eastern edge of the village on the road to Wachwitz was flood-proof and the vineyard was deliberately chosen as a Christian motif . "The actual construction work did not begin until April 27, 1705, when the master mason Fehre from Dresden sent 6 masons to sharpen and straighten stones," including his son Johann Gottfried .

On May 14, 1705 the first church fathers of the new parish and men of the council, the official parish and from Wachwitz solemnly walked around the square of the new church and sang three hymns (“ I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ ”, “ In you I have hoped, Lord "," God shall have mercy on us "). The grapevines were then pulled, the vines dug up and the foundation of the church dug. On June 29, 1705, the foundation stone of the Loschwitz Church was laid in the presence of the princely commissioner, Count Friedrich von Schönberg, and the Dresden Kreuzchor sang . The foundation stone was supplemented by a copper box in which the Augsburg denomination , Luther's catechism , a demolition of the building to be built and the history of the place written on parchment were placed. The building itself was carried out in the following years by the Dresden councilor and council builder Johann Siegmund Küffner , who was also responsible for hiring workers.

The Loschwitz Church around 1820

In 1706 the construction of the church, whose foundation walls were already in place, was interrupted because the Swedish army invaded Saxony during the Great Northern War . As a result, the Loschwitz residents and builders fled. The City Council of Dresden commissioned Johann Arnold, who was appointed pastor for Loschwitz in 1704, to bring the King of Sweden a petition to protect the church. With the church fathers from Loschwitz and Wachwitz, Arnold went to Radeberg , where Karl XII. camped with his army and had the petition of the congregation brought to him. Count Carl Piper , the king's adviser, finally told the small delegation:

“His most gracious King and Lord had not harmed any Catholic Church in Poland, so much less would He do or allow any Lutheran and building materials to be harmed; one should continue to build in God's name and no chip should be damaged in this building and if one or the other wanted to attack it, one should only refer to this answer. "

- Pohle, 1883

After the craftsmen had been promised security by the Swedish king in September 1706, construction work could continue. From May 1, 1707, there was another break, as there was no money for further construction as a result of the arson by the Swedes. In this case too, after Arnold intervened, construction could continue in the same month. On August 3, 1708, the name day of August the Strong, the Loschwitz Church was solemnly consecrated. The result was an octagonal, baroque hall building, which was plastered in old pink on the outside and was rather plain on the inside. Two years later, the builders also finished the outdoor work in the churchyard.

The renovation in 1898/99

In the following years the church was repeatedly renovated, especially the Leibner organ, built in 1753, had to undergo repeated maintenance. At the end of the 19th century, the furnishings and the basic standard of the church, which largely corresponded to the original building from 1708, were no longer up to date. It had neither a water pipe inside the building nor a gas pipe that could have been used to light candlesticks, for example. The municipality finally decided "after many careful considerations, to summarize all the demands made in a large and thorough overhaul that excludes all repair work for many decades." The Loschwitz architect Karl Emil Scherz managed the 1898 and In 1899 the church was renovated. Your rather simple interior was redesigned with gold decorations and decorations. The long windows were stained glass, and there were new chairs and additions to the altar. While the interior was painted olive green, the facade was painted gray instead of the original old pink. The rededication of the Loschwitz Church took place on March 12, 1899. Except for minor renovations - two bells melted down during World War I had to be replaced - the Loschwitz church remained unchanged until 1945.

Destruction of the church in 1945 and reconstruction

The restored Nosseni altar of the destroyed Sophienkirche was consecrated in the Loschwitz church in 2002

During the air raids on Dresden on February 13 and 14, 1945, several bombs hit the Loschwitz church. As a result, it burned down to the surrounding walls. The ruins were cleared of rubble by 1946, and in 1947 safety measures were taken on the remaining enclosing walls. As early as 1946 and again in 1950 a “Committee for the Reconstruction of the Church” was formed, which made the necessary preparations. Its members chose Oskar Menzel and Herbert Burkhardt as architects , but they lacked the financial means as well as building materials. “That as a gift from Ev.-Luth. Church of Finland in 1963 lumber waiting there could not be imported as long as the building permit was not granted. But this was refused because the necessary building material was not available. ”For the city of Dresden, the reconstruction of the Dreikönigskirche and the Matthäuskirche was proceeding at that time .

In 1967 the preserved sacristy was repaired and set up as a functional church space. The first services were held in the ruins. The “Young Community” also built a provisional bell cage in it and in 1969 had it fitted with three new bells from Apolda . On May 31, 1978, the church ruins and the church cemetery were placed under monument protection after a district council resolution.

Since the masonry was damaged over the years as a result of weathering, discussions began again in the 1980s about rebuilding the Loschwitz Church, the spokesman for which was the “Reconstruction Committee” founded in 1984. The state church office of Saxony approved the reconstruction in 1989 subject to conditions, so the construction and costs should be borne by the parish; "Donations in convertible currency " were strictly prohibited. In Munich, Pastor Ullrich Wagner founded the “Association for the Reconstruction of the Evangelical Church in Dresden-Loschwitz e. V. “, who collected donations. In November 1989 the start of the reconstruction was officially announced. The symbolic laying of the foundation stone took place on June 29, 1991. The reconstruction was financed in the following years mainly from donations: In addition to the funds from the Munich Association, the German Foundation for Monument Protection , the Körber Foundation , the Dresdner Bank , the regional council and numerous private individuals supported the reconstruction. Dresden artists such as Theo Adam , Peter Schreier and Udo Zimmermann also made their contribution with benefit concerts. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated on October 3, 1992. In terms of the external design, the architects followed the original building from 1708, for example the plastering of the church building is again dusky pink. At the same time, they corrected George Bährs static errors in the roof structure. The external renovation of the church came to an end on October 2, 1994 with the rededication of the Loschwitz church.

The interior work followed. Shortly before the church consecration in 1994, the Hanoverian parish of St. Johannis gave the old stalls of the renovated Neustädter church to the Loschwitz church . In addition to a temporary altar, the two galleries were built by 1997, so that the new Wegscheider organ could be consecrated on October 5, 1997 . The new font and the lectern are by the Dresden artist Peter Makolies . The old pulpit altar could not be restored because it was too badly damaged. In 2002 the Nosseni altar of the Dresden Sophienkirche, which was destroyed in 1945 and demolished in 1963, found a new location in the Loschwitz Church. In line with the colors of the altar, the interior of the church was painted yellow in 2004 with white highlights. From 2004 to 2009 the Loschwitz Church was part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is part of the Dresden Elbe Valley cultural landscape between the Übigau and Pillnitz castles .

Building description

Exterior

On the left the wider basic design, on the right the narrower building that has been realized

The Loschwitz church clearly stands out in its external appearance from the simple village churches of the time. In line with the baroque central building , it was laid out as an octagonal , but elongated hall building. A surviving design shows that the Loschwitz church was originally shortened and broader and thus would have corresponded more to the regular octagon of a typical baroque central building. The only entrance would have been on the west side of the church, all other sides would have been surrounded by prayer rooms. The design would have been in the same place as the building that was being built, which was around 2.5 meters above the street that was already laid out at the time. Access to the property was therefore planned as an asymmetrical flight of steps. It is not known how the exterior of this church was planned. “The reason for not executing the design will have been that the foundation work would have been too difficult given the sloping terrain. This is probably why the octagon was narrowed. ”The Loschwitz church is 27.7 meters long and 16.3 meters wide with the sacristy. The height without the weather vane is 41.5 meters.

In the executed design, access is on the one hand on the originally planned side through the west portal, which is still the main entrance to the church today. The keystone of the gate border bears the inscription Proximo datum (Hand over to the next) .

Decorated part of the southern main portal with a vertical sundial painted over it

A second access to the nave is possible via the southern "front side" of the church facing the Elbe , which is richly decorated with the main portal. The main portal made of unplastered sandstone is flanked by three Ionic pilasters that lead into a canopy . Between the keystone of the gate border , which bears the inscription DEO REDDITUM (God surrendered) , and the roof are two typically baroque, unfilled cartouches , which are surmounted by a simple crown.

The original design of the sundial, detail from a photograph by August Kotzsch around 1895

A vertical sundial in the form of a looped white ribbon is painted between the main portal and the window above , which shows the time from around 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. While the sundial, made of white lime mortar, was already on the original building, during the restoration in 1898/99, “while retaining the old contour, it was now executed freehand in lime mortar and cement and thus brought to a plastic effect.” Parts of the clock, such as numerals and markings, were probably gilded. The fire in the Loschwitz church in 1945 destroyed around 50 percent of the sundial. Today's version is painted like the first sundial, but shows a different pattern. As can be seen on old documents, the drawing was not originally symmetrical, but rather went higher on the right side than on the left. The number “VIII” is therefore missing on today's sundial due to lack of space. On the south side of the church is the single-storey sacristy, which is accessible from the outside. On the north side of the church there were also prayer rooms at ground level in the original building.

The building is now in its original form altrosa cleaned , in the period between 1898/99 and the renovation of the destruction of the church in 1945, the exterior of the church was plastered gray. The high arched windows , which are divided in the middle, are emphasized by white plastered bezels . The top has a small canopy with a highlighted keystone. The corners of the church, which have been reinforced with stone (so-called pilaster strips ) and merge into a stylized acanthus leaf , which in turn is connected to the main cornice, which is also plastered white, are also plastered white . The steep mansard roof of the church, which has nine skylights with white plastered surrounds, is covered with red roof tiles. This is followed by the towering, almost tower-like roof turret , which is covered with slate and closed off by a “ Welsche Dome ” typical of George Bähr's buildings .

Interior

The interior of the church corresponded in its simplicity to a village church. In the nave there were pews on both sides of the aisle, which were reserved for the women of the community. Below the wooden galleries that were intended for the men, there were two rows of slightly raised benches on which the vineyard owners and their families sat. Opposite the pulpit above the west portal was the patronage box on the first gallery and the organ and the place for the choir in the second gallery above. On the parapet of the second gallery was the inscription Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus Dominus Deus Zebaoth . In total, the Loschwitz church offered space for 820 believers.

The corners of the church were decorated with pilasters that ended in volute capitals , followed by the mirror vault . In the middle of it was a ceiling painting by the painter Johann Gottlob Schieritz († 1738), which "showed the praise of God" and was enclosed by a stucco frame .

After almost 200 years, the interior of the Loschwitz Church was completely renovated by Karl Emil Scherz in 1898 and 1899. The chairs, the galleries and the rows of benches belonging to the vineyard owners were replaced by more contemporary furnishings, which, however, retained the principle of two galleries. The church presented itself “on the inside in a darker shape, corresponding to the feeling at the time, pushing back color and light.” In addition to dark stalls, the interior was painted in olive green.

window

Window of the sacristy with leaded glazing and stained glass

The original church building had windows with slug panes , such as can still be found today in the St. Georgen Church in Schwarzenberg, which was built almost at the same time . From 1807, the windows were replaced by inexpensive flat glass panels, which were finally used uniformly in wooden frame windows. Until the renovation in 1898/99 there were only three windows with the original slug panes.

During the renovation, all windows were given lead glazing from Urban & Goller . The Loschwitz painter Eduard Leonhardi donated the two new altar windows . Based on an idea by Leonhardi, the Loschwitz painter Georg Schwenk designed biblical motifs with which both windows were provided: “Trust in God through Christ praying in the garden of Gethsemane and charity through the Samaritan, who was practicing his merciful deed, should be shown and The way this task was solved, dignified and effective, it was a joy not only to the client, but also to the delighted parish. ”In addition to the altar windows, the remaining windows of the nave were designed. Urban & Goller created church emblems in a simple, matt color in the upper part of the window and below each a Bible verse. The windows of the nave were also given devices for opening.

All windows of the church were destroyed in the bombing in 1945. Only two small fragments of the stained glass could be saved from the rubble. During the reconstruction, stained glass was dispensed with and simple, small wooden frame windows were chosen, such as those used by George Bähr for the Schmiedeberger Church of the Holy Trinity . In contrast, the windows of the sacristy are provided with lead glazing and small glass paintings.

altar

August Kotzsch - Interior of the Loschwitz Church around 1875
Cafeteria of the Loschwitz church with parts of the old pulpit altar

The sandstone altar, the first pulpit altar in the Dresden area, formed the heart of the church. It was a gift from Councilor Küffner to the church. The pulpit was framed by several pilasters and a Corinthian column on each side, which ended in a frieze with small angel heads . Pilasters and pillars were made of stucco marble , while the pulpit, on which there was a relief depicting the veil of Veronica , was made of wood. Between the pulpit and the frieze, there was a figure of a dove opening its wings. On the gable above the frieze was a flaming heart, which was inscribed with the tetragram יְהֹוָה ("Jehowáh") and was flanked by palm fronds . Numerous parts of the interior, such as the baptismal font, the crucifix and the baptismal font, but also the priest's robe and the altar candlesticks, were donated by private individuals.

During the renovation at the end of the 19th century, the altar remained largely in its original condition. Parts of the altar were gilded and the altar table was now supported by two marble columns. The chancel was laid out with marble slabs. The marble used for the renovation came from the Saalburg marble works . The tetragram on the flaming heart was replaced by the Christ monogram and the life-size statues of John and Paul of Tarsus , which Robert Ockelmann had created, were placed on two pedestals at the altar that had not been used since 1708 .

The altar was badly damaged by the fire in the church in 1945 and weathered in the following years, so that it was partially demolished in 1969 due to the risk of collapse. A reconstruction was not possible due to the severe deterioration. During the reconstruction of the church, the remaining altar substructure was removed. Parts were used as stipes for a makeshift altar table created by the sculptor Ole Göttsche in 1994. It still stands in front of the altar today and has kept its function as a cafeteria .

→ Main article: Nosseni Altar

On April 1, 1993, the Loschwitz parish applied to the regional church office to transfer the Nosseni altar from the Sophienkirche in Dresden, which was destroyed in 1945 and demolished in 1963, to the Loschwitz church. The altar made of alabaster , marble and sandstone, designed in 1606/07, was stored in around 350 individual parts at various locations in Dresden at that time. Since the spatial requirements for the installation of the altar were given, the reconstruction and restoration of the altar began in 1998. On October 6, 2002, the eleven meter high Nosseni altar in the Loschwitz church was ceremoniously consecrated.

Church decorations

Christian Gottlieb Kühn's grave figure Mourning Genius with dying torch in Loschwitz Church

The interior of the church is kept simple and, apart from the altar, almost unadorned. In his inventory of art and architectural monuments in Saxony in 1904, Cornelius Gurlitt already mentioned two sandstone tablets that are still located behind the altar today and that deal with events relating to church building in Latin. On the southern wall of the church, a further sandstone plaque indicates the establishment of a foundation in 2004. Already during the renovation of the church in 1898/99 the ceiling painting by Johann Schieritz disappeared, which was not replaced in the course of the new construction of the church.

In 1904 there were several paintings in the church, such as a "Portrait of Melanchthon " (73 cm × 145 cm), which was a work by Gurlitt "after Lukas Cranach" dated to the 17th century. A second, but heavily overpainted painting depicts Pastor Johann Arnold and measured 60 cm × 85 cm. Gurlitt does not mention a portrait of Martin Luther , which the community had received from the vineyard owner Gottlob Reintanz in 1846 and which has been on the north wall of the church since then, so it may have been removed during the renovation. The “Painting of the Crucified” (105 cm × 142 cm), which Cornelius Gurlitt dated to the second half of the 18th century and estimated to be a copy of Anthony van Dyck , was in the sacristy and survived the bombing.

The first baptismal font was made of linden wood and showed angels carrying a basket with the baptismal bowl. The lid was shaped like a crown and decorated with flower garlands. There was a cross on the top. The first baptismal font was destroyed in 1945, while other church equipment was housed and preserved in the vault of the church, such as a pair of bronze candlesticks from 1709. In the 1990s, the Dresden artist Peter Makolies created the new baptismal font for the Loschwitz church in addition to a lectern. On a simple base is the simple bowl, the lid of which is adorned with a small figure depicting John the Baptist .

One of the figural niches on the north side of the church is now occupied by a wooden figure of Jesus crucified. The grave figure of Mourning Genius with a dying torch by Christian Gottlieb Kühn is placed in a further niche . Originally it was in the St. Pauli cemetery , was later transferred to the Loschwitz church cemetery and finally housed in the church for weather reasons.

organ

The only surviving photo of the Leibner organ from around 1885; Photo by August Kotzsch

The Loschwitz congregation could not afford an organ in the early years, "only a positive was used to accompany the singing " that had been brought from the Dreikönigskirche . When the church “To our dear women” was demolished and the new building of the baroque Frauenkirche began in 1726, the organ of the old Frauenkirche, built by Tobias Weller in 1619, had become vacant. From the old Frauenkirchen organ and a second dilapidated one from the church in the village of Plauen , two inexpensive organs were built by 1753, one of which the Loschwitz community bought. The Loschwitz organ, consecrated on October 21, 1753, was created by Johann Christoph Leibner and contained eleven parts from the old Frauenkirchen organ . Repairs to the organ were necessary from the start.

Wegscheider organ, the external design of which is based on the Leibner organ

In addition to the old parts of the movement, the woodworm infestation of the instrument also required numerous repairs. During the renovation of the church in 1898/99 it was therefore decided to buy a new organ that the Jehmlich brothers created. "On the afternoon of March 9th, the same [organ] presented itself to the delighted parish for the first time with its splendid stylish prospectus and its voices full of power and loveliness and all the latest mechanics in organ building." Since the new organ was larger than the original instrument, the organ loft was extended by one meter into the church interior.

During the First World War , the tin prospect pipes were melted down as part of the Reichsmetall donation . The organ was replaced by prospect pipes made of zinc. The organ was expanded in 1927 when a third manual was added for the remote work , the pipework of which was installed in the attic. In the following year the work was expanded to include a Celesta register; "The Loschwitz organ is said to have been the only one in Saxony at that time that had one of its kind."

The organ of the Loschwitz church was destroyed in 1945. After the rebuilt church was consecrated in 1994, a positive organ (Op. 654) by the Jehmlich brothers, which the congregation had already acquired in 1951, was installed. On October 5, 1997, a new Wegscheider organ with a manual (2nd manual with interchangeable loops), pedal and 20 stops was consecrated in the Loschwitz church .

Disposition of the Wegscheider organ:

I Lower keyboard C – e 3
1 Principal 8th'
2 Drone 16 ′
3 Dumped 8th'
4th Viola di gamba 8th'
5 Flauto traverso 8th'
6th Octave 4 ′
7th Reed flute 4 ′
8th Flauto amabile 4 ′
9 Nasat 3 ′
10 Octave 2 ′
11 flute 2 ′
12 Flageolet 1'
13 Tertia 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
14th Mixture III 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
15th Cornett III (from g)
II Upper keyboard
Drone 16 ′
Dumped 8th'
Viola di gamba 8th'
Flauto traverso 8th'
Reed flute 4 ′
Flauto amabile 4 ′
Nasat 3 ′
flute 2 ′
Tertia 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Pedal C – e 1
16 Sub bass 16 ′
17th Octave bass 8th'
18th Violon bass 8th'
19th trombone 16 ′
20th Octavbass 4 ′

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j tin.
  2. ↑ a b C – H wood, from c lead.
  3. ↑ a b c d wood.
  4. ↑ a b lead / tin.
  5. ↑ lead.
  6. ↑ Lead throats, wooden cups.

The Wegscheider organ was later supplemented by a Zimbelstern .

Bells

The Loschwitz church had three bells at the beginning, the largest of which weighed seven hundredweight and the second five hundredweight. They were consecrated two days before the church was consecrated on August 1, 1708. The ringing of the church was Loschwitzer 1710 with a striking clock connected, but was for reasons of cost until 1862 a dial on the west side of the church tower and in 1878 a second dial toward Wachwitz.

After cracks appeared in the large and middle church bells, three new bells were cast for the Loschwitz Church by the royal Saxon piece caster Johann Gotthelf Große from Dresden, which were ceremoniously consecrated in 1861:

August Kotzsch - consecration of the bell in 1861
Surname Keynote year Weight in quintals inscription Jewellery Special function
Big bell As 1861 10 "Gather together my saints, who respect the covenant more than sacrifice" (Psalm 50: 5); "Praise the Lord in his sanctuary" Eye of God, surrounded by angels floating in clouds; Chalice with protruding host Chime
Medium bell C. 1861 05 “Peace be with you” (Joh. 20, 19); “Come to me, all of you who are troublesome and burdened; I want to refresh you. "(Matt. 11, 28) Christ image; Cross with palm overlaid Confession and wedding bell
Little bell It 1857 03 “Build yourselves on your most holy faith through the Holy Spirit. For how many of you were baptized, they put on Christ ”(Jude 20); "See, I see heaven open." (Apostles 7:55) dove surrounded by rays; Anchor whose trunk is entwined with ivy Baptismal bell

During the renovation of the church in 1898/99, all three bells were replaced with new ones. Two of these bells were melted down for war purposes and replaced by two new bells in 1923. During the Second World War, the two largest bells had to be returned to be melted down. The air raids on Dresden in 1945 finally destroyed the church “so thoroughly that nothing was found even of the baptismal bell, the only one that had not been melted down again for the war. It was not until later that a small bronze remnant of her was discovered during clearing-up work in the ruins. ”The “ Young Community ” erected a provisional bell cage in the church ruins in 1969, which was fitted with three new bronze bells from the Schilling foundry from Apolda . The fifth consecration of bells in the history of the Loschwitz Church took place on November 2, 1969.

Surname Keynote year Weight in kg inscription Diameter
in centimeters		 Special function
Big bell e ′ 1969 1300 "Jesus Christ yesterday and today and the same forever." 126 Death bell
Medium bell G' 1969 0720 "Praise the Lord my soul and do not forget what good he has done you." 104 Wedding bell
Little bell a ′ 1969 0500 "I am the way and the truth and the life, nobody comes to the father but through me" 091 Baptismal bell

Churchyard

Before the Loschwitz Church was built, the dead in the village of Loschwitz had been buried in the Johanniskirchhof in front of the Pirnaischer Tor since 1571 . With the construction of the church, in the late medieval tradition, two grave fields were created in the churchyard, which should serve as a cemetery for the community. There was a bier house in the northwest corner of the property.

August Kotzsch - grave column around 1870
The same grave with clear signs of deterioration in 2009

Until around 1800 the Loschwitz churchyard was the only cemetery in the village. The first burials took place before the facility was completed in 1710. The small area could not be expanded in the following years: There were vineyards to the east, south and north of the church, to the west of the church was today's Pillnitzer Landstrasse, 2.5 meters below it, “until 1885 an unpaved road barely four meters wide ". Even at the time of construction, the church and churchyard could only be reached via a double ramp, but were thus optimally protected from flooding.

In 1800 the Loschwitz cemetery was laid out to relieve the cemetery , so that until 1907 only a few burials, mostly hereditary burials, were carried out in the cemetery. While the Loschwitz church was destroyed in 1945, only minor damage was recorded at the church cemetery. The tombs, mostly made of sandstone, fell into disrepair in the following decades or were destroyed by vandalism. During the reconstruction of the Loschwitz Church, the tombstones were initially completely removed. In 1998, the reconstruction and restoration of the complex in accordance with listed buildings began and was completed in 2003. The Loschwitz church cemetery is today "one of the few originally preserved, newly created churchyard complexes in the Dresden area [...] The development of grave memorials and grave complex design from late baroque to historicism can be viewed here in a very small space." The churchyard has been a listed building since 1978.

At the northwest corner of the property there is now a lapidarium , where, in addition to dilapidated grave sculptures and a commemorative plaque to fallen soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, a restored reproduction of the grave plaque of the composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann can be seen, who as a child in the Loschwitz Church received his first musical training. Naumann's grave is in the Elias cemetery in Dresden.

On the western field of the church cemetery are the graves of the author Eduard Maria Oettinger and the first Loschwitz chronicler and cantor of the Loschwitz church, Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle . Significant Loschwitz personalities on the western burial ground are, for example, Friedrich Wilhelm Seebe (1791–1867), owner of the Eckberg vineyard, Carl Gottfried Fischer (1783–1802), owner of the “Weißer Hirsch” inn, and numerous members of the ferry master family Modes, who over possessed the ferry justice of the Loschwitz ferry for more than 100 years.

  • Western burial ground

  • Southeast burial ground

  • Lapidary

  • Memorial stone for Gerhard and Wilhelm von Kügelgen

On the smaller burial ground to the southeast, five tombstones are still preserved today, including the burial place of Lord Jacob Graf von Findlater and his lover Johann Georg Christian Fischer. The grave of a daughter of the Dresden goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger , who owned a vineyard property with a summer house in Loschwitz, has not been preserved.

In front of the southern church portal there has been a memorial stone by the sculptor Heinrich Wedemeyer (1867–1941) since 1920 for the painter Gerhard von Kügelgen, who was murdered in Loschwitz, and his son Wilhelm von Kügelgen , who set a literary memorial in his autobiography: Memories of the Youth of an Old Man Loschwitz.

The Loschwitz Church as a burial place

The Loschwitz church served as a burial place in the 18th century. Graves were located in specially created tombs in the altar, side and center aisle area. The exact number of grave sites cannot be reconstructed. The Loschwitz chronicler and cantor Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle made a first list of five tombs marked with bronze epitaphs in 1883. Behind three crosses and stars on a floor slab in the center aisle, Pohle suspected “burial places of pastors' children in Loschwitz”. Only an examination of the grave sites during the reconstruction of the Loschwitz Church in the early 1990s revealed that this site also marked the tomb of a person who is now unknown. The tombs were disrupted and partly cleared during the renovation of the church in 1898/99. After the renovation was finished, the simple bronze inscription panels were put on the walls. During the inventory of the art and architectural monuments of Saxony, Cornelius Gurlitt described in detail in 1904 the five bronze plates of the well-known graves that fell victim to the Reichsmetall donation during World War II . Only one crypt in the central aisle, which neither Pohle nor Gurlitt describes, has the epitaph preserved and is now in the parish archive.

use

The Loschwitz Church was built as a village church for the Loschwitz community, which was newly founded in 1704. After the church was destroyed in 1945, the service took place in the parish hall at Grundstrasse 36. Since the church consecration on October 2, 1994, the Loschwitz church has again been the center of the community. In addition to Sunday services, weddings also take place in the building. Since the Wegscheider organ was consecrated on October 5, 1997, the church has developed into a popular concert venue in Dresden. The Wegscheider organ "impresses with its fantastic surround sound" and has already been used for CD recordings. Concerts in the Loschwitz church have also been released on CD.

literature

  • Annette Dubbers (Ed.): Loschwitz. Self-published, Dresden 2003, pp. 15-18.
  • Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Dresden-Loschwitz parish, Dresden 2004.
  • Cornelius Gurlitt : Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. Volume 26. Meinhold, Dresden 1904, pp. 84-89.
  • Marianne Kunze (Red.): Festschrift for the consecration of the organ, October 5, 1997 in the church in Dresden-Loschwitz . Ev.-Luth. Dresden-Loschwitz parish, Dresden 1997.
  • Heinrich Magirius : The Nosseni altar from the Sophienkirche in Dresden . Publishing house of the Saxon Academy of Sciences, Leipzig 2004.
  • Wilhelm Möllering: George Bähr, a Protestant church builder of the Baroque . Frommhold & Wendler, Leipzig 1933, pp. 32–36.
  • Eberhard Münzner: The church in Dresden Loschwitz . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1994.
  • Eberhard Münzner: Report on the historical preservation investigations accompanying the reconstruction. Monument Protection Office, City of Dresden 1995.
  • MJ Nestler: Overall overview of the Loschwitz church renewal . In: Saxony's Elbgau-Presse , 2nd supplement. Volume 14, number 87, April 16, 1899, pp. 9-11.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Verlag Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, pp. 123-173.
  • Marion Stein: Cemeteries in Dresden . Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 2000, pp. 166–168.

Web links

Commons : Loschwitz Church  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This is currently the oldest known photo of the Loschwitz Church.
  2. ↑ Dubbers gives the distance as "more than half a mile ", cf. Annette Dubbers (Ed.): Loschwitz . Self-published, Dresden 2003, p. 15.
  3. ^ A b Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Publisher Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, p. 123.
  4. ^ A b Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Verlag Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, p. 124.
  5. ^ Eberhard Münzner: The church in Dresden Loschwitz . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1994, p. 2.
  6. ↑ a b Otto R. Wenzel: The external development of the parish . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Parish Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 9.
  7. ↑ George Bähr was not appointed councilor carpenter until autumn 1705.
  8. ^ A b Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Christian Teich Publishing House, Dresden 1883, p. 125.
  9. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Verlag Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, p. 126.
  10. ↑ Otto-R. Wenzel: The Loschwitz Church - construction, destruction and reconstruction . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Parish Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 30.
  11. ↑ Otto-R. Wenzel: The Loschwitz Church - construction, destruction and reconstruction . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 29.
  12. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Christian Teich Publishing House, Dresden 1883, p. 128.
  13. ↑ a b c In the 19th century repairs were carried out in 1801, 1824, 1841 and 1863. Cf. MJ Nestler: Entire overview of the Loschwitz church renewal . In: Saxony's Elbgau-Presse , 2nd supplement. Volume 14, number 87, April 16, 1899, p. 9.
  14. ↑ a b Otto-R. Wenzel: The Loschwitz Church - construction, destruction and reconstruction . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 34.
  15. ↑ On the date cf. Eberhard Münzner: The church in Dresden Loschwitz . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1994.
  16. ↑ Otto-R. Wenzel: The Loschwitz Church - construction, destruction and reconstruction . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Parish Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 35.
  17. ^ A b Wilhelm Möllering: George Bähr, a Protestant church builder of the Baroque . Frommhold & Wendler, Leipzig 1933, p. 33.
  18. ↑ a b c Eberhard Münzner: Report on the monument preservation investigations accompanying the reconstruction . Monument Protection Office, State Capital Dresden 1995, p. 5.
  19. ↑ Annette Dubbers (Ed.): Loschwitz . Self-published, Dresden 2003, p. 16.
  20. ^ Eberhard Münzner: The church in Dresden Loschwitz . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1994, p. 5.
  21. ↑ Otto-R. Wenzel: The Loschwitz Church - construction, destruction and reconstruction . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 33.
  22. ↑ MJ Nestler: General overview of the Loschwitz church renewal . In: Saxony's Elbgau-Presse , 2nd supplement. Volume 14, number 87, April 16, 1899, p. 10.
  23. ↑ The chandelier made of glass was "ersung" in 1864 by the choral societies Liedertafel and Bagatelle from Loschwitz and Liederhalle from Wachwitz. See Pohle, p. 134.
  24. ↑ Hartmut Mai: The Protestant pulpit altar. History and meaning . Niemeyer, Halle (Saale) 1969, p. 43.
  25. ↑ List of gifts cf. Pohle, pp. 131-133.
  26. ↑ a b Complete overview of the Loschwitz church renewal , p. 11.
  27. ↑ Münzner states that the figures represented Simon Petrus and Paulus. Cf. Münzner: Die Kirche zu Dresden Loschwitz , p. 9. This statement must be rejected, however, since Johannes can be clearly identified by his attribute, the chalice.
  28. ↑ Münzner: Report on the monument preservation investigations accompanying the reconstruction , p. 6.
  29. ^ Dubbers, p. 18.
  30. ↑ Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony . Volume 26. Meinhold, Dresden 1904, pp. 84-89.
  31. ↑ a b Gurlitt, p. 90.
  32. ↑ Gurlitt, p. 90. He gives no explanation as to whether Lucas Cranach the Elder or Lucas Cranach the Younger was meant, who both made portraits of Melanchthon.
  33. ↑ Ernst Hirsch, Matthias Griebel, Volkmar Herre: August Kotzsch 1836-1910. Photographer in Loschwitz near Dresden. VEB Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1986, p. 162.
  34. ^ Münzner: Die Kirche zu Dresden Loschwitz , p. 8.
  35. ^ Münzner: Die Kirche zu Dresden Loschwitz , p. 6.
  36. ↑ Cf. “Unfortunately, there is only one photo on which the Leibner organ can be recognized shortly before the church was rebuilt…”, Kristian Wegscheider: The new Loschwitz organ. In: Marianne Kunze (Red.): Festschrift for the consecration of the organ, October 5, 1997 in the church in Dresden-Loschwitz . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 1997, p. 10.
  37. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Verlag Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, p. 142.
  38. ↑ Dubbers, p. 17, Pohle, p. 143.
  39. ↑ Eberhard Münzner: The Loschwitz Church and its organs . In: Marianne Kunze (Red.): Festschrift for the consecration of the organ, October 5, 1997 in the church in Dresden-Loschwitz . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 1997, p. 15.
  40. ↑ For comparison: The Frauenkirche in Dresden only received a remote control unit in the 1930s.
  41. ↑ a b Eberhard Münzner: The Loschwitz Church and its organs , p. 16.
  42. ↑ Kristian Wegscheider, p. 14
  43. ^ Paul-Gerhard Weber: Church life in Loschwitz . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 57.
  44. ↑ table information on the three bells by Pohle, S. 150f.
  45. ↑ Kotzsch, p. 161.
  46. ↑ Barbara Rühl: On the history of the Loschwitz cemetery . In: Ev.-Luth-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 years Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift . Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, p. 100.
  47. ↑ Display board in the lapidary.
  48. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Pohle: Chronicle of Loschwitz . Verlag Christian Teich, Dresden 1883, p. 152.
  49. ↑ The Loschwitz Church - Through the Ages . Documentary, Ravir Film GbR 2008.

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 '11 "  N , 13 ° 49' 2.4"  E

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on September 12, 2009 in this version .