Old Town Church of St. Nikolaus (Königsberg)

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The medieval old town church of St. Nikolaus stood in the city center of the former capital of East Prussia Koenigsberg (today's Kaliningrad in north-west Russia ) on the square that was later called Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz.

history

Its foundation stone was laid in 1264; replaced by a new building from 1504 to 1537. The church was closely connected to the history of Lutheranism , as a certain monk Johann Amandus gave the first Protestant sermon in East Prussia there. It was also one of the largest churches in East Prussia. Their dimensions were: outside: 48.7 m × 35.7 m; inside: 47.9 m × 31.1 m; the height of the vault was approx. 20 m. The newer spire was similar to that of the Löbenicht church . With its dimensions, it took up almost the entire Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz. Due to its short-term purpose as a cathedral , it was littered with graves, epitaphs and memorial plaques. The most famous grave is likely that of Johannes Luther, the eldest son of the reformer, who died here in 1575 as a Saxon councilor.

The organ with 3 manuals and 65 registers, completed by Adam Gottlob Casparini in 1763, was also famous . It was the largest organ from the workshop of this master. During a visit to the church in 1809, Carl Friedrich Zelter noted that the church had an “excellent organ”. The organ was transferred to the new church.

The last service was held in 1824 as the church subsided and cracks appeared. Between 1826 and 1828 the church was demolished because it was in disrepair. The vacated space remained undeveloped and later became Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz . There was a clear view of the castle tower with the renaissance gable of the castle. The New Old Town Church , a neo-Gothic brick building , was built around ten years later in 1838 based on a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Junkerstrasse.

  • The first old town church for the Reformation in 1613

  • The old old town church, in the background the castle church tower (old)

  • The first old town church in front of the castle in 1826

  • The first old town church from 1826

Pastor

  • 1809: White, superintendent

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Adolf Boetticher, Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler in Kbg
  2. ↑ quoted from Werner Renkewitz, Jan Janca, Hermann Fischer : History of organ building in East and West Prussia. Volume II, 1: Mosengel, Caspari, Casparini . Pape Verlag, Berlin 2008, p. 403.
  3. ↑ Werner Renkewitz, Jan Janca, Hermann Fischer : History of the art of organ building in East and West Prussia. Volume II, 1: Mosengel, Caspari, Casparini . Pape Verlag, Berlin 2008, pp. 400–405.
  4. ^ Karl Emil Gebauer : Friedrich Wilhelm Lange, former royal superintendent and pastor of Fischhausen. A biographical sketch. In: Prussian provincial sheets . Volume 22, Königsberg 1839, pp. 289-304, especially p. 293.

literature

  • Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon. City and surroundings . Flechsig, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1 .
  • Richard Armstedt: history of the royal. Capital and residence city of Königsberg in Prussia . Reprint of the original edition, Stuttgart 1899.
  • Fritz Gause : The history of the city of Königsberg in Prussia . 3 volumes. Böhlau, Cologne 1996, ISBN 3-412-08896-X .
  • Jürgen Manthey : Königsberg - history of a world citizenship republic . Hanser , Munich 2005, ISBN 3-446-20619-1 .
  • Gunnar Strunz: Discover Königsberg. Between Memel and fresh lagoon . Trescher, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89794-071-X .

Coordinates: 54 ° 42 ′ 34.6 "  N , 20 ° 30 ′ 35.3"  E