Apostle Church (Kaiserslautern)
 Apostle Church |
|
| Basic data | |
| Denomination | evangelical |
| place | Kaiserslautern, Germany |
| Building history | |
| architect | Ludwig Ritter von Stempel |
| start of building | 1897 |
| Building description | |
| inauguration | 1901 |
| Architectural style | neo-Romanesque sandstone block construction |
| Furnishing style | Neo-Romanism |
| Construction type | Central building |
| 49 ° 26 '39.9 " N , 7 ° 45' 41.4" E | |
The Apostle Church in Kaiserslautern is a Protestant church and is located on a sloping plot between Pfründner-, Spital-, Kennel- and Pariser Straße.
history
The church was built in neo-Romanesque style from 1897 according to plans by Ludwig Ritter von Stempel and consecrated in 1901. After being badly damaged by a bombing raid in 1944, it was rebuilt in simplified form from 1952 to 1956. The interior was completely redesigned.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the two towers were also restored. After fire damage in 1991, a chapel was set up in the western side wing as part of the subsequent renovation.
External representation
The church shows itself as a central building over a floor plan in the form of a Greek cross. A squat, octagonal tower rises above the crossing, the cross wings are adorned with smaller towers. The gable front facing Pariser Strasse is characterized by a large portal with stairs and a huge rose window.
Interior until 1944
The interior was designed in the neo-Romanesque style until it was damaged in 1944. There was a glass and gold mosaic above the pulpit. The rose window showed an image of Christ, the side windows the twelve apostles. The round interior with high circumferential galleries was closed off by a ribbed vault over the cross arms and a crossing dome at the top.
Interior after reconstruction
During the reconstruction of the church, a modern interior design was realized after detailed discussions. The space under the dome was shaped uniformly, the dome was designed and lowered as a modern, supported by slender columns, and the height of the galleries was reduced. The slightly raised pulpit, altar and baptismal font made of reddish-brown Hungarian marble were designed by the Kaiserslautern sculptor Richard Menges , with the altar being turned over at the last minute and now facing the congregation with the unadorned back in order to satisfy the reformed ban on images . The pulpit parapet shows relief images of the twelve apostles. The Steinmeyer organ was installed in the gallery behind the pulpit in 1957. Since 1994 an abstract cycle of pictures by the Kaiserslautern artist Erika Klos about our father can be seen in the church. Only the bells and the iron bell cage are preserved from the old furnishings.
Bells
The chime is the only one of its kind in a Protestant church in southwest Germany that dates from the turn of the century and has escaped being melted down. The bells were cast in 1900 by the Johann Georg Pfeifer bell foundry in Kaiserslautern. They still hang on an original iron bell chair on straight yokes. During the First World War , it was not necessary to listen to the bells , but during the Second World War the two large bells had to be handed in for material purposes in 1942. The smallest bell remained in the tower during the war. On the night of the fire in 1944, she fell into the church service room, but was unharmed. After the end of the Second World War, it was decided to look for the two big ones in the Hamburg bell cemetery. In 1947 the two confiscated bells were found and transported back to Kaiserslautern. Since Christmas 1951, all 3 bells in the tower of the Apostle Church have been calling again for church services. The largest bell with the chime g sharp ° is currently the largest still preserved bell from the Pfeifer bell foundry and the second heaviest in the city of Kaiserslautern. Bells 2 and 3 strike the quarter of an hour and the big bell strikes the full hours. According to the chime, all bells ring 10 minutes before the service begins and on Saturdays at 5:50 p.m. to ring in Sunday. The smallest bell rings for baptism. The middle bell rings for our Father and rings 30 minutes before the service. The big bell is responsible for ringing funerals.
| No. | Surname | Nominal | Casting year | Foundry, casting location |
Weight (kg) |
Diameter (cm) |
inscription |
| 1 | Death knell | g sharp 0 | 1900 | Joh. Gg. Pfeifer bell foundry, Kaiserslautern | 3705 | 197 | Glory to God in the highest |
| 2 | Our Father Bell | h 0 | 2305 | 165 | A Mighty Fortress Is Our God | ||
| 3 | Baptismal bell | dis 1 | 1113 | 131 | Come because everything is ready |
