Bethanienkirche (Leipzig)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bethanienkirche

The Bethanienkirche is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Leipzig - Schleußig , Stieglitzstraße 42, directly on the Leipzig floodplain forest . It was built between 1931 and 1933 and is a listed building .

history

Schleußig, first mentioned in 1376 as Slizzig, belonged to Kleinzschocher church . In 1875 Schleußig had 285 inhabitants, in 1891, the year it was incorporated into Leipzig, there were already 1,500. This is why the church in Kleinzschocher was used until 1892. On October 30, 1892, the first service in Schleußig took place in the auditorium of a school.

1905–1933 existing interim church in Schnorrstrasse

Between 1904 and 1905 an interim church was built in the courtyard of the school Schnorrstraße 2 / Rödelstraße . The half-timbered building, which was rebuilt here under the direction of the architect Conrad Hermsdorf, had previously served as an emergency church for the Andreas and Michaelis parishes. On September 30, 1906, the parish from Kleinzschocher could be completed, and on January 6, 1907, the first two parish priests were assigned to Schleußig. On the 1st of Advent in 1910, a community hall on the property at Könneritzstrasse 92 was inaugurated.

Since 1912, the new pastors Kurt Schröder and Otto Flor have been driving forward the construction of the Bethanienkirche. Originally planned for 1915, it did not progress until 1928 due to the First World War . On April 24, 1928, an approximately 2000 m² plot of land on Stieglitzstrasse was acquired. An architectural competition was announced for a joint building with a 750-seat church, community hall, confirmation rooms, office and sexton's apartment. Out of 59 submitted designs, the jury, which met on December 10th and 11th, 1928, awarded the design by Leipzig architects Carl William Zweck and Hans Voigt 1st prize, and their design was selected for execution by the church council. After minor changes, the plans were approved by the Leipzig City Council on October 26, 1929. Construction began on June 12, 1931, the foundation stone was laid on October 11, 1931 , and the topping-out ceremony was held on November 21, 1931 . On May 8, 1932, three bells from the bell foundry Franz Schilling & Sons in Apolda were brought in and combined with the bell of the interim church.

After leaving the interim church on January 22, 1933, the new church was inaugurated by State Bishop Ludwig Ihmels on January 29 - one day before the so-called seizure of power by the National Socialists . On February 3, 1933, the community rooms were inaugurated.

During the Second World War , the copper sheet for the roof cladding had to be handed in first, followed by the three large bronze bells. On February 20, 1944, the church (church window, clock tower, roof, organ) was badly damaged by a bomb explosion nearby, and could not be used until 1948. The repairs by Emil Hörtzsch and Herbert Wurz were completed in 1950.

The almost hall- free church space with its excellent acoustics was used by the Leipzig Radio Orchestra as a space for rehearsals and tape recordings from 1953 . With the rental income generated from this, a major interior renovation was carried out in 1988. By leasing it to the radio, the community did not need any subsidies from the regional church, and a large part of the costs for a new organ could be met from it. In the course of time, the renovation and redesign of the small hall, the refurbishment of the community kitchen, office and confirmation room, the new roofing of the church roof, the derusting of the belfry and renewal of the tower blinds as well as major plastering work on the arcades took place. The renovation of the church tower was completed on July 21, 2000 with the installation of a new tower cross. An elevator was installed in 2016 to provide better access to the higher church and the parish halls in the basement; one of the characteristic diamond-clad windows to the right of the main entrance was removed for access.

architecture

The simple geometric architecture of Zweck and Voigt is committed to the New Objectivity . The axially symmetrical plastered construction is dominated by a keep-like, 38.6 meter high round tower. The upper end of the reinforced concrete skeleton tower has earned the church the nickname “lemon squeezer”. The Thuringian defense towers, z. B. those of Saaleck Castle , modeled after the tower, in which the architects saw the embodiment of Luther's phrase " A strong castle is our God ", the only decoration is a 14 meter high concrete cross, indirectly illuminated at night. The entrance side of the church is designed like a courtyard and is flanked by two protruding 14.5 meter long staircases with pillar arcades that lead to the church on the main floor. The two stairs are reminiscent of outstretched arms, which, according to the architects, represents an inviting gesture according to the Christ word "Come to me, all" ( Mt 11:28  LUT ). With an entrance in the front away from the traffic, special accents could be set despite the unfavorable road situation.

The nave is 2.50 meters above street level, it measures 26 meters by 25 meters and is designed as a three-aisled nave with a choir closure. The accentuated central nave is bordered by a higher chancel (with an altar made of red and gray marble by Otto Wutzler) and two flatter side aisles. Its internal arrangement corresponds to the guiding principles of III. Congress for Protestant Church Construction in Magdeburg in 1928. The blue tones of the chancel with golden frames were partly controversial. During the renovation in 1988 they were almost restored to their original condition from 1933 after they had been painted over in the meantime.

The room, which is held in a warm light and has a discreetly solemn interior, is dominated by the central glass painting window "The Entering Christ" by Emil Block , which is designed in the spirit of an altarpiece. The two paintings " Maria and Martha " in expectation of Jesus ( Lk 10,38–42  LUT , left of the choir) and "Raising Lazarus " ( Joh 11,1-19  LUT , right of the choir) also come from Block ) that decorate the entrances to the sacristy and baptistery. With the altar window, which depicts Jesus coming to Bethany with Martha and her sister Maria, they are related as part of a Bethany iconography and take up events about the sisters living in the Palestinian village and their brother Lazarus, which according to the Gospel of John ( Joh 11,5  LUT ) were special friends of Jesus. The upper floor is characterized by the use of noble materials such as brass frames for the railings, doors and lamps as well as the floor made of Solnhofen tiles .

In the less lavishly equipped basement floor, which is accessible via two flights of stairs from the main floor or directly via the courtyard, there is the 240-seat community hall, which can be reached via glass double doors. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors separate the hall from the smaller community room. Both rooms can be connected to a large hall. The interior design includes a stage, projection room, changing rooms and parquet floors as well as simple wooden seating. The original ceilings, lamps and doors in the basement have been preserved. The office and confirmation room as well as the Kirchner apartment can be reached via separate entrances from the Ehrenhof. The accommodation of common and economic rooms together with the sacred rooms was an innovation at that time and embodied a modern understanding of religion and community life.

organ

The old organ , which had been in the church since 1933, had an electro-pneumatic action . When the mistakes got bigger and bigger in the early 1980s, it was decided to commission a new mechanical organ. The Jehmlich company in Dresden delivered the new organ on March 20, 1992 as Opus 1099.

The organ was assembled on May 14, 1992 and handed over to the church council with its intonation. Its inauguration took place on June 21, 1992 as part of a festive divine service.

The location of the new organ has remained the same. Despite the less than ideal acoustic conditions, the organ was re-installed in the tower chamber behind a concrete arch for monument protection reasons. However, the sound radiation was somewhat improved by a retracted baffle and suspended ceilings .

Disposition

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Quintad 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
octave 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
Fifth 1 2 ⁄ 3  ′
octave 2 ′
Fifth (from mixture) 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Mixture IV-V 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – g 3
Far-drawn 8th'
Principal 4 ′
flute 4 ′
Rohrnasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
recorder 2 ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Oktävlein (from Scharf) 1'
Sharp IV 1'
oboe 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Dacked bass 8th'
octave 4 ′
Mixture IV 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
trombone 16 ′

Technical specifications

Bells

Instead of the bells melted down during the war, the church received a ringing from three cast steel bells in 1954.

The inscriptions on the bells are the same as at the consecration in 1932:

Big bell

Shout out to the Lord all the world! ( Ps 100,1  LUT )
One thing is necessary. ( Lk 10.42  LUT )

Medium bell

Serve the Lord with joy! ( Ps 100,2  LUT )
The master is there and calls you. ( Joh 11,28  LUT )

Little bell

Know that the Lord is God! ( Ps 100,3  LUT )
If you will believe, you shall see the glory of God. ( Joh 11,40  LUT )

At that time, the big bell on the back had the addition "Cast in difficult times" in addition to the name of the congregation, which was on all bells.

literature

  • Heinrich Magirius, Hanna-Lore Fiedler (arrangement): City of Leipzig. The sacred buildings. (= The architectural and art monuments of Saxony. ) Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-422-00568-4 , Volume 2, pp. 1259–1262.
  • Evangelical Lutheran Bethaniengemeinde (ed.): Organ consecration in the Bethanienkirche. Sunday, June 21, 1992 (leaflet) Leipzig 1992.
  • Schröder, Büttner, Beyer: Festschrift for the inauguration of the Bethanienkirche Leipzig-Schleußig on January 29, 1933. Poeschel & Trepte, Leipzig 1933.

Web links

Commons : Bethanienkirche  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 15.8 ″  N , 12 ° 20 ′ 49 ″  E