Brothers Church (Altenburg)
The Brethren Church is a Protestant parish church in Altenburg , Thuringia . It is located on the western edge of the old town and dominates the cityscape. It got its name from the previous building, the monastery church of the Franciscans or Friars Minor .
It was built in neo -Gothic style with the addition of Art Nouveau shapes by Jürgen Kröger after the old church was demolished between 1902 and 1905. The square central building made of red brick with light elements made of ashlar has polygonal exedrons on the north, west and south sides. The eclectic facade architecture contains late Romanesque and early Gothic designs. In the facade facing the market on the east side is the main portal , which is reached via a flight of stairs with a fountain. There is a large mosaic in the center of the east facade . A mighty stepped gable rises above it . The 76 meter high bell tower with four branch turrets is offset to the south. The church is a listed building .
history
The city of Altenburg is mentioned for the first time in a document from Emperor Otto II from the year 976. Thanks to the support of Emperor Barbarossa , Altenburg soon developed into an important imperial palace in the 12th century . The Augustinian Canons' Monastery with its Marienkirche also influenced urban development. As early as the beginning of the 13th century, however, there was considerable conflict of interests between the citizens and the Augustinian canons. The citizens of Altenburg therefore preferred the brothers of the Franciscan Order , founded in 1210 , who came to Altenburg around 1230.
The Franciscans of the Saxon Order Province ( Saxonia ) - frates minores , hence also called Minorites or Minor Brothers (and hence the name "Brethren Church") - were assigned building land in the immediate vicinity of the market square. There they built a monastery complex with a monastery church and a convent building with a cloister in 1270–1280 . According to the Franciscan rules as a mendicant church , the church had no tower. The patron saint of the monastery church was St. Catherine .
In 1522 the position of preacher at the town church of St. Bartholomäi was filled with the evangelical clergyman Wenceslaus Link . In April 1522, Martin Luther preached a sermon in the Franciscan Church. In 1525 the evangelical preacher took over the service in the Franciscan church. The Franciscans were forbidden to hold mass and confess and had to leave the monastery. This introduced the Reformation in Altenburg . In 1525 Georg Spalatin came to Altenburg as the successor to Wenzeslaus Link and was appointed visitor in 1527 , and in 1528 superintendent of the Altenburger Sprengels. In 1529 the visitor handed over the Franciscan monastery to the city council , so the Franciscan church became the second city church.
Building history
The medieval monastery church
The Franciscan Church was built in the late Gothic style as a single-nave hall church with a star vault . The tracery of the large, high pointed arch windows showed the fish bubbles typical of the late Gothic . The east gable received a special decoration from six rows of blind arcades , arranged one above the other , which were painted with images of saints. From 1501 to 1512, Elector Friedrich the Wise and his brother Duke Johann had the church significantly expanded. At this time, the pointed arched north portal of the nave was built as an entrance for the citizens. In 1503 the church received a high roof turret on the front roof section . Around 1797 the nave was extended to the west. The coffins of members of the Altenburg dynasty from the period from 1627 to 1675 are still in the walled up crypt under the Brothers Church .
Today's parish church
At the end of the 19th century the old Brethren Church proved to be too small due to the population growth. Since irreparable damage had already occurred, a public competition for German Protestant architects was announced for a representative new building. The style of the church as an Evangelical Lutheran preaching church with 1,000 seats was optional. The jury chaired by Johannes Otzen selected the design by the architect Jürgen Kröger from the 46 submitted works. On July 18, 1901, the demolition of the dilapidated old church began. The foundation stone was laid on May 14, 1902. On May 7, 1905, the new Brethren Church was consecrated. The equipment from the construction period has been completely preserved.
Building description
Architecture and architectural decorations
The shell was made of brick. The monumental staircase is due to the mountainside on which the Brethren Church stands. A double-armed flight of stairs leads to the spacious arbor , which on the left side of the main portal expands to a semicircular balcony . The portal is adorned by two angel figures carrying candlesticks. The mosaic on the east gable depicts the Sermon on the Mount . Like the wall paintings in the church, it comes from Otto Berg . The facade shows the larger than life statue of Martin Luther created by Richard Grüttner , in memory of his sermon in the old Brethren Church. It stands in a niche in the form of a flat mandorla . The relief images of the shield-shaped medallions (also by Grüttner) represent the reformers Georg Spalatin and Wenzeslaus Link.
In the ground plan, the Brethren Church presents itself as a central building . The chancel is contrary to anything else ecclesiastical tradition in the West, as the entrance is on the side of the market in the East. In front of the actual church building are two halls for confirmands and a choir on the right and left . In between are the baptismal hall, the vestibule and staircases to the galleries , which surround the central room on three sides. Two free portal entrances lead to the courtyard and gardens. The baptistery has stained glass windows in the Art Nouveau style. The round baptismal font shows Romanesque shapes.
Neo-Gothic is the architectural style in the exterior of the Brethren Church, forms of Neo- Romanesque and Art Nouveau are mixed in.
Interior and equipment
The interior is faced with white brick and the walls are painted in small pieces with ornaments from the Middle Ages and Art Nouveau. The church interior is illuminated by colored glass windows. The chancel receives its light from three rose windows . Below are three large pictures. The murals to the right and left of the chancel depict Moses and John the Baptist . In the interior design, the Sermon Church presents itself as a rotunda , where the visitor has a clear view of the altar and pulpit from every seat . This enables the church to be equipped with curved pews in the nave and upward-sloping seats in the galleries.
The ornate altar in neo-Gothic style is made of French limestone. A relief of Holy Communion forms its center , above it is a large gable-crowned altarpiece . To the side there are figures of the evangelists Matthew , Mark , Luke and John. The pulpit made of dark oak with filigree decorations shows the head of Christ . The altar is based on a design by the Berlin architect Richard Schirmer. Like the other sculptures and reliefs in the church, it was made by the Berlin sculptor Richard Grüttner . Opposite the pulpit is the prayer chair for the duke. In the middle of the vault is a large cross of lights, surrounded by a picture with eight angels . There are three-part, large leaded glass windows on both side galleries. An event from the New Testament forms the center on both sides . The three-part windows in the organ gallery show Martin Luther on the north side and Paul Gerhardt and Johann Sebastian Bach on his side . On the windows opposite the Swedish King Gustav Adolf II is depicted. On the left side is the coat of arms of the former Altenburg Princely House , on the right that of Altenburg . All of the glass windows were designed by Paul Gathemann.
organ
With the demolition of the old Brüderkirche in 1901, the organ from 1859 was also dismantled . The organ of the new Brüderkirche was built in 1905 by the Wilhelm Sauer company with three manuals and a pedal . 3371 pipes sound in 48 registers . 1925 were in the First World War seized for military purposes front pipes of tin replaced by those of zinc. 1927–1937 and 1943 there were rescheduling . Since 1990 the organ has gradually been restored to its 1905 condition and expanded. The pedal, manual 1 (main work) and manual 2 (swell mechanism 1) are back in their original condition.
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Bells
Since 1529 the two bells of the Nikolaiturm of the old Brethren Church were used as bells , since as a Franciscan church it was not allowed to have a bell tower . The smaller bell has been preserved to this day, the larger one from 1684 was melted down during the First World War. The four bells of the new Brethren Church were cast in a bell foundry in Apolda in 1903 . In the war year 1917 the bronze three-way bell was delivered. Three newly cast bells were consecrated in 1921.
| Bell jar | Chime | Casting year | Foundry, casting location | Mass (kg) |
Diameter (cm) |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big bronze bell | cis | 1921 | Franz Schilling, Apolda | 1,638 | 142 | + Gloria in excelsis deodorant! + |
| Medium bronze bell | e | 1921 | Franz Schilling, Apolda | 913 | 118 | + We preach the crucified Christ! + |
| Small bronze bell | f sharp | 1910 | Franz Schilling, Apolda | 605 | 105 | + See, I'm doing everything new! + |
During the Second World War , the four bells also had to be delivered for war purposes. After the war, a triple bell was cast from the rediscovered large bell of the Brethren Church in Apolda.
The first carillon from 1907 with 16 bronze bells rang three times a day until it had to be dismantled with the other bells for war purposes in 1942. In 1996 the new carillon consisting of twelve bells could be heard again for the first time.
Repairs
In the war years 1939–1945 and then until 1978, hardly any repairs were carried out on the Brethren Church. Great damage was caused to the roof and the tower cover. It rained into the church for many years. There was no official sponsor to finance the repairs; the repairs could only be paid for from donations from the Brethren parish. The work, which began in 1979, proceeded very slowly, as the municipality was given little building craft capacity from the district. The tower roof was not re-covered until 1984. In 1986 the gable mosaic was restored and the renovation of the interior painting began. In 1992/93 the Art Nouveau staircase was reconstructed, from 1996-1998 the church roof was covered with slate. Electric heating has been around since 1998.
literature
- Barbara Löwe: Altenburg Brethren Church. (= Small Art Guide , No. 2379.) Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7954-6200-2 .
- Altenburg Academy, Günter Hummel (Ed.): 100 years of the Brethren Church in Altenburg. (= The small sacred art guide , booklet 9.) Beier & Beran, Altenburg et al. 2005, ISBN 3-937517-21-9 .
- Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Thuringia. 2nd edition, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-422-03095-6 .
Individual evidence
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ 7 " N , 12 ° 25 ′ 49.6" E