Christ Church (Mannheim)

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Christ Church in Mannheim
Tower illumination in the dark

The Christ Church is a Protestant church in Mannheim 's Oststadt district . Together with the Friedenskirche it forms the Christ Peace Community. It was built between 1907 and 1911 according to plans by Christian Schrade in Art Nouveau style with neo-baroque echoes. Hardly affected by the great war damage, it has been almost completely preserved in its original state. In its splendor, the Christ Church adapted itself to the upper-class villa district of the eastern part of the city and formed the crowning glory of the Protestant church buildings that were necessary due to the strong population growth during the industrialization of Mannheim.

history

Due to the large population growth in Mannheim in the 19th century, the city had become too small and a ring of new suburbs developed around the city ​​center . The last thing that started after a competition was the planned development of the eastern part of the city. For the Protestant church in the new district, a building site was initially planned on the representative Friedrichsplatz , where the art gallery is today. But after the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit was built in the immediate vicinity , they turned to Werderplatz. The Stuttgart-based Theophil Frey prevailed in the architectural competition ; the plans were made by his young colleague Christian Schrade . Since Frey died shortly afterwards, Schrade was commissioned with the construction and the Mannheim architect Emil Döring was put at his side for the technical construction management .

The invitation to tender called for a “central representative church” with 1200 seats, a confirmation hall, a meeting room and a rectory. A construction sum of 900,000 marks was approved, roughly double that of the other suburban churches. Due to the size of the square, Schrade changed the first draft. His new plans envisaged raising the church and in particular a closed assembly with two confirmation halls and parsonages as well as a servant's apartment. In the year of the 300th anniversary of Mannheim in 1907, construction work began in March. The foundation stone was laid on September 9, 1907, the birthday of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden . After four years of construction, the Christ Church was inaugurated on October 1, 1911 in the presence of Grand Duke Friedrich II . The construction costs amounted to more than 1.6 million marks.

Until the Christ Church was built, the pastors of the inner-city Konkordienkirche were responsible for the Protestant residents of the Oststadt or, after its completion, the Friedenskirche in Schwetzingerstadt. In 1911, before the Christ Church was completed, the first parish of the Peace Church was transferred to the Christ Church and a second parish was newly founded. The first pastor of the western parish was Paul Klein, who had been working at the Luther Church since 1905 , and Hans Hoff, who had been at the Friedenskirche since 1909, was appointed the first pastor of the eastern parish.

The Christ Church survived the First World War unscathed. The bells were not confiscated either, as in most other churches. During an air raid in 1941 during World War II , ten small windows were shattered. In 1943 the eastern parish hall, the parsonage and the servant's apartment burned down. In 1944, an explosive bomb that fell next to the church damaged the masonry, windows, organ and roof.

After the war, the windows and the resurrection image were restored in the 1950s. In the 1980s, the Christ Church was extensively restored. Even after that, there were always smaller jobs. In 2001, new outdoor lighting was installed, which illuminates the church and the angel on the top in the evening hours. In 2003, the fountains on the sides were put back into operation, in 2007 new interior lighting and in 2009 barrier-free access on the west flank.

architecture

Archangel Michael on the dome

The Christ Church is 65 m high, a few steps away from the city center on Werderplatz. It is the end point of several visual axes , including the streets from Friedrichplatz to the southwest with the water tower 250 m away and Charlottenplatz to the northwest. The longest, clearest and therefore most effective view is from the western Tullastraße over a length of 350 meters. In addition, the wide avenue of Werderstrasse leads past the church to the east. The assembly of church, confirmation halls and parsonage mediates between the five-storey perimeter block development on one side and two-storey villas on the other side of Werderplatz.

The architect Christian Schrade took the building principles of the Wiesbaden program into account . The result was a central domed structure in which the interior forms a unit without the traditional separation between choir and nave . The floor plan is derived from a square with outwardly curved walls, inside a Greek cross with rounded corners. The drum dome closes at the top with a lantern , which is crowned by a gilded figure of the Archangel Michael by the sculptor Wilhelm Gerstel . The external appearance of the church is determined by light yellow sandstone and green copper roofs.

Gable relief
Reliefs on the main portal

The main front of the Christ Church is on the southwest side. There is an open vestibule with a mighty triangular gable above it. The relief in it has the words of Christ on the theme “Come to me, all you who are laborious and burdened” ( Mt 11:28  LUT ). The sculptor Ludwig Habich based his depiction on Rembrandt's Hundertguldenblatt . The size of the figures was chosen so that they also appear from the line of sight of Friedrichsplatz. The relief in the little gable and on the two pillars above the main entrance shows Christ as a child friend. It was created by the sculptor Karl Albiker . Above the two side entrances you can see Christ in Bethany on the left and Christ and the Samaritan woman on the right ( Joh 4,1  LUT ).

The dome is reinforced with four mighty pillars. The symbols of the four evangelists are depicted on their copper hoods : winged man ( Matthew ), bull ( Luke ), eagle ( John ) and lion ( Mark ). The models came from Wilhelm Gerstel. On the tower corridor of the bell storey stand 2.54 meter high statues of the Twelve Apostles . The four great apostles are shown individually on both sides of the church with their iconographic attributes of saints , the others are arranged in pairs on the main and rear front: Matthew and Philip , Thomas and Andrew , Paul with a lion, Peter with a rooster, Judas Thaddäus and Bartholomäus , James the Younger and Simon , James with an angel, John with an eagle (list starting counterclockwise on the main front). The figure of Johannes was worked out particularly finely, again by Wilhelm Gerstel.

Interior

inner space

A vestibule leads from the main portal to the interior, which can accommodate 1700 people. It is dominated by the circular crossing with a diameter of 23 meters from which four flat cross arms extend. Following the Wiesbaden program , the altar , pulpit and organ are arranged centrally in one axis. The pews face the altar radially. Further seats are located on the surrounding gallery . The dome, coffered with cork panels, is decorated with ornamental paintings. The triumphal arch above the altar is decorated with a fresco with the theme of the resurrection by Adolf Schinnerer , who later became director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After water damage in World War II, it was restored by Carolus Vocke in 1958 . The depictions of the blessing, angry (cleaning the temple), teaching (Christ in the field of wheat) and comforting (Christ and the sinner) Christ in the four spandrels of the vault also come from Schinnerer . At the entrance are the reliefs of the great reformers Martin Luther (with nightingale) and Philipp Melanchthon (with owl). Both were created by the sculptor Konrad Taucher .

In the middle of the nave hangs a 1.2-ton chandelier , which was modeled on Romanesque specimens, as they are still in Aachen Cathedral , Hildesheim Cathedral and Komburg Monastery . It has 12 large and 48 small lanterns and a diameter of 8.40 meters. The church windows are designed uniformly. They have ornamented friezes and oval medallions at the top that show scenes from the life of Jesus . The templates were again designed by Adolf Schinnerer:

Front back
Birth of Christ ( Lk 2,1-7  LUT ) David and Saul ( 1 Sam 16 : 15-23  LUT )
Twelve year old Jesus in the temple ( Lk 2,41-52  LUT ) Psaltery David ( Ps 23  LUT )
Baptism ( Mt 3,13-17  LUT )
Left side right side
Temptation ( Lk 4,3-13  LUT ) Christ and Nicodemus ( Joh 3,1-113  LUT )
Falling Peter ( Mt 14,22-33  LUT ) Christ in the desert ( Lk 4,1–2  NIV )
Transfiguration ( Mt 17 : 1-9  LUT ) Anointing in Bethany ( Mk 14.3-9  LUT )
Door with a relief of the denying Peter above

The central rear front with pulpit and altar is reminiscent of a medieval rood screen . The front of the choir stands on ten pillars, which symbolize the Ten Commandments . The four decorated columns in the middle stand for the first four commandments towards God , the six undecorated columns for the commandments towards the neighbor . The pulpit is embedded in a coffered niche. Above this, a relief on the canopy shows the Pietà with two grave guards, accompanied on the left and right by depictions of the four evangelists . At the same level, above the six side columns, there are reliefs of the prophets who prophesied the coming of the Savior: Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , Daniel , Micah and John the Baptist . Between the pillars are four artistically designed, brass-clad doors that lead to the sacristy and the baptistery. Above the doors there are four high reliefs with scenes from the Passion : the washing of the feet , Gethsemane , the denying Peter and the hand- washing Pilate . All reliefs on the choir wall were based on models by the Mannheim sculptor Johannes Hoffart . The crowning center of the Christ Church, the crucifixion group above the pulpit and altar , also comes from him .

Behind it are the sacristy and a small baptistery for 20-25 people. The font is made from a piece of marble . The baptismal device, an Art Nouveau baptismal bowl and a baptismal jug, is made of gold-plated silver. It was created by Ernst Riegel in 1911 . The vault was planned for a fresco as early as 1911, but this was not done for cost reasons. In 1959 a foundation by Fritz Reuther made the painting possible, with which Wolfgang Lenz , a master student of Hermann Kaspar , was commissioned. The template was designed by both of them together. There is a separate entrance to the baptistery from Tullastrasse. The relief next to the portal was created by Karl Albiker.

Church music

The Christ Church is the seat of the district cantor and also the regional cantor of North Baden. Johannes Matthias Michel has held this office since 1999 .

In the Christ Church there are two large organs and one organ positive .

Steinmeyer organ

Crucifixion group; in the background the Steinmeyer organ

On the north gallery of the Christ Church is one of the largest organ works in Germany, what Sigfrid Karg-Elert called the “Mannheim miracle”. It was built in 1911 by the Steinmeyer company as Opus 1100. The housing ornate Karl Albiker .

With 92  stops on four manuals and pedal including a remote control in the dome and 7869 pipes , the organ was the largest in southern Germany at that time. In 1939 the instrument was equipped with electropneumatic actions . During an overhaul in 1952, several registers were replaced in order to achieve a baroque sound. In 1984 the organ was restored and the changes reversed. To get closer to the original sound, there was a 1995 voicing , and in 2000 the reduction of the pitch to 437 Hz. The instrument was given a new game table with an electronic combination system . In 2003 a Celesta was installed in the remote plant .

Today the organ with 96 registers on four manuals and pedal is the largest in Baden. Remaining largely in its original condition, it survived the two world wars and the German organ movement and is a listed building . The organ has the following disposition :

I main work C – c 4
1. Grand principal 16 ′
2. Drone 16 ′
3. Principal 8th'
4th Gemshorn 8th'
5. Covered 8th'
6th Jubilee flute 8th'
7th Pointed flute 8th'
8th. Viola di gamba 8th'
9. Octave 4 ′
10. Fugara 4 ′
11. Transverse flute 4 ′
12. Super octave 2 ′
13. Fifth flute 5 13
14th Fifth 2 23
15th Cornet III-VI 8th'
16. Mixture V 2 ′
17th Cymbel IV 23
18th Tuba mirabilis 8th'
19th Clarine 4 ′
II Swell C – c 4
20th Reed flute 16 ′
21st Violin principal 8th'
22nd Night horn 8th'
23. Concert flute 8th'
24. Double covered 8th'
25th Salizional 8th'
26th Dulziana 8th'
27. Unda maris 8th'
28. Minor principal 4 ′
29 Reed flute 4 ′
30th Gemshorn 4 ′
31. Flauto dolce 4 ′
32. Piccolo 2 ′
33. Sesquialtera II 2 23
34. Larigot II 2 ′
35. Cymbel III 1'
36. Clarinet 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – c 4
37. Covered 16 ′
38. Horn principal 8th'
39. Solo flute 8th'
40. Lovely covered 8th'
41. Quintatön 8th'
42. Soft flute 8th'
43. viola 8th'
44. Aeoline 8th'
45. Vox coelestis 8th'
46. Principal 4 ′
47. Small set 4 ′
48. Distance flute 4 ′
49. Dolce 4 ′
50. Flageolet 2 ′
51. Piccolo 1'
52. Chamois fifth 2 23
53. third 1 35
54. Super-fifth 1 13
55. Seventh 1 17
56. Plein Jeu V 2 23
57. bassoon 16 ′
58. Trumpet harm. 8th'
59. oboe 8th'
60. Clairon 4 ′
Tremulant
Carillon
IV Fernwerk (swellable) C – c 4
61. Quintatön 16 ′
62. Principal 8th'
63. Whistle 8th'
64. Drone 8th'
65. Echogamba 8th'
66. Vox Angelika 8th'
67. Seraphonfugara 4 ′
68. Harmony flute 4 ′
69. Flautino 2 ′
70. Progressive Harmonica III 2 23
71. Trumpet 8th'
72. Vox Humana 8th'
Tremulant
73. Celesta 4 ′
Pedal C – g 1
74. Pedestal 32 ′
75. Principal bass 16 ′
76. Double bass 16 ′
77. Sub-bass 16 ′
78. String bass 16 ′
79. Soft bass 16 ′
80. Octave bass 8th'
81. violoncello 8th'
82. Covered bass 8th'
83. Chorale bass 4 ′
84. Bass flute 4 ′
85. recorder 2 ′
86. Fifth bass 10 23
87. Mixture V 5 13
88 Bombard 32 ′
89. trombone 16 ′
90. bassoon 16 ′
91. Trumpet 8th'
92. bassoon 8th'
93. Clairon 4 ′

Remote pedal C–
94. Violon 16 ′
95. Drone bass 16 ′
96. Principal 8th'
  • Pairing :
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, IV / I, III / II, IV / II, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P.
    • Super octave coupling: I / I, II / I, III / I, II / II, III / II, II / P.
    • Sub-octave coupling: II / I, III / I, III / II.
  • Secondary register : Zimbelstern (adjustable)
  • Playing aids : Tongues down, mixtures down, manual 16 ′ down etc., 3200-fold setter (since 2003), sequence switch forwards and backwards, roller .

Remarks

  1. a b c high pressure.
  2. Additional circuit: Tremulant for No. 72 Vox Humana from.

Marcussen organ

About the gallery at the main entrance (south gallery) one was in 1988 in addition organ in baroque style with 31 stops and 2,365 pipes of the Danish company Marcussen attached. It is designed for playing early music to about 1800. The slider chests -instrument has a purely mechanical tracker action .

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Drone 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Reed flute 8th'
4th octave 4 ′
5. Pointed flute 4 ′
6th Fifth 2 23
7th Super octave 2 ′
8th. Mixture V-VI
9. Zimbel III
10. Cornet V (from f 0 )
11. Trumpet 8th'
12. Vox Humana 8th'
Tremulant
II upper structure C – g 3
13. Dumped 8th'
14th Quintatön 8th'
15th Transverse flute 8th'
16. Principal 4 ′
17th Reed flute 4 ′
18th Forest flute 2 ′
19th Sif flute 1 13
20th Sesquialtera II-III
21st Scharff III-IV
22nd Krummhorn 16 ′
23. Dulcian 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
24. Sub-bass 16 ′
25th Octave 8th'
26th flute 8th'
27. Octave 4 ′
28. Back set IV
29 trombone 16 ′
30th Trumpet 8th'
31. Trumpet 4 ′

Organ positive

In 2004, a chest organ with 5 registers and 238 pipes by Daniel Gruber (Schenkenzell) was installed as the third organ . It is used in cantatas and oratorios by old masters.

Bells

Bell for church service

The original bell consisted of five bronze bells from the Bachert bell foundry and was the largest bell in Baden . Up until the purchase of an electric bell in 1922, twelve men were needed to make it sound. In 1942 the four largest bells were confiscated. After the Second World War, the remaining small bell was handed over to the Friedenskirche in Schwetzingerstadt in 1956 and a new bell was procured, which was cast again by the Bachert bell foundry based on the historical model. The big bell is the heaviest bell in Mannheim, weighing more than 5.8 tons.

No. inscription Casting year Caster Ø (mm) kg volume
1 Christ says: "I am the light of the world" 1956 Bachert bell foundry 2050 5820 as 0
2 Christ says: "I am the way" 1956 Bachert bell foundry 1820 4359 b 0
3 Christ says: "I am the truth" 1956 Bachert bell foundry 1615 2935 c 1
4th Christ says: "I am the life" 1956 Bachert bell foundry 1350 1695 it 1
5 "Your kingdom come" 1956 Bachert bell foundry 1240 1399 f 1

literature

  • Friedrich Burrer: Christ Church Mannheim-Oststadt . Regensburg 2005, ISBN 3-7954-6533-8 .
  • City Archive Mannheim, Mannheimer Architektur- und Bauarchiv e. V. (Ed.), Andreas Schenk: Mannheim and its buildings 1907–2007: Volume 3 . Mannheim 2002, ISBN 3-923003-85-4 .
  • Udo Wennemuth: History of the Protestant Church in Mannheim . Sigmaringen 1996, ISBN 3-7995-0930-5 .
  • Hans Huth: The historical monuments of the city circle Mannheim I . Munich 1982, ISBN 3-422-00556-0 .
  • Christian Schrade: Christ Church Mannheim . Unchanged reprint of the 1911 edition, Mannheim 1986, ISBN 3-923003-33-1 .
  • Herbert Wäldin: 50 years of the Christ Church Mannheim 1911–1961 . Mannheim 1961.
  • Rudolf Günther, Kurt F. Müller (Ed.): 75 Years of the Christ Church Mannheim 1911–1986 . Mannheim 1986. ISBN 3-923003-34-X .
  • Inge L. Buttmi: Christ Church Mannheim / Church building according to the Wiesbaden program . Heidelberg 2015. www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/18876
  • Andreas Schenk, Thomas Schlage, Udo Wennemuth (Eds.): The Christ Church in Mannheim. Building - community - church music . Ubstadt-Weiher 2011. ISBN 978-3-89735-680-1

Individual evidence

  1. Mannheimer Morgen, September 7, 2007, page 33.
  2. Mannheimer Morgen, May 30, 2003.
  3. Mannheimer Morgen, August 21, 2009, page 33.
  4. On the organs of the Christ Church
  5. More information on the Steinmeyer organ
  6. Information on the Marcussen organ

Web links

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

Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 4.7 "  N , 8 ° 28 ′ 50.5"  E