Evangelical Church (Deák tér)
The Evangelical Church on Deák Square ( Hungarian Deák téri evangélikus templom ) is an Evangelical Lutheran episcopal church (southern diocese) in the Hungarian capital Budapest . It is located at Deák Ferenc tér 4 in the fifth district of Belváros-Lipótváros (inner city – Leopoldstadt) and was built between 1799 and 1808 according to plans by Mihály Pollack in the classical style.
history
After the Turks were driven out , the Hungarian part of the country with the cities of Buda , Óbuda and Pest , which were later merged to form Budapest, belonged to Catholic Austria. In 1781, Emperor Joseph II issued the Tolerance Patent , which allowed Protestants to exercise their faith and organize their churches within certain limits. Because of this, the Lutherans began to found a church in Pest in 1787. In the state parliament from 1790 to 1791, Emperor Leopold II allowed Protestants in Hungary to build churches with access to the street, a tower and bells. In 1791 the Lutherans held a church convention in Pest, at which it was decided to build a church, a rectory and a school as soon as possible. Pest had about 50,000 inhabitants at the time, 400 of whom were Lutheran; in addition there were 700 Lutheran soldiers from the garrison. Before a separate church existed in Pest, the faithful had to visit the church in Cinkota, 15 km away (today in the 16th district of Budapest).
With the support of the Commander-in-Chief of Buda and Pest, Prince Josia Coburg, the Pest community received a 565 square fathom property outside the city wall next to the grenade barracks, in which there were more Lutherans than in the city itself. The count's wife was the patroness Miklós Beleznay and that of Count József Teleki contributed to the construction costs, as did Count József Batthyány , the Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the churches from Württemberg .
The builder János Krausz (1761–1798) was commissioned to build the church, and they were very satisfied with his work on the reconstruction of the Evangelical Church of Galgaguta. In 1794 he built a provisional prayer room next to the later site of the church and then built the Protestant school. In 1797 he submitted his own design for the church, which envisaged a main facade with a central tower and a portico highlighted by a Corinthian columned hall. The young Mihály Pollack from Vienna joined Krausz as site manager. However, when he died shortly afterwards, Pollack submitted a new design, according to which construction work began after the foundation stone was laid on October 31, 1799. The church was Pollack's first work in Hungary, where he later erected a total of 193 buildings and thus significantly shaped the appearance of the up-and-coming town of Pest.
In the course of the Napoleonic wars , there was an acute lack of money in the following years. Therefore, the construction progressed slowly (1805 completion of the roof, 1808 completion of the exterior) and the original construction plan had to be simplified in some points. Pollack omitted the portico entirely and reduced the tower. In 1809, even the interior decoration work had to be stopped, as the room was needed as a tailor's workshop and clothes storage room due to the war. Only on June 2, 1811 could the church be consecrated.
In 1819 the palatine Joseph Anton Johann of Austria married the Protestant princess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg . In her honor, a magnificent oratory was set up opposite the pulpit. At the same time the church was given a double choir to accommodate the increasing number of church visitors. During the catastrophic flood of 1838 in Pest, the church, which stood a little higher on Heumarkt, was completely undamaged.
After Pollack's death in 1855, the architect József Hild took over the architectural tasks of the church. He first closed the gap between the church and the rectory and then began renovating the church. Hild also designed the facade with Doric columns , which can still be seen today . During a further renovation of the roof in 1875 under the direction of Károly Benkó, the original barrel vault of the church was replaced. Since the church tower was built without foundation walls and was therefore structurally very insecure, it was removed and the cross placed on the gable.
Church building
The exterior of the church, located at the south-western corner of Deák tér, is determined by the facade that József Hild converted into a temple front in 1856. A triangular temple gable, which is crowned with a gilded cross, rests on four pillars above the architrave with a triglyph frieze . The nudes at the corners of the gable are also gilded. Above the entrance portal and on the opposite side there is a lunette window and another four large windows on the side facade illuminate the interior. A plaque commemorates Lajos Kossuth .
The building is a hall church with a rectangular floor plan. The length of the ship is 33 meters, the width 18.2 meters and the interior height 14.8 meters. The walls are structured by pilasters with gilded capitals. In between there are rectangular or arched wall niches. A cornice runs around the entire room and emphasizes its hall character. There are two-story galleries above the entrance area. The hall is covered by a Cavetto vault.
The mighty, gilded altar is flanked on both sides by columns made of two types of marble, the capitals of which are richly decorated. On the tympanum above clouds are the tablets of Moses and an open holy script (both gilded), on each side a vase. Below that is the name of God in Hebrew letters. The large-format altarpiece is by Franz Sales Lochbihler and is a copy of Raphael's painting The Transfiguration of Christ from the Vatican.
The other furnishings consist of a baptismal font made of red marble by Lörinc Dunaiszky (1784–1833) and the pulpit to the right of the altar, which Dunaiszky also helped to furnish.
The first organ in the church had gilded wood carvings and white wood paneling. It was the work of József Herodek. Today's instrument has three manuals and a pedal. It is the most important neo-baroque organ in Hungary.
Church music concerts are regularly performed in the church, including the events of the International Bach Week. The Church's Lutherania Choir has existed for over a hundred years.
school
After the first temporary school building, a primary school building was built next to the church in 1818. Through the foundation of Karolina Glosius Artner, the neighboring military bakery was bought in 1861 and the main grammar school was built from 1863–1864. After the grammar school moved to Allee am Stadtwäldchen around 1900 , the Deák tér primary school and community school were located. The school was hit by a bomb during World War II and rebuilt in 1950. Damage caused by the underground construction could be repaired in 1973 and 1983.
Evangelical State Museum
The Evangelical State Museum (Hungarian Magyarországi Evangélikus Egyház ) is located next to the church in the former rectory . Documents, books, church utensils and pictures on the history of Protestantism in Hungary are shown in three rooms . The high point of the collection is the will, written by Martin Luther himself in 1542 .
literature
- Ferenc Matits: Protestant Churches. City Hall, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-9170-74-7 , pp. 5-14
Web links
- Pesti Evangélikus Egyház, Deák téri Egyházközség (Hungarian)
Coordinates: 47 ° 29 ′ 50 ″ N , 19 ° 3 ′ 17 ″ E