Friedenskirche (Frankfurt (Oder))
The Friedenskirche (previously Nicolaikirche and Reformed Church ) is a Protestant church and originally the oldest stone building in Frankfurt (Oder) .
Building history
Around 1226, a merchant settlement was built on a narrow part of the Oder with a river crossing. Their parish church was dedicated to St. Nicholas - patron saint of boatmen and merchants. At the same time as the town charter was granted, the new main church, the Marienkirche , was built in 1253 . Around 1300 (before 1302) a four-bay nave was built for the Nicolaikirche . Its outer walls are still detectable today. The niches were painted on the east gable. By 1373 or in the 15th century, an ambulatory choir that was closed at first, then a three-sided closed choir was built. In the course of the Reformation , the church was secularized in November 1539 .
In the 1540s the Nicolai congregation moved into the neighboring building of the Franciscan monastery church , which was newly built until 1525 and which was named “St. Niclas ”takes over. In 1551 the elector donated the old church building to the city. In 1557 the unused former church building was converted into a granary. On June 15, 1599, a lightning strike caused a fire in the baroque south tower, which is considered to be the most beautiful church tower in the city. From 1600 to 1650 prisoners and the sick were housed in the "desert" (that is, unused) church. During the Thirty Years War the building served as a powder magazine .
The south tower was rebuilt by April 1601. In 1643, however, it collapsed again because the substructure was too weak. An old woman charged with maintaining the tower clock was just able to get into the roof of the nave. The granary fell into disrepair until 1656, when it was handed over to the Reformed Community on the instructions of the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm , repaired by 1657 and renamed the “Reformed Church”. In 1675 a three-part bell was built into the north tower . These are the oldest functional bronze bells in Frankfurt (Oder) today:
- lower bell with a seal of the Reformed Church; cast in 1674 by Franz Sebastian Voillard ; Diameter 144 cm
- upper southern bell; cast in 1673 by Voillard; Diameter 115 cm
- upper northern bell; cast in 1618; Diameter 96 cm; 1747 cast after a crack; 1931 Replacement for the original melted down in World War I
From the 17th century the church building served as a burial place for personalities from administration and the army. The community experienced growth in the late 17th century due to the influx of French Huguenots . The first French service took place in 1686. From 1735 to 1737 the baroque north tower was repaired and a church building for the French Reformed community was erected in front of the west facade. In 1861 the church building of the French Reformed congregation was demolished. In 1880–1881 the polygonal sacristy was added and baroque fixtures removed from the church building. The two-tower, 55 m high neo-Gothic west facade was built from 1890 to 1894 according to designs by Friedrich Adler . The entire building was regotized and renovated for around 750,000 gold marks .
In 1925 extensive construction work took place inside the church. In 1929 the church was renamed "Friedenskirche". The Friedenskirche was also affected by the great fire in the last days of the Second World War . Until 1952 there was further damage from vandalism. From 1956 to 1959 the wall and ceiling paintings in the interior were whitewashed and a Sauer organ was installed. On the occasion of the last inauguration in 1959, a new altar was installed. In 1974 the last festive service took place on the occasion of the Protestant Church Congress. After that, the building was no longer used for church purposes, but as a depot. In 1985 the city of Frankfurt (Oder) leased it. The nave was re-covered.
After the fall of the Wall , the roof structure of the nave and the choir was reconstructed from 1990 to 1993 and a comprehensive renovation of the building began. In 1994 the Förderkreis Oekumenisches Europa-Centrum eV was founded. Its aim is to create an interdenominational meeting place in the Friedenskirche. International Confederation staff began repair work in and around the church in 1997, which continues to this day.
organ
Between 1950 and 1960 the Wilhelm Sauer company from Frankfurt (Oder) built a mechanical organ with two manuals and 29 registers . The instrument has the following disposition :
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
swell
- Leaflet “Welcome to the oldest church in Frankfurt an der Oder”; Support group Ecumenical Europ Center; approx. 2006.
- Werner Mandel: The oldest church in the city of Frankfurt (Oder). created by Hans-Michael Hanert and Thomas Nehlen, published by the “Oekumenisches Europa Centrum eV” support group, Sup. Christoph Bruckhoff, Frankfurt (Oder) 2006.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b "The oldest church in the city of Frankfurt (Oder)"; P. 3.
- ↑ "Welcome to the oldest church in Frankfurt an der Oder"; P. 2.
- ↑ a b c "The oldest church in the city of Frankfurt (Oder)"; P. 4.
- ↑ Information on the organ
Web links
- Entry in the monument database of the State of Brandenburg
- Homepage of the Förderkreis Oekumenisches Europa Centrum eV
Coordinates: 52 ° 20 '54.8 " N , 14 ° 33' 8.1" E