Gutleutkirche

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The Evangelical Gutleut Church in Frankfurt Gutleutviertel was inaugurated in 1958. For this purpose, the architect Rudolf Schanty redesigned the parish hall of the Weißfrauengemeinde, built in 1908. The social diaconal tradition of the Gutleuthof was continued with the new church name . Since its deed in December 2012, the Gutleutkirche has now served other social purposes.

Gutleutkirche

Location and architecture

The church is located at Gutleutstrasse 121 in a Wilhelminian-style quarter south of the main train station , close to the city center . For this purpose, the parish hall of the Weißfrauengemeinde, inaugurated in 1908, was rebuilt, which already had a church hall and temporarily served as an emergency church. In 1955, the municipality decided against a more representative new building elsewhere. They wanted to bundle liturgical and social life consciously with modest means. In contrast to most other Frankfurt churches, it is therefore not free-standing, but integrated into the existing row of houses.

After the new Weißfrauenkirche was inaugurated on April 1, 1956, the renovation of the former parish hall began in May 1957. The plans were made by the architect Rudolf Schanty, who also designed the Easter Church in Frankfurt (1959) in Sachsenhausen. The 26 meter high bell tower protruding over the roof highlights the church from the street scene. The lower area of ​​the cubic structure houses the worship room. Instead of the previous arched windows and the two-winged portal, it was given a bright clinker brick wall, which is pierced by five rows with a total of 28 small, square stained glass windows - still equipped with the original tilting mechanisms - behind which the church is located. The floor above the church hall with four large windows is used as a coffee shop and community room. The top floor, which is slightly set back behind a pergola , houses an apartment.

The entrance to the church and the parish hall is located in the bell tower. A foyer leads to the simple church interior, which is around 25 meters long and twelve meters wide. Concrete supports structure the white painted walls. The choir is raised by three steps. A wall made of glass blocks to the side of the altar ensures sufficient light. The small stained glass windows create a subdued light.

Furnishing

Parts of the furnishings were taken over from the church hall of the historicist parish hall, which was converted into the Gutleutkirche. On a gallery above the entrance is the organ by Eberhard Friedrich Walcker from 1949, which comprises twelve registers and two manuals. Glass mosaics by the graphic artist Rau hang on the windowless inner wall, which have not been attached to the outside of the tower for reasons of conservation since a renovation in 1985.

The three bells were made in 1958 by the Rincker bell and art foundry . They are called Father Bell , Son Bell and Holy Spirit Bell and sound with the striking tones g 1 , a 1 and c 2 . The father-bell is decorated with the father's eye and the inscription The father loves you. ( Joh 16,27  LUT ), the son bell, the cross as a symbol of the son and the inscription Jesus, dear master, have mercy on us ( Lk 17,13  LUT ), the Holy Spirit bell the Holy Spirit dove and the inscription Which of the Spirit of God drives, they are children of God. ( Rom 8,14  LUT ).

After the church was deedicated, some of the furnishings were removed.

local community

Memorial plaque for pastor Jürgens and his family

Since the parish and synodal order for the Protestant parishes of the consistorial district of Frankfurt am Main came into force on December 1, 1899 , the parish in the Gutleutviertel belonged to the Weißfrauen parish , which stretches from the western old town to the former city limits near Griesheim. In order to improve church support, an independent parish was established from the western parish on April 1, 1955, the Gutleut parish . The name is reminiscent of the Gutleuthof , a medieval leprosy hospital .

On Pentecost Sunday 1983 (May 22nd) the pastor of the Gutleut parish, Martin Jürgens, died with his whole family in the flight accident in Frankfurt . A plaque on the Juerges family near the church commemorates the accident .

Since the 1970s and 1980s, the numbers of parishioners in both good people and white women congregations have fallen sharply. On January 1, 1999, the Gutleut and Weißfrauen congregations merged to form the Evangelical Congregation at the main station . On January 1st, 2003 this merged with the Matthäusgemeinde to form the Evangelical Hope Church in Frankfurt am Main .

literature

  • Karin Berkemann : Post-war churches in Frankfurt am Main (1945-76) (monument topography Federal Republic of Germany; cultural monuments in Hesse), Theiss-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8062-2812-0 , Stuttgart 2013 [add. Diss., Neuendettelsau, 2012]
  • Deutscher Werkbund Hessen, Wilhelm Opatz (Hrsg.): Once praised and almost forgotten, modern churches in Frankfurt a. M. 1948–1973 , Niggli-Verlag, Sulgen 2012, ISBN 978-3-7212-0842-9
  • Joachim Proescholdt, Jürgen Telschow: Frankfurt's Protestant Churches through the ages, Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-942921-11-4
  • Hermann-Josef Hake: The Gutleut Church in Frankfurt am Main - its history , Frankfurt am Main undated [around 2008] [leaflet]

Web links

Coordinates: 50 ° 6 ′ 11.1 ″  N , 8 ° 39 ′ 46.2 ″  E