Holy Spirit Church (Speyer)
The Heiliggeistkirche , built from 1700 to 1702 shortly after the resettlement of Speyer , was the church of the Reformed congregation in Speyer, then the meeting place of the Speyer Jacobins , again the Reformed church, then the Protestant church. From 1979 it finally became the venue of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate for concerts, lectures, exhibitions and other social events.
Reformed parish Speyer and the creation of the church
Historical background and origin
In the 16th century a small reformed community was formed in Speyer, which was under the protection of the also reformed Electoral Palatinate . Its first church since 1572 was the St. Aegidien Church , the remains of which are located south of the current Catholic Church of St. Joseph .
Like all residents, the community fled across the Rhine in 1689 with the destruction of the city on the orders of Louis XIV in the Palatinate War of Succession . Only ten years later in 1698 did some of the residents return. Towards the end of 1699 the community set up a hall of the inn "Zum Weisse Einhorn" near the old gate as a church room . In the following year, 1700, the foundation stone for the Heiliggeistkirche was laid. The completion of the building by 1702 was possible thanks to financial support from Reformed Christians in Germany and Switzerland . The first preacher of the community was the pastor's son Johann Hieronymus Kilian (* 1677 in Kaiserslautern ). " In the presence of a noticeable number of both foreign and local " worshipers, the Reformed Church was inaugurated on September 10, 1702 with worship, singing and prayer to the " great God in his sole honor. " For 90 years the church was the focus of community life.
French Revolution and Jacobin Club in Speyer
In 1792, when the French Revolution reached Speyer, the Church of the Holy Spirit, like all other churches, was closed. The Jacobins of Speyer then chose the church as a meeting place. Ten years later under Napoleon , the parish regained its church.
Renaming and church union
The first rapprochement between Reformed and Lutherans took place as early as the second half of the 18th century . The experience of the French Revolution intensified the rapprochement. At the Reformation Festival on October 31, 1817, the Reformed Congregation in Speyer decided to rename its church to “Church of the Holy Spirit”. From then on the church served the united Protestant community.
This happened a year before the actual union of the churches in the Palatinate. In a survey of around 130,000 Reformed and 108,000 Lutheran Protestants in the parishes of the Palatinate, 40,167 voted for the Union, only 539 against. In the Palatinate, from August 16, 1818, a general synod of the Lutheran and Reformed communities met in Kaiserslautern to establish a common creed . On the 1st of Advent 1818 (November 29, 1818) they formed a union, which was celebrated with a solemn communal service.
End of regular church services in 1979, a place for culture
Since 1979 the church was no longer used for regular church services, as the larger Trinity Church is in the immediate vicinity . The church was completely renovated from 1978 to 1979 and in 1979 transferred from the parish to the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate. The building with 300 m² on the ground floor, 120 m² on the gallery, tea kitchen and toilet facility as well as a vaulted cellar room for 32 people was mainly used for lectures, concerts, exhibitions, meetings and readings, but also rented for parties, celebrations and conferences. In 2013 the Synod decided to sell it due to financial constraints, but the church could not find a suitable buyer.
Architecture and furnishings
Building design
The church, simple and unpretentious for the baroque era, shows that the focus of the Reformed worship was the sermon .
The church is a hall church with a directly closing three-sided choir closure , inside 24.60 meters deep and 14.05 meters wide.
On the street facade , a tall bell tower rises above the roof ridge . The large wooden roof tower has an octagonal basic shape. The bell storey opens up over the nave like an airy pavilion and is decorated with a richly profiled cornice . A curved hood was built over it , on which an open lantern and a high pointed helmet rests.
The entrance portal to Johannesstrasse is rounded. Tuscan columns are placed sideways on high plinths . The well-proportioned portal is the most elaborately designed part of the building.
Two-lane windows were installed above the portal, the same type and height being repeated on the western long side and on the choir. A gate leads to the western long side of the church, the windows of which are deeper in the wall than on the portal side. A school building is attached to the windowless eastern long side.
Facility
The gallery, the organ built in 1751 during the renovation and the pulpit with the parish chair for the preacher have been preserved from the furnishings of the 18th century .
The 120 m² gallery runs on three sides of the church.
The pulpit was mounted on the fourth side. It consists of a pulpit made of sandstone , which was decorated with rich fittings from the German Renaissance . The pulpit cover and rear wall date from 1707. The pulpit cover, an octagonal onion dome, has gilded foliage on the edges . On top is a globe with a cross. The rear wall of the pulpit is decorated with gilded carvings in the form of shells and acanthus leaves .
The late baroque organ case is largely original.
See also
swell
- Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, Landeskirchenrat: Heiliggeistkirche Speyer. (Leaflet available in the central archive of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate , Domplatz 7)
- Timm Herre and dpa: Heiliggeistkirche for sale. In: morgenweb.de , May 22, 2013; Retrieved on March 8, 2014. (Note: Year of construction 1703 in the article is incorrect. Completion was 1702.)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, Regional Church Council, Public Relations Department (Ed.) / Klaus Bümlein: Unterwegs in Speyer. A stroll through the Protestant city. Numeral 3, St. Aegidien Church
- ^ Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, Regional Church Council: Heiliggeistkirche Speyer. Sections: On the history of the Heiliggeistkirche and ... and the Reformed congregation in Speyer
- ^ Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, Regional Church Council: Heiliggeistkirche Speyer. Section: On the history of the Heiliggeistkirche
- ^ Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, Regional Church Council: Heiliggeistkirche Speyer. Section: ... and the reformed church in Speyer
- ↑ Klaus Bümlein, Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant Regional Church). (As of November 8, 2012), In: Historisches Lexikon Bayerns. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ↑ Timm Herre and dpa: Heiliggeistkirche for sale. In: morgenweb.de , May 22, 2013; accessed on March 8, 2014.
- ↑ Herbert Dellwing In: The tower cock . 1988, issue 5/6; quoted from the leaflet Heiliggeistkirche
- ↑ Herbert Dellwing In: The tower cock. 1988, issue 5/6; quoted from the leaflet Heiliggeistkirche
- ↑ for the whole section: Herbert Dellwing In: Der Turmhahn. 1988, issue 5/6; quoted from the leaflet Heiliggeistkirche
Coordinates: 49 ° 19 ′ 5.7 ″ N , 8 ° 26 ′ 14.5 ″ E