Johanniskirche (Dresden)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johanniskirche on an engraving by J. Franke, around 1829

The Johanniskirche was a church in the Pirnaische suburb of Dresden , which stood on the Johanniskirchhof . Erected as a wooden structure at the beginning or the middle of the 16th century, it was initially used exclusively for funeral services. The Bohemian exiles were allowed to use it as a place of worship from 1650. From 1789 to 1795 the church was rebuilt in sandstone. The cemetery and church were secularized or demolished in the course of road construction until 1861.

location

West end of Lingnerallee, former location of the church

The Johanniskirche and the churchyard were originally laid out outside the Dresden city walls southeast of the Pirnaischer Tor . When the city walls were razed in 1820, the Pirnaische Platz was built northwest of the church and cemetery . At that time the church grounds were enclosed by Johannis-Gasse, Kleiner Borngasse, Langer Gasse and Pirnaischer Gasse (around 1850 Äußere Pirnaische Gasse). To the south was the Bürgerwiese . After the church and cemetery were demolished, the Johannisplatz was created on the site, which eventually became the western part of Johann-Georgen-Allee, which was later named Lingnerallee. The location of the church and the cemetery is now roughly the same as the location of the Robotron site and the skater park located there.

The Johanniskirche

Time of origin and wooden church building

There are different information about the construction of the Johanniskirche. Some sources give the year 1519 as the year of construction of the church, for example Wilhelm Adolf Lindau in 1817, Alethophilus Evangelicus Benno in 1827 and Johann Benno Kummer in 1861. According to Lindau, the church was built one year after the cemetery was laid out the churchyard already existing at that time ”. According to Benno, like the churchyard around it, it was expanded in 1556.

Other sources put the construction period between 1556 and 1571 and link the construction of the church closely with the construction of the burial site: In the 16th century the city of Dresden had grown so much that the main cemetery of the city, the Frauenkirchhof , no longer held the dead could grasp. The distances were too far for burials in the Bartholomäuskirchhof in front of the Wilsdruffer Tor , as the city had to be crossed once. In 1556 the church and school clerk complained about these conditions during a visitation. A few years later, Elector August ordered the construction of a new cemetery in front of the Pirnaischer Tor. The City Council of Dresden then bought two pieces of land for a new burial site in 1571. The ground was not far from the Pirna Gate and was built on with houses and gardens. According to Anton Weck, the Johanniskirche was created around this time through the merger of two houses. There is evidence that the churchyard was consecrated in 1575, and Cornelius Gurlitt and Fritz Löffler also put the construction of the first St. John's Church in 1575.

Löffler stated that the building was "of minor importance", as was "the building of churches after the Reformation only played a modest role". The church was a small wooden structure and was initially used for funeral services. Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt called it “the simple, wooden 'St. Johanniskirche '". The church received a bell in 1605; Hans Hillger had cast it from the material of a broken church bell. The bell tower of the Johanniskirche was renewed in 1606.

In the course of the Reformation, the Dresden Kreuzkirche became the parochial and main church of Dresden and the Frauenkirche became a branch church. As a result, "the administration of the Johanniskirchhof together with his Aerar fell to the pastor of the Kreuzkirche, with whose office that of a superintendent of Dresden was combined."

Way to the Church of the Bohemian Exiles

Moritz Krantz - View of the St. John's Church from the front, around 1859

In Dresden in the 17th century in the course of the Bohemian Counter-Reformation, the number of Bohemian exiles had grown so much that the city's central authorities began to consider how the immigrants could be integrated into the city's church system as early as 1620. German-speaking exiles were integrated into existing parishes, but the few Czech-speaking exiles in Dresden could not follow the service. Although there had been unofficial Bohemian private worship services in Zittau , among others, since the 1620s , they were banned in Dresden due to the rejection of the central authorities of the Electoral Saxony. It was not until the large influx of Czech-speaking exiles to Pirna at the end of the 1620s and their request, expressed in 1628, to be able to attend church services in their mother tongue, that led to a rethink: Elector Johann Georg I asked the state government and the senior consistory to comment, “How do the foreign-language exiles would be guaranteed the necessary spiritual care and control ”. From 1628 Bohemian church services were allowed to be held in Pirna. Foreign-language exiles in Dresden started going to church in Pirna from this time on. In May 1639 Pirna was sacked by the Swedes and the Bohemian community smashed. The number of Czech-speaking exiles in Dresden increased as many moved from Pirna to Dresden. Johann Georg I granted the exiles a Sunday celebration in 1639, but Bohemian church services were still prohibited. It was not until the beginning of the 1640s that Bohemian house services were allowed to be held.

In the course of the death of their preacher Matthias Georgines, the Bohemian exiles asked in August 1649 for the position to be replaced and for permission to hold public services in St. John's Church. The elector declined the request, but consented to its use the following year: In the course of the re-Catholicization in Bohemia, there was another wave of refugees to Saxony and especially Dresden. The request of the exiles was therefore also supported by the city council. On April 8, 1650, Elector Johann Georg I approved the use of St. John's Church by the Bohemian exiles. The provision of the Johanniskirche was set as a temporary measure; Thus the Bohemian community issued a lapel to the city council on January 27, 1658, which stated "that they would only consider the church in question to be borrowed as a substitute, not as their property, but rather to respect it at all times as patronage and collator." first bohemian service took place on April 11, 1650. From 1684 the church had an organ made by Johann Christoph Gräbner .

From building a new church to demolition

John's church and cemetery on a map from around 1828
Carl Wilhelm Arldt - The old Johanniskirchhof before its secularization, around 1858

The wooden Johanniskirche was described as "dilapidated and completely worn out" as early as 1777 and was demolished in 1784 because it was in danger of collapsing. It was rebuilt from 1789 by Christian Heinrich Eigenwillig and inaugurated on February 2, 1795. The new building was realized in Pirna sandstone and in the late baroque style. The cost was 9,000 thalers. Cornelius Gurlitt described it as “a simple rectangle of modest dimensions and probably without artistic value”. Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt called it a “new, friendly place of worship” and the last preacher at the Johanniskirche, Johann Benno Kummer, described it as “a small, unsightly church for a residence ... it made a rural one in the midst of the surrounding trees, but that's why for many a lovely and peaceful impression ”. The church had two choirs and an organ by Johann Christian Kayser for the German and Bohemian services : from 1694 the preacher of the Bohemian exiles was also responsible for the German-language sermons of the community. The last German and Bohemian preacher of the Johanniskirche was the clergyman Martin Stephan, employed from 1810 .

In the middle of the 17th century, four weekly services for exiles were held in the church. When the Bährsche Frauenkirche was built, the preachers' colleges that had been taking place here since 1720 were relocated to the Johanniskirche. In 1813 the service from the Kreuzkirche was "interrupted by the current circumstances" and moved to the Johanniskirche. It was one of the few Dresden churches in which services were still held after the battle for Dresden from the end of August 1813.

In the middle of the 19th century (1840 at the latest) demolition plans for the church and churchyard became known, as the area was needed for a street widening, which should also bring new building space in the city. The demolition permit for the church was granted in 1858 by the Ministry of Education, although it was "still in very good condition ...". The plans caused displeasure beyond the city limits, among other things because at the time the number of Catholic churches in Dresden had increased continuously, while with the Johanniskirche a total of eight Protestant churches had been removed in the last 160 years. Only the promise that the money received from the sale of the building site would enable the Bohemian community to build a new, larger church did critical voices calm down. As early as 1859 there was another order to demolish the church. The church gel was sold to the community of Rabenau at Easter 1860 and replaced by a rented harmonium .

The last service in the Johanniskirche took place on December 31, 1860 by Johann Benno Kummer. His sermon Last Service in the Johanniskirche in Dresden on New Year's Eve 1860 appeared in print in 1861. The church was demolished in the spring of 1861 in advance of the expansion of Johann-Georgen-Allee; From January 1, 1861, the Bohemian congregation attended services in the orphanage church . The church of the Redeemer , built from 1878 to 1880 according to plans by Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel , was the direct successor to the church of the Bohemian exiles . Möckel also designed the new Johanneskirche , which was built between 1874 and 1878. Both churches were destroyed in 1945.

Johanniskirchhof

Seyffert grave at the Trinity cemetery, detail: "After the desecration of the St. Johannis and St. Elias cemeteries, transferred to St. Trinity [...] 1876"

development

Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt wrote in 1879 regarding the layout of the churchyard:

"... the town council [had] already in the first decades of the 16th century, around the time of the beginning Reformation, bought a number of small houses with gardens in front of the 'Pirnschen Thore' between the 'outer' Pirnaische, Lange- and Borngasse, have these houses torn down and set up a new home for the dead of the city and the villages concerned on the land of today's 'Johannesplatz' that was gained in this way, even if not in its entirety at first; after the Lord's favorite disciple and his evangelist, it was called the church at ' St. John 's'. "

- Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt

The churchyard was formally inaugurated in 1575 by Superintendent Daniel Greser . At that time, numerous burials had already taken place in the cemetery.

The area was enclosed with cemetery walls. The churchyard had two portals towards the city of Dresden, which were decorated with figures and sayings from the Bible. Around 1900, a relief depicting the Last Judgment was preserved from the gate of the churchyard. The cemetery was expanded in 1633 by buying up subsequent gardens. Part of the money to buy the site was borrowed from the Frauenkirchgemeinde. Due to the plague, the cemetery was expanded further in 1680. The cemetery was last enlarged in 1721 when the city council bought the Rechenberg property on Borngasse. The expansion had become necessary, among other things, because burials in the city's Frauenkirchhof had been prohibited since 1715. In the course of the secularization of the Frauenkirchhof from 1714 to 1724, numerous coffins and gravestones were transferred to the Johanniskirchhof.

On May 11, 1814, the Johanniskirchhof was initially temporarily closed for six years by a senior consistorial rescript, as it was overcrowded due to the war dead. Even after the time ran out, it remained closed. Instead, the dead were buried in the Elias and Trinity cemeteries. At that time he had 165 candle arch graves and a total of over 2000 graves, including "some tasteful" ones. In September 1854, the church inspection decided to secularize the Johanniskirchhof, which caused outrage among the Dresden population, as the Johanniskirchhof was one of the most popular cemeteries in the city. In retrospect, Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt called it a “poetic resting place for the dead”. The transfer of graves to other cemeteries had already begun in 1854. In 1858 the churchyard was finally cleared and the land was sold in the same year. A few tombs were transferred to the Elias cemetery and the Trinity cemetery. The grave monument of George Bähr was erected in the Frauenkirche . Johannisplatz, which later became the western section of Johann-Georgen-Allee, today's Lingnerallee, was laid out on the site of the church and churchyard. From 1875 to 1881 the new Johannisfriedhof was built in Tolkewitz near Dresden .

Personalities

Grave of Hermann Joachim Hahn
George Bähr's grave

The personalities who were buried at the Johannisfriedhof include:

See also

List of Johanneskirchen in Germany

literature

  • Anton Weck: The Vierdte Church / can be seen in suburbs / is located in front of the Pirnischen Gate / namely the Johannis Church. In: Anton Weck: The Chur-Fürstlichen Sächsischen widely-called Residentz- and Haupt-Vestung Dresden Description and presentation. Hoffmann, Nuremberg 1680, p. 273.
  • Johann Benno Kummer: The St. Johanniskirche in Dresden. In: Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt , No. 12, March 21, 1861, Col. 97-103.
  • Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building. Pierson, Dresden 1879.
  • The Johanniskirche . In: Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. Booklet 21: City of Dresden. Meinhold, Dresden 1900, pp. 195–199.
  • Sabine Webersinke: Explanations on Carl Wilhelm Arldts Johanniskirchhof. View of the churchyard with Johanniskirche seen from Langen Gasse, 1858. In: State Office for Monument Preservation, Chamber of Architects Saxony: Churches in Dresden. Heritage lost and to be preserved . Calendar 2007, November.

Web links

Commons : Johanniskirche  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Johanniskirche . In: New painting from Dresden in terms of history, locality, culture, art and trade . Arnold 1817, p. 63.
  2. ^ Johann Benno Kummer: The St. Johanniskirche in Dresden . In: Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt , No. 12, March 21, 1861, Col. 97.
  3. ↑ Alethophilus Evangelicus Benno: Memories from the Reformation history of the residence city of Dresden, continued in church history up to the most recent times . Goedsche, Meißen 1827, pp. 81–82.
  4. ↑ a b Ephorie Dresden I . In: Ramming's ecclesiastical statistical manual for the Kingdom of Saxony . 9th edition. Rammingsche Buchdruckerei, Dresden 1868, p. 31.
  5. ↑ a b Anton Weck: The Chur-Princely Saxon widely-called Residentz- and Haupt-Vestung Dresden Description and presentation . Hoffmann, Nuremberg 1680, p. 273.
  6. ↑ Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. Booklet 21: City of Dresden . Meinhold, Dresden 1900, p. 195.
  7. ^ Fritz Löffler: The old Dresden. History of his buildings . Sachsenverlag , Dresden 1955, p. 20.
  8. ↑ a b Frank Metasch: exiles in Dresden. Immigration and integration of religious refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2011, p. 195.
  9. ↑ a b c d Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building . Pierson, Dresden 1879, p. 3.
  10. ↑ a b c d The Johanniskirche . In: Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. Booklet 21: City of Dresden . Meinhold, Dresden 1900, p. 196.
  11. ↑ Frank Metasch: exiles in Dresden. Immigration and integration of religious refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2011, p. 190.
  12. ↑ Frank Metasch: exiles in Dresden. Immigration and integration of religious refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2011, p. 191.
  13. ↑ Frank Metasch: exiles in Dresden. Immigration and integration of religious refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2011, p. 193.
  14. ↑ Frank Metasch: exiles in Dresden. Immigration and integration of religious refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2011, p. 196.
  15. ↑ Alethophilus Evangelicus Benno: Memories from the Reformation history of the residence city of Dresden, continued in church history up to the most recent times . Goedsche, Meißen 1827, p. 81.
  16. ↑ a b without author: The music of the Bohemian Exulantengemeinde 1650-1880. The congregation of Bohemian exiles in St. John's Church . johannes-kantorei.webs.com , accessed December 15, 2013.
  17. ↑ a b c Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building . Pierson, Dresden 1879, p. 7.
  18. ^ A b c Johann Benno Kummer: The St. Johanniskirche in Dresden . In: Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt , No. 12, March 21, 1861, column 99.
  19. ^ Johann Benno Kummer: The St. Johanniskirche in Dresden . In: Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt , No. 12, March 21, 1861, Col. 98.
  20. ↑ Alethophilus Evangelicus Benno: Memories from the Reformation history of the residence city of Dresden, continued in church history up to the most recent times . Goedsche, Meißen 1827, p. 103.
  21. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung. With the highest privileges . No. 268, Sunday, September 25, 1813, p. 1071.
  22. ^ Ernst Julius Jacob Meyer: Attempt of a medical topography and statistics of the capital and residence city of Dresden. With a floor plan of Dresden and three panels with graphic representations. Published by BGH Schmidt , Stolberg am Harz and Leipzig, 1840, p. 116: "In the past, the Bohemian or Johannis churchyard between Langegasse and Johannisgasse in the Pirnaische Vorstadt was used for funerals, but this has not happened for several years , but this not insignificant space should be used for purposes other than public space. "
  23. ^ A b Johann Benno Kummer: The St. Johanniskirche in Dresden . In: Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt , No. 12, March 21, 1861, column 100.
  24. ↑ Foundation of the Exulantengemeinde and development up to the building of an own church . In: Marie-Luise Lange: For God's Word expelled. 350 years of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Bohemian Exiles in Dresden . Johanneskirchgemeinde Dresden-Johannstadt-Striesen, Dresden 2010, p. 9.
  25. ^ Johann Benno Kummer: Last service in the Johanniskirche in Dresden on New Year's Eve 1860. Printed as a reminder sheet, also as a Christian reminder for the permanent construction of a new church . Naumann, Leipzig / Dresden 1861.
  26. ^ Fritz Löffler: The old Dresden. History of his buildings . Sachsenverlag, Dresden 1955, p. 74.
  27. ↑ The Johanniskirche . In: Cornelius Gurlitt: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. Booklet 21: City of Dresden . Meinhold, Dresden 1900, p. 195.
  28. ^ Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building . Pierson, Dresden 1879, p. 4.
  29. ^ Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building . Pierson, Dresden 1879, p. 176.
  30. ↑ a b Ernst Heinrich Pfeilschmidt: The Johanneskirche and Johannesgemeinde in Dresden until the end of the second year since the election of their church council on May 30, 1877; a contribution to the history of the Dresden church, town and building . Pierson, Dresden 1879, p. 6.

Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 47.6 "  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 43.2"  E