Luther Church (Cologne)
The Luther Church is a Protestant church in the southern part of Cologne . The church forms its own district in the Evangelical Community of Cologne. The Evangelical Congregation Cologne belongs to the Evangelical Church District Cologne-Mitte, which is part of the Evangelical Church Association Cologne and Region.
history
At the turn of the century, the number of Protestant residents within the city wall - despite the outsourcing of the suburbs - was almost 50,000. The presbytery decided to build a fourth church in the south of the city of Cologne in addition to the Antoniterkirche , Trinitatiskirche and Christ Church. To this end, it announced an architectural competition in 1902 . The design by Berlin architects Johannes Vollmer and Heinrich Jassoy , which was awarded 1st prize, was implemented . The foundation work began in January 1904. The cornerstone ceremony took place on May 8, 1904 .
The inauguration took place on May 20, 1906 with great sympathy from the community and in the presence of the Rhenish President D. Hackenberg and many high-ranking representatives from the state and the city .
This first church on Martin-Luther-Platz was built in the Renaissance style. The rows of seats were arranged concentrically around the altar. Around 800 parishioners found space in the nave and on the gallery . The central axis of the church was effectively represented on the one hand by the pulpit and altar, which were organically connected to one another, and on the other hand by the organ, which was located on the opposite gallery.
The two large windows in the transept were a special decoration of the church. They represented - true to the name of the church - the "Diet of Worms" and the "Bible translation".
The monumental tower - 65 m high - stood at the side of the church and was an attractive eye-catcher for all the streets opening onto the square. Rhenish tuff and Palatinate sandstone were chosen as the material for the façades of the church and tower. The construction costs amounted to 600,000 marks .
On October 15, 1944, the Luther Church was hit by several bombs. The church building was destroyed down to the foundation walls. Only the tower was still standing, though heavily taken and its spire robbed. The metal frame stood until at least 1955, when it was removed and replaced with an emergency roof.
In 1964 the reconstruction took place under the direction of the Trier architect Heinrich Otto Vogel . A U-shaped community center is grouped around a small church square in the form of an atrium, making clever use of the areas that are still free and those that have already been rebuilt . The reconstruction of the Luther Church could no longer take place in its old size and splendor. The church was built in simple, almost reserved hand-painted bricks. The back wall of the altar was painted by the Mainz glass artist Alois Plum .
Bells
The ringing of the Luther Church consists of six bells with a total weight of around 6.8 tons, of which the three larger ones are made of cast steel and the three smaller ones are made of bronze.
The steel bells have a small inscription on their shoulder in addition to several decorative bars:
- GEG.V.BOCHUMER VEREIN I.BOCHUM 1923
On the front flank there is a verse from Martin Luther's well-known chorale A solid castle is our God :
- Bell 1 (Worms)
- WORMS / AND IF THE WORLD WAS FULL OF DEVIL / AND WANTS TO DEOR US / SO WE ARE NOT SO AFRAID / WE HAVE TO SUCCESS.
The large bell bears a coat of arms next to the inscription on the opposite side of the flank. It is the family coat of arms of the founder of the previous bell. From an art-historical point of view, this should be almost unique for ornaments on steel bells. Below the coat of arms is the following inscription: COAT OF ARMS OF THE WILHELM VON RECKLINGHAUSEN FAMILY / FOUNDER OF THE FORMER BRONZE BELL OF OUR CHURCH.
- Bell 2 (Speyer)
- SPEED / THE WORD YOU SHOULD LET STAHN / AND GIVE NO THANKS TO IT.
- Bell 3 (Augsburg)
- AUGSBURG / A 'SOLID CASTLE IS OUR GOD / A' GOOD DEFENSE AND ARMS
The chime has been six-part since 2014. Three smaller bronze bells were cast by the Maria Laach bell foundry and hung in the wooden bell chair. They have the following inscriptions all around them:
- Bell 4 (Osanna)
- + DO NOT FEAR + FOR I SEE YOU HAVE GREAT JOY THAT ALL PEOPLE WILL EXPERIENCE + YOU WERE BORN TODAY THE SAVIOR + THE ANINTED LORD IN THE CITY OF DAVIDS + [Lk 2]
- Bell 5 (Benedicta)
- + SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS IN THE MIDDLE OF YOU + [Lk 17]
- Bell 6 (Cantabona)
- + BLESSED THE HUNGRY AND THIRD FOR JUSTICE + YOU WILL BE SATISFIED + BLESSED THE MERCY + YOU WILL RECEIVE MERCY + BLESSED THE PEACE + YOU WILL BE CALLED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD + [Mt 5]
Technical specifications
|
No. |
designation |
Foundry, year of casting |
Diameter (mm) |
Mass (kg, approx.) |
Percussive ( HT - 1 / 16 ) |
| 1 | Worms | Bochum Association, 1923 | 1,773 | 2,360 | h 0 +4 |
| 2 | Speyer | Bochum Association, 1923 | 1,490 | 1,430 | d 1 ± 0 |
| 3 | augsburg | Bochum Association, 1923 | 1,333 | 1,000 | f 1 −5 |
| 4th | Osanna | Br. Michael (Maria Laach), 2014 | 1,090 | 904 | g 1 +7 |
| 5 | Benedicta | Br. Michael (Maria Laach), 2014 | 966 | 623 | a 1 +4 |
| 6th | Cantabona | Br. Michael (Maria Laach), 2014 | 853 | 428 | c 2 −7 |
Web links
- Internet presence of the Luther Church Cologne
- Presentation of the bells in film and sound of the Evangelical Luther Church in Cologne
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Georg Custodis: The Mainz artist Alois Plum. In: Das Münster ( ISSN 0027-299X ), 61st year 2008, issue 2, pages 111-114.
Coordinates: 50 ° 55 ′ 11 " N , 6 ° 57 ′ 11" E