Luther Church (Worms)

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Luther Church in Worms

The Protestant Luther Church in Worms was built in 1912 by the Darmstadt architect Friedrich Pützer in the style of Darmstadt Art Nouveau , who saw himself obliged to do justice to the style of the old imperial city with the new building .

City history

As part of the city expansion of Worms to the west - in connection with the upswing of the Worms leather industry - the desire for a church on Karlsplatz arose, which was to form a striking triad as the third building with the water tower and the Eleonoren grammar school .

Church building

Outer shape

The new church should "have a simple, solid, serious character" and show the reference to the old churches of the city center: with red sandstone blocks to the cathedral and a bricked-up tower dome to the Pauluskirche . In addition, the unity of the building is based on Luther's song “ A strong castle is our god ”, which is clearly expressed by a defiant row of columns in front of the main entrance in conjunction with the defensive tower.

The economical ornamentation of the cover corresponds to the program of Darmstadt Art Nouveau. The five-petalled Luther rose appears several times as a consistent characteristic of the church .

inner space

The interior is designed as a uniform sermon hall in accordance with the requirements of the Wiesbaden program of 1891, which means that the altar , pulpit and organ are treated equally and are ideally arranged one above the other in the center of the church.

There is no separation of ship and choir in the Luther Church either. The focus is on the altar, which as a pulpit altar includes both sites of the Annunciation in the Protestant sense. Pützer combined this pulpit altar with the organ above and the singing stage to create a visual and meaningful unit that also corresponds to the interplay of the acts of worship. The stepped gallery on the sides and above the entrance rounds off the room at the top. Above it arches into a stucco-decorated barrel vault , which is executed with geometric and vegetable ornamentation in the colors ocher, bronze and blue. The entire area under the surrounding galleries, the gallery balustrades and the back walls of the galleries are paneled in dark wood.

Christening room

In front of the church there is a separate part, which was intended as a baptistery : the baptism in liturgical symbolism as an entrance step for acceptance into the Christian community. The free space in front of the portal pillars framed by a balustrade was intended to give visitors the opportunity to exchange ideas before or after the service.

Rectory

The church building is connected to the rectory through a small courtyard to form an ensemble. Pützer also implemented this idea of ​​a complex design in other places.

Furnishing

Other artists were involved in the individual equipment. The Darmstadt goldsmith Ernst Riegel - from 1913 to 1933 professor of goldsmithing at the Cologne Werkschulen - created the altar cross adorned with amethysts, the altar grille, the baptismal font with dove and hanging chandelier and the antependium with the Luther rose . The bronze relief above the door to the tower was made by Ludwig Habich .

lighting

The lighting consists of brass wall lights, which are regularly arranged on the gallery balustrades and on the back walls of the galleries, and round ceiling lights under the galleries. The barrel vault is illuminated with newer ceiling washers.

Changes

During the restoration in 1962/63, some changes were made to the west wall, which followed the now changed religious thinking and thereby impaired Pützer's original concept.

The four pillars behind the pulpit originally carried statues of the four evangelists with moving gestures, which Augusto Varnesi had created especially for the Luther Church. These sculptures were replaced in 1962 by cuboids with reliefs of the evangelist symbols and put into storage. The gable on the back wall of the pulpit was demolished and a crucifix by Fritz Schwarzbeck was erected in its place .

Restorations

As of 2001, some of the interventions in the furnishings and the building fabric between 1912 and 1962 were reversed or mitigated as part of renovation measures. In 2001, the original lighting concept and the standing lights to the right and left of the pulpit were restored. In 2003 the four evangelist statues were given a new place on the gallery above the entrance, opposite their original location above the altar and pulpit.

organ

The first organ in the church was built by Gebr. Link (Giengen / Brenz). The pneumatic instrument had a particularly elaborate prospectus with rich gold plating. The organ was a donation by Cornelius Wilhelm and Sophie von Heyl, as evidenced by the coat of arms still preserved in the tower of the church. When the church was rebuilt in the early 1960s, profound changes were made to the west side of the interior of the church; The church also received a new organ, also built by Gebr. Link, which - equipped with a mechanical action mechanism and with 40 stops about the same size as its predecessor - took into account a different sound aesthetic. In 1997 the organ was technically repaired by Förster & Nicolaus (Lich / Oberhessen). In 2007 there was a technical and sound enhancement, also carried out by Förster & Nicolaus. The link organ of the Luther Church is the second largest organ (and the largest with a mechanical action mechanism) in the city of Worms.

I breastwork C – g 3
1. Reed flute 8th'
2. Quintad 8th'
3. recorder 4 ′
4th Principal 2 ′
5. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
6th Chamois fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
7th octave 1'
8th. Zimbel IV
9. Sordun 16 ′
10. Hopper shelf 8th'
Tremulant
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
11. Gedacktpommer 16 ′
12. Principal 8th'
13. Gemshorn 8th'
14th octave 4 ′
15th Night horn 4 ′
16. Super octave 2 ′
17th Forest flute 2 ′
18th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
19th Mixture V-VIII
20th Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – g 3
21st Wooden dacked 8th'
22nd Viol 8th'
23. Principal 4 ′
24. Hollow flute 4 ′
25th Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
26th flute 2 ′
27. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
28. Sharp V
29 Krummhorn 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
30th Principal 16 ′
31. Pedestal 16 ′
32. Fifth bass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
33. Octave bass 8th'
34. Pommer 8th'
35. Chorale bass 4 ′
36. Pipe whistle 4 ′
37. Mixture V
38. trombone 16 ′
39. Trumpet 8th'
40. Clarine 4 ′
Tremulant
  • Coupling : III / II, I / II, III / I, III 16 ′ / II, III 4 ′ / II, I 16 ′ / II, I 4 ′ / II, III 16 ′ / I, III 4 ′ / I, I / P, II / P, III / P
  • Game aids : 1024-fold electronic typesetting system

Bells

The ringing of the Luther Church has consisted of four bells again since 1987. From the original ringing in the mood a-flat, b-c, the three lower bells had to be released in 1942. Between 1951 and 1987 the remaining bell was supplemented by a Silesian bell cast in 1609 and two new casts to create a new four-part bell.

inscription
  		Casting year
  		Caster
  		Weight
(kg) 		Nominal
(16th note)
Land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord. 1953 Rincker, Sinn 2000 c 1
I + am + a + caller + to + the + sermon + and + in front of + men (admonish + you + to + prayer + Anno + 1609 1609 from Groß-Krichen near Lüben 994 d 1
The kingdom has to stay with us. 1912 J. Georg Pfeiffer, Kaiserslautern 1179 f 1
Baptizatus sum. (I am baptized.) 1987 Rincker, Sinn 734 g 1

Light bridge

For the Reformation anniversary in 2017 , a light bridge was installed that “connected” the Worms Cathedral with the Luther Church between October 27 and November 1, 2017 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Lück: The image in the Church of the Word. Münster 2001, p. 50.
  2. ↑ More about the organ: http://www.luthergemeinde-worms.de/musik/orgel.htm
  3. ↑ Ecumenical light bridge over Worms - Reformation. In: gott-neu-enthaben.ekhn.de. Retrieved November 5, 2017 .

Web links

Commons : Lutherkirche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 38 ′ 2 "  N , 8 ° 20 ′ 54.2"  E