Luther Church (Zwickau)

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Luther Church Zwickau

The Luther Church is an Evangelical Lutheran sacred building in the western Saxon city of Zwickau . It was built in 1902–1906 based on a design by the Dresden architects Schilling & Graebner in the suburb of the station, at the intersection of Brunnenstrasse and Spiegelstrasse. Since near the Royal Saxon Infantry - Regiment . No. 133 was stationed, they served the population and as a garrison church .

prehistory

In the 19th century, the hard coal mining in Zwickau led to a strong population growth. This created new residential areas in Zwickau and the neighboring towns. In 1893 the parishes of the Marienkirche and the Katharinenkirche decided to form a third parish due to the strong population growth. The new church council decided to build a new church. The building land was acquired in the suburb of the station between Brunnenstrasse and Lutherstrasse. The Dresden architectural office of Rudolf Schilling and Julius Graebner provided the design . The Zwickau master builder Franz Wolf was commissioned with the construction. The foundation stone was laid on August 20, 1902 . Thanks to rapid construction progress, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on November 7, 1903 . The church consecration took place on January 29, 1907. The total construction costs amounted to 600,000 marks and were financed by donations and money from the parish.

The church building

The Luther Church is a building made of brick masonry with sandstone facing on both sides . The building has an asymmetrical floor plan , on the northeast side a mighty octagonal bell tower with a total height of 65 meters and a tower gallery at a height of 35 meters. The tower hood is clad with copper sheet . The stair tower on the south side is significantly lower. The nave between the two towers has a three-sided choir closure . The mighty roof rests on a steel girder construction and is covered with plain tiles. The structure is 30 meters wide and 44 meters long.

The Art Nouveau building with emphasized natural forms is in its overall form artistically and architecturally an important church building of this architectural direction in Saxony.

The facade elements

The medallion image Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan with a garland-like frame and a thorn-framed Jesus head as a keystone above the tower entrance come from the Zwickau sculptor Johann Brod. Brod also created the four symbols of the evangelists on the lower floor of the tower. Above the tower walkway are the figures of the four evangelists based on models by the Dresden sculptor Friedrich Offermann , made by the Zwickau stonemason workshop Zehme & Piettsch . On the whole facade there are ornaments in the form of acanthus leaves and similar decorations, inscriptions and depictions of animals.

Main entrance

The main portal with the larger than life statues of the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther with the Bible in hand was created by the Dresden sculptor Martin Engelke . In the middle, a relief made by Zwickau stonemason Gustav Walther shows Martin Luther preaching in 1552 at the Zwickau town hall. Above it is the inscription: “Here I stand. I can't help it. God help me. Amen."

The interior of the church and the furnishings

The interior of the church is simple, with clear elements. The vaulted ceiling is decorated with plaster ornaments. A gallery rises up on the northern side . The side aisles, which can be reached through drawn segment or basket arches , are partly developed as rooms for church work. The central nave has no supports or pillars and thus ensures an acoustically pure sound. The church has 1000 seats. The decorated altar is made of sandstone , as is the pulpit and the baptismal font , it is a work by Gustav Walther. The altar painting was created by the Wolkenburg painter Fritz von Uhde . Three reliefs by the Dresden sculptor Hans Hartmann-MacLean above the chancel represent the Christian festivals of Christmas , Easter and Pentecost .

The three-lane, colored glazed windows of the church depict Christian themes. An organ from the Dresden workshop of Jehmlich has been located above the main portal since 1906 with three manuals , 52 registers and over 3700 pipes as an important sounding body. It was completely overhauled in 1971. The church has three bells in the bell tower.

The expanded cellar serves as a "Luther cellar" for the community's youth work. From October 23, 1989 to February 26, 1990, five ecumenical prayers for peace took place in the Luther Church ; it was the starting point of the first peaceful demonstration to the Zwickau main market.

  • Side view

  • Front view

  • Rear view

  • Tower dome with a cross

  • Statue of Martin Luther at the entrance portal

  • The way of the peaceful revolution

Peal

The ringing consists of three cast steel bells, made by the bell foundry Bochumer Verein. The bell cage consists of a steel structure and so do the bell yokes. The bells were cast in 1904 and were consecrated with the church on January 29, 1907.

The following is a data overview:

No. Casting date Caster diameter Dimensions Chime
1 1904 Bell foundry Bochumer Verein 2100 mm 3707 kg g sharp °
2 1904 Bell foundry Bochumer Verein 1773 mm 2316 kg h °
3 1904 Bell foundry Bochumer Verein 1450 mm 650 kg d´

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ute Schmidt, Steffi Haupt: Zwickau as it was . Droste Verlag , Düsseldorf 1992, pp. 59-60, ISBN 3-7700-0981-9
  2. ^ Rainer Thümmel: Bells in Saxony; Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig: ISBN 978-3-374-02871-9 : p. 374

Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 9.1 ″  N , 12 ° 29 ′ 1 ″  E