Luther Church (Hanover)

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The Luther Church with a new tower roof in April 2010
The Luther Church with the old tower roof in June 2006

The Luther Church in Hanover is a Protestant church that has also been used as a youth church since 2006. The building was built between 1895 and 1898 as the last of the three large north-town church buildings by Rudolph Eberhard Hillebrand on an approximately triangular building plot in the center of the north town . With its two mighty spiers, surrounded by several side helmets, the church was an imposing sight until shortly before the end of the war, which is hardly remembered today.

history

Around 1900: The church, seen from the street Im Moore in the direction of Heisenstraße.
Postcard 279 , North German paper industry

On March 25, 1945, the church was hit by an aerial bomb during one of the last air raids on Hanover . The roof, church stalls, altar, organ and belfry burned and the building stood empty for several years. Meanwhile, the services took place in the parish hall on Callinstrasse, about 500 meters away as the crow flies. The reconstruction of the church, which began in 1948 with the first safety measures on the roof, vault and masonry, was completed on December 1, 1957 with a festive service for the inauguration of the new organ, built by the Emil Hammer Orgelbau company .

The church forecourt was completely redesigned in good time before the festivities for the 100th anniversary (on July 24, 1998) and in the course of the urban redevelopment carried out from 1987 to 2010. The unattractive small playground at the southeast end was abandoned and the surrounding bushes were removed except for the larger, shady trees. The vacated areas were paved with granite stones and thus offer plenty of space for community and street festivals. As part of the new traffic concept for the northern part of the city, two streets of the Luther Church were closed to public through traffic and combined to form a mini pedestrian zone with seating for young people and adults. The original Nordstadt horse trough from 1905 could be reactivated as a fountain.

Fire in the Luther Church on August 22, 2006
Tower of the Luther Church after the fire

In 2003 the decision was made to develop the Luther Church into the first youth church in Northern Germany. The renovation work planned by the Hanoverian architect Bernd Rokahr took place in summer 2004. At the same time, the first youth church in Northern Elbia opened in Bad Segeberg . The interior of the church was completely modernized during the renovation. After the old wooden stalls, which were donated for the reconstruction of St. Mary's Church in Chojna (Poland), had been removed, the floor was re-tiled and an area with two multifunctional glass cubes was set up in the front part of the church - according to functional aspects. In addition to a church café, there is now also a professional lighting and sound system in the church, which makes it possible to hold concerts, theater performances and church services in a special form (e.g. live band or audiovisual presentations). Outwardly, two large colored light boxes on the church portal indicate the youth church project.

On August 22, 2006, the bell cage, the gallery floor and the roof were destroyed in a church tower fire. Extinguishing water running through the bell shaft damaged the organ. After the fire, reconstruction work began, which was largely completed in October 2008 with the completion of the new church tower roof. The construction period of several years is explained by the fact that building appraisers ordered the replacement of numerous stones. The roof structure, which has been raised by 1.6 meters and is financed by donations from parishioners, is intended to be a visual reminder of the original condition of the church, which was destroyed during the war. On October 28, 2008, all three bells were put back into operation with a festive chime. In the meantime, work on the organ has also been completed.

altar

The altar relief depicting Jesus' Last Supper was created in 1957 by the sculptor Ingeborg Steinohrt . It is reminiscent of the old altarpiece that was lost in the war.

Baptismal font and pulpit

The original baptismal font has been preserved, but was completely redesigned during the reconstruction - as was the pulpit .

organ

The organ was built in 1963 by the Emil Hammer Orgelbau workshop . The slider chest instrument has 35 stops on three manuals and a pedal. The mirror and register actions are mechanical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Quintadena 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Capstan whistle 8th'
4th octave 4 ′
5. Coupling flute 4 ′
6th Fifth 2 23
7th octave 2 ′
8th. Mixture V-VII
9. Dulcian 16 ′
10. Trumpet 8th'
II breastwork C – g 3
11. Singing dumped 8th'
12. Reed flute 4 ′
13. Nasat 2 23
14th Gemshorn 2 ′
15th third 1 35
16. octave 1'
17th Zimbel III
18th Vox humana 16 ′
Tremulant
III Oberwerk C – g 3
19th Dumped 8th'
20th Principal 4 ′
21st Pointed 4 ′
22nd octave 2 ′
23. Fifth 1 13
24. Sharp IV-V
25th Rankett 16 ′
26th Krummhorn 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
27. Sub bass 16 ′
28. Principal bass 8th'
29 Dumped 8th'
30th octave 4 ′
31. Wooden flute 4 ′
32. Rauschpfeife III
33. Mixture III
34. trombone 16 ′
35. Trumpet 8th'
  • Coupling : II / I, III / I, I / P, II / P

Leaded glass window

The glass painters Alexander Linnemann and Otto Linnemann designed and manufactured two leaded glass windows , as can be seen from the catalog raisonnés of 1902 and 1914. Nothing is known about their whereabouts. Presumably this, like other non-outsourced items of equipment, was destroyed in World War II.

After the rubble had been removed and the church had been vacant for years, it was initially given emergency glazing made of industrial glass. In the 1960s, these were gradually replaced, starting with the round window above the altar, with higher quality, donation-financed glazing. Designs by the Braunschweig glass painter Hans Matschinski were used. The execution itself was in the hands of Peters stained glass .

The windows under the galleries in the indicated transept represent the diversity of creation (fauna, flora, stars). The windows above contain motifs from the biblical history of salvation (Pentecostal dove, church ship, New Jerusalem) and the life of Jesus (birth, vine parable, crucifixion ). In the vicinity of the organ the visitor discovers musical motifs. In the area converted into a church café below, motifs with the four basic elements (fire, water, earth, air).

The three windows in the sacristy, which are not open to the public, were made by the Berlin artist Ursula Beste . The motifs, kept in muted colors, deal with the death of Jesus on the cross , the resurrection and God's judgment of the world .

At the end of the 1970s, through a church sponsorship that existed at the time, a leaded glass window with the Luther rose from the St. Mark's Church in Leipzig, which had been approved for demolition, came to Hanover. It now adorns the tower of the Luther Church at the level of the organ.

Luther figure in the tower foyer

Until shortly before the end of the war, the entrance portal of the Luther Church was decorated with a man-sized figure of Luther created by Carl Dopmeyer . Unfortunately this was lost. The figure currently in the foyer, created in 1926 by the sculptor Kracke , originally comes from the destroyed St. Luke's Church. It was also damaged but could be repaired. After a lengthy odyssey, it came into the possession of the Luther parish in the mid-1980s - again damaged.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Stefan Amt: The planning and construction history of the Luther Church in Hanover (PDF; 283 kB). Pub. bhb-Hanover.
  2. Rudolf Lange: Ingeborg Steinohrt, p. 28
  3. ↑ Congregational Letter May / June 1984, p. 2
  4. ↑ Congregational Letter May / June 1984, p. 2
  5. More information about the organ
  6. ↑ Congregational letter “All about the Luther Church”, May / June 1984, p. 2
  7. ↑ Congregational letter “All about the Luther Church”, January 1973, p. 2
  8. Peter Gundlack: 2017 - The year of the Reformation anniversary . In: Right in the middle . 104 (February / March 2017). Ev.-luth. Nordstädter Kirchengemeinde, Hannover, p. 2–3 ( nordstaedter-kirchengemeinde.de [PDF; accessed on February 11, 2017]). 2017 - The year of the anniversary of the Reformation ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nordstaedter-kirchengemeinde.de
  9. ↑ Congregational letter “All around the Luther Church”, May / June 1984, “Our Luther”, p. 2
  10. Festschrift "100 Years of St. Luke Church", Hanover-Vahrenwald

Web links

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

Coordinates: 52 ° 23 '14.1 "  N , 9 ° 43' 16.5"  E