New Nicolaikirche
The Protestant New Nicolaikirche in Frankfurt 's Ostend district was inaugurated in 1909 and largely rebuilt after being destroyed in the war in 1959. It is named after the original parish church, the Old Nikolaikirche .
prehistory
As early twentieth century in the Frankfurt metropolitan area from the Lutheran township six new evangelical churches were formed, the Old St Nicholas Church at was Römerberg assigned a municipality in Frankfurt's Ostend, stretching from the eastern to the church aisle to located far to the east of Frankfurt Riederwald. The church was about 350 meters west of the parish area. The eastern parish in the Riederwald was even more than 4 kilometers away from the church building. Because of this and because of the large number of parishioners, the desire arose for a new church of their own . In the midst of the Wilhelminian style quarter, the property at Rhönstrasse and Waldschmidtstrasse was earmarked for this.
Description and development
The Nicolaikirche was built according to plans by the Karlsruhe architects Robert Curjel and Karl Moser in the neo-Romanesque style . The basic shape of the mighty building was a cross with arms of equal length. The striking, square, forty-meter-high bell tower with its gallery of columns has classical design elements. The interior was richly painted and decorated with Art Nouveau elements. The glass windows were designed by Otto Linnemann from Frankfurt in 1909. During the Second World War in October 1943, the nave was destroyed by aerial bombs during the air raids on Frankfurt am Main . The remaining church tower was repaired in 1954. It is a listed building .
The nave was rebuilt by the architect Hans Bartolmes . Similar to the Epiphany Church , the existing tower was included in the redesign. At the request of the municipal council, the old floor plan was dispensed with in favor of a rectangular structure. Together with the community hall and the parsonage, the ensemble forms a courtyard enclosed on three sides. Bartholmes designed a basilica with an asymmetrical cross-section. The south aisle starts far below the eaves of the main nave, creating an upper aisle wall. On the north side, on the other hand, the aisle is at the same level as the central nave . The asymmetry is also evident in the gable roof , the eaves of which are different heights. The outer walls consist mainly of colored concrete blocks , a novelty at the time. The upper aisle wall above the aisle is plastered and provided with eight trapezoidal windows. The south aisle itself is illuminated by a ribbon of windows below the eaves. On the opposite north side of the tower, the longitudinal wall is structured by cantilevered, vertical, slender windows. The main entrance is on the east. Above it is a relief by the sculptor Albrecht Glenz , which shows Jesus with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee .
The interior is divided by concrete frames as essential construction elements. A gallery is arranged in the north aisle so that its proportions correspond to the low south aisle. As a result, both aisles optically recede. A day chapel is separated by glass walls under the gallery at the transition from the north aisle to the choir .
Equipment and bell
The atmosphere of the interior is in a special way by the stained glass windows determined that Hans Heinrich Adam designed and Karl Jörres were executed. The chancel is characterized by a wall-high window, which is called the dawn of eternity after a hymn . The other eight window motifs in the upper cladding wall are figurative and tell of the kingship of Christ . The two outer windows refer to the law and the prophets ( Moses , David , Isaiah and John the Baptist ) as well as to the proclamation by the apostles and confessors ( Peter , Paul , St. Nicholas and Martin Luther ). The four middle windows show the life and work of Christ (calming the storm, Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate , Ascension , Jesus as savior).
The architects designed the altar, the candlesticks, the baptismal font and the lectern. The altar and the baptismal font are made of dark Lahn marble. The sculptor Käte Möbius created the ceramic reliefs on the pulpit depicting the four evangelists . The altar crucifix was made by Albrecht Glenz .
The organ on the eastern gallery above the main entrance with 34 stops on three manuals and pedal was built in 1959 by Werner Bosch Orgelbau . After a renovation and a change in the disposition , two of the three manuals are now provided with independent swell functions. The existing setting system with 32 setting levels was replaced in 2016 with a modern setting system with 10,000 setting levels.
The smallest of the four bells dates from 1909, the three larger bells were made in 1956 by the Rincker bell and art foundry . Of the four bells from the inauguration year 1909, three had to be handed in for war purposes in the First World War ; they could only be replaced again in 1924. These three new bells had to be returned as a metal donation from the German people for the Second World War . It was not until 1956, when the church building had still not been rebuilt, that the bells were added again. The four bells sound in the tones c sharp-e-f sharp-a, a so-called Parzival or ideal motif.
literature
- Joachim Proescholdt, Jürgen Telschow: Frankfurt's Protestant Churches through the ages, Frankfurter Societätsverlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-942921-11-4 .
- Church council of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Nicolai Congregation, Evangelical Regional Association Frankfurt am Main (Ed.): Hundred Years of New St. Nicolai Church Frankfurt am Main , Evangelical Regional Association Frankfurt am Main, Series No. 31, June 2009, ISBN 978- 3-922179-45-0 ; ISSN 0344-3957 .
Web links
- Website of the Nicolai community
- Bell sounds from the Nicolaikirche
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Ev. Nicolaikirche In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
Coordinates: 50 ° 6 ′ 58.3 " N , 8 ° 42 ′ 25.8" E