Nikolaikirche (Meissen)

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The Meißner Nikolaikirche

The Nikolaikirche , first mentioned in a document in 1220, is a place of worship of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Afra congregation and Meissen's oldest building. Furnished with Meissen porcelain , it has been a memorial for the Meissen victims of the First World War since 1929 .

history

Before 1900

Before 1150, perhaps as early as 980, the Nikolaikirche was built on the Triebisch . It served as a place of worship for merchants traveling through and the fishermen from Questenberg and Kirnitz who lived on the river . The church was named after the patron saint of merchants and fishermen, St. Nicholas .

Fresco "Annunciation and Birth of Christ" (photo from 1943/1945)
(Please note copyrights )

The church is mentioned for the first time in a document from 1220, when it was placed under the Benedictine monastery of Heilig Kreuz by Margrave Dietrich and also assigned to the Diocese of Roßwein . The cathedral provost of Meissen was in charge of the church . In the thirteenth century, the church received early Gothic wall paintings, small remains of which can still be seen on the choir wall today. They depict the childhood and passion of Christ. In 1868 the paintings were uncovered and refreshed at the beginning of the 20th century.

The church was damaged during the Hussite Wars in 1429, as well as by the Meissen town fire of 1447. Today, its exterior almost corresponds to the appearance after the reconstruction following the Hussite Wars. The church is 30 meters long, 12 meters wide and 7 meters high. After the Reformation and the dissolution of the Holy Cross Monastery, the church fell to the St. Afra parish (probably in 1542) and served as the chapel of the Nikolaifriedhofs.

Inside, the church is divided into two parts, a part for the congregation on the south side and a choir. The nave contained a Renaissance pulpit from 1653, which is now in the Lauenstein Castle Chapel , and an old small organ. In the choir there was an altar, an old ciborium , a sandstone figure of St. Nicholas and other sculptures. The late Gothic winged altar from around 1480 is now in the Meißner Frauenkirche . Major repairs to the church took place in 1695. At that time, the still existing church tower was put on and received new bells. The big bell was cast by Andreas Herold in Dresden. The middle one dates back to the 13th century. Michael Weinhold cast the smallest in 1702.

In the 19th century the church fell into disrepair. Last repairs in 1867 and 1885 could hardly stop that. The cemetery was closed in 1879; the last of the dead had been buried there a year earlier.

Conversion to a memorial

After the end of the First World War, the desire arose in Meissen to honor the victims of the city with a worthy memorial corresponding to the history and character of the city. It was suggested that the decaying Nikolaikirche be converted into a memorial. The board of directors of the city church, to whose congregation the Nikolaikirche also belonged, made it available as a “place of loving and serious remembrance for relatives, friends and descendants of the fallen”. Since Meissen was world famous for its porcelain, the memorial should be designed with precious porcelain.

At the end of 1921, the association “Kriegergedächtnis Meißen e. V. “One of the board members was the then General Director of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, Max Adolf Pfeiffer . The cost of the renovation was initially estimated at 300,000 to 400,000 marks. In the course of the church's first investigations, it turned out to be even more dilapidated than expected. Asking for voluntary donations brought little income. Therefore, the first lottery was held in 1922 . The lots were medals made from Böttger stoneware by artists . Within twelve days, 60,000 tickets at 20 marks each were sold out. The winners received pieces made from Meissen porcelain (later rights to them). With the proceeds, the costs for the repair of the church, the renewal of the tower, the roof structure and the tiled roof, the relocation of the entrance from the southern long side to the western gable side and the installation of a heavy oak door could be paid for. Inside, a gallery that was built later was removed, the red coffered ceiling was drawn in, the walls repaired and colored, the frescoes refreshed, electrical light lines and lighting laid and the floor of the ship and the choir paved with panels. Pfeiffer had the following words carved into the threshold of the altar: " Appearance passes, endures striving ". Today this saying is only incompletely legible and partially covered by a carpet.

A second raffle in May 1923 for 60,000 tickets at 30 marks each was well received again. However, the income hardly helped due to the inflation of 1923 . At least the porcelain manufactory continued to manufacture the furnishings. Pfeiffer had entrusted the contract to the artistic director Emil Paul Börner .

A third lottery was held as a permanent lottery without raffle medals but with 50,000 paper tickets at 2 Marks each from April 1926; however, petitions and petitions were also used, which brought surprisingly great success: donations and foundations were received in just as many quantities as material funds (including bricks, Cement and sand). The Meissen guilds brought in free work. New panes were inserted and protected by strong wire mesh. The ventilation of the church was improved and the foundation walls were drained sustainably.

The inauguration of the memorial took place on May 26, 1929, the year of the millennium of the city of Meissen. For the bereaved, the memorial was a replacement for the grave site and so wreaths and flowers were always offered in the Nikolaikirche.

After 1929

In the 1980s, the church was saved from deterioration through renovation. However, the plaster used at that time was so dense that water and salt collected on the walls and rusted the layers of the valuable epitaphs made of Meissen porcelain. When the Triebisch flooded in 2002 , the church was also half a meter under water and was further damaged in the process. In the following year, some renovation work was possible with subsidies. Another renovation was carried out in 2006. However, damage has remained, especially on the fixings of the porcelain plates.

The church is open for tours by appointment. Commemorative events are held on Holocaust Remembrance Day , Passion Time, the day the war ended in 1945, the day commemorating the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 , World Day of Peace and National Mourning Day.

Today's equipment

inner space

Fourteen epitaphs made of Meissen porcelain are attached to the church's dark red painted walls . They are composed of small white plaques, each with the name and the date of death of a total of 1,815 fallen and deceased nurses. The panels are arranged according to the years of death. Eight larger-than-life female figures kneel on the sides of some epitaphs. They symbolize the grieving mothers. Broken swords trample on their feet. They hold candlesticks in their hands. Between the panels are the figures of children who cover their weeping faces with their hands.

The nave and the choir are connected with a triumphal arch. Rays of hope shine from a painted starry sky and should outshine the suffering of war.

The winged altar is also designed by Börner and consists of a central panel and two horizontally divided wings. The risen Christ is shown in the center, showing with raised hands that all suffering will be overcome. He appears as a conqueror of death and a source of light and hope. The upper picture on the left wing shows the scene of a war breaking out while a powerful man wraps his arms protectively around two children. Below are two soldiers who are embraced by the battle death. The right wing of the altar shows the return of peace in two scenes. Above is the mother mourning her son who has returned home; including a woman who begins to rebuild with a spade in the soil that is still soaked in blood. On a banner below the central panel is a quote from Psalm 110 , verse 1: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies on the stool of your feet". On the outside of the wings there are inscriptions from the Letter to the Hebrews , Chapter 11, Verses 13, 14 and 16 on a golden background .

To complete the church furnishings, Börner created two Apostle candlesticks, currently only one candlestick is available for the altar table. He shaped the candlesticks as busts with a cap-like candle socket. The wide open eyes and the open mouth appear as unfathomably deep sockets. Here, too, the facial expression conveys the misery, suffering and hardship of war to the viewer.

To the right and left of the altar are two larger-than-life female figures made of Meissen porcelain. With a height of 2.50 meters, they are the largest porcelain figurines made from Meissen porcelain that have ever been made. Two mothers are shown holding their hands protectively over their children. Both figures, like a Madonna in a protective cloak, hide their children in the width of their garments, while the figure on the left, also like a Madonna, still holds a child in her arms. Porcelain from Meissen, otherwise used as a material for celebrations and happiness, convincingly expresses sadness and suffering, but also hope at the same time. The “Golden Book” lies on a wooden frame, in which there are handwritten details of the dead. In 1995 the book was supplemented by another volume for the victims of the Second World War. An altar cloth made by Klaus Urbach is dedicated to these victims.

In the sacristy of the church, a memorial by the sculptor Richard Scheibe commemorates the dead from the porcelain factory. In front of the church there is a memorial stone for all victims of dictatorship and violence. At the moment, the original porcelain decorations are still missing on individual figures and on some writing tablets in the lower area. These were lost due to the flood damage, but were re-manufactured in the Meissen factory. With the help of donations, the missing parts should now be put back in place.

literature

  • Emil Paul Börner: Warrior memorial in the Nikolaikirche in Meißen . Meissen 1925.
  • Johann Ludwig Rüling: History of the Reformation at Meissen in 1539 and the following years together with proving and explanatory notes . also a contribution to the third jubilee of this memorable event. CF Klinkicht, 1939 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Various authors: Manufacturers as citizens of the city of Meißen , series of publications by the Meißen City Museum, issue 7, 2011.
  • Various authors: Monumenta Misnensia yearbook for cathedral and Albrechtsburg in Meißen 2011 and 2012, volume 10 , Dombau-Verein Meißen eV and Freundeskreis Albrechtsburg Meißen eV
  • Jürgen Schärer: In a nutshell - porcelain for Meissen - Max Adolf Pfeiffer in honor , State Porcelain Manufactory Meissen, 2000.

Web links

Commons : Nikolaikirche  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marcus Herrmann: Old, older, Nikolaikirche . In: Saxon newspaper . September 28, 2018 ( saechsische.de [accessed April 13, 2020]).
  2. ↑ a b Johann Ludwig Rüling: History of the Reformation at Meissen in 1539 and the following years together with proving and explanatory notes . also a contribution to the third jubilee of this memorable event. CF Klinkicht, 1939 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  3. ↑ Annunciation and Birth of Christ , image on deutschefotothek.de
  4. ↑ a b c War memorial and carillon . In: Saxon newspaper . August 20, 2010 ( paid online via genios.de [accessed March 9, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Jürgen Schärer: In a nutshell, Porzellane für Meissen, Max Adolf Pfeiffer in honor, Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen, 2000, pages 92 to 94
  6. ↑ Jürgen Schärer: In a nutshell, Porzellane für Meissen, Max Adolf Pfeiffer in honor, Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen, 2000, pages 92 to 93
  7. ↑ Steffen Förster: War Memorial Site and Glockenspiel - Porcelain Art for Public Space for the Millennium Celebration of Meißen 1929, from, Manufacturers as Citizens of the City of Meißen, Series of the Meißen City Museum, issue 7, pages 117 to 121, 2011
  8. ↑ Ulrike Körber: Memorial plaque to remind of Jewish history . In: Saxon newspaper . July 23, 2003 ( saechsische.de [accessed April 13, 2020]).
  9. ↑ Meißner churches woo visitors . In: Saxon newspaper . July 22, 2011 ( paid online via genios.de [accessed March 9, 2017]).
  10. ↑ Annett Altvater: Blue blood and white gold . In: Basler Zeitung . December 21, 2010 ( paid online via genios.de [accessed March 9, 2017]).
  11. ↑ Caren Marusch – Krohn: Meissen Porcelain – 1918–1933 – Die Pfeifferzeit, page 78
  12. ↑ St. Nikolai Church. sankt-afra-meissen.de, accessed on March 9, 2017 .
  13. ↑ https://dein-dresden.de/nikolaikirche/. dein-dresden.de, accessed on March 9, 2017 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 9 '24.4 "  N , 13 ° 28' 10.5"  E