St. Mary's Church (Aken)
The St. Marien Church in Aken (Elbe) is a building that was formerly used as a Protestant church and is now used by the city.
history
In the town of Aken in Saxony-Anhalt there are two medieval town churches, St. Nikolai and St. Marien. While the Nikolaikirche was considered the church of the merchants, St. Marien was the citizen church. It was built in 1188 in the Romanesque style on the town's market square, but fell victim to the great town fire in 1485. It was then rebuilt based on the model of the Nikolaikirche in the Gothic style with a double tower facade. In the course of the Reformation , the Marienkirche became a Protestant place of worship. Although equipped with valuable inventory, the building fell into such disrepair over the years that it had to be closed by the building authorities in 1983 due to considerable roof damage and sponge infestation. The inventory, which dates back to the 15th century, was transferred to the Nikolaikirche (see description there). In 1992 the city took over the building and began to renovate it from scratch in 1993. The bell system with its two bells from 1272 and 1446 was also restored. After the completion of the restoration of the church, the city now uses it as a concert hall. As sacred objects there is also an altar table and a copy of a sculpture depicting Christ blessing by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844).
literature
- Georg Dehio: Handbook of the historical sites of Germany - Province of Saxony. Kröner, Stuttgart, 1987, p. 3
- Church district Egeln (ed.): Blessings on wide land - The churches of the Protestant church district Egeln. Edition Akanthus, Spröda, 2016, p. 6.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 51 '18 " N , 12 ° 2' 34.7" E