St. Michaelis Church (Chemnitz)
The St. Michaelis Church in the Altchemnitz district of the city of Chemnitz is the parish church of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Michaelis parish. The new building by the architect Christian Gottfried Schramm was inaugurated on July 5, 1891. From the ruins of a Romanesque hall church from the 13th century, which burned down completely in 1888, a completely different church building for the urbanized Altchemnitz was created between 1889 and 1891 through the construction of the neo-Gothic three-aisled hall church . Initially, the building bore the name of the burned down St. Peter and Paul Church, but was shortly thereafter - analogous to the parish - renamed St. Michaelis Church.
History of the place
Altchemnitz was first mentioned as a single row forest hoof village , belonging to the Chemnitz Benedictine monastery , around 1200 as "Antiqua Kemnitz". Altchemnitz probably had a church as early as 1200 that was consecrated to the apostles Peter and Paul . Another mention comes from the year 1311 ("Alden Kempnitz"). The place was described as an older settlement compared to the younger city of Chemnitz. Before the Thirty Years War , Altchemnitz was an independent parish (official district of a clergyman). After the war it became a branch of the St. Nikolai Parish in Chemnitz.
Altchemnitz developed into an industrial location early on. Already in the 1820s there was a brisk factory activity along the Chemnitz River as far as the city of Chemnitz. The last farmsteads disappeared from Altchemnitz by 1884, and larger factories were built instead. Because of the industrialization in the 19th century, the place became a separate parish again on November 30, 1884, with its own rectory and 3,900 parishioners. On October 1, 1894, however, the previously independent suburb of Altchemnitz was merged with Chemnitz.
Fire disaster in 1888
After the Peter and Paul Church had already been threatened by a fire on Christmas Day 1887, January 9, 1888 became a disaster day. The adjoining property went up in flames due to arson, which also affected the church because of the violent storm, it burned down completely.
New building
Even before the catastrophe, there had been considerations about building a new church. A church building fund was set up and the church events took place in the nearby inn and rectory. In June 1888 the congregation even gathered for church services in a newly built gym, which was provided with the necessary inventory and was used until the inauguration of the new church. The solemn laying of the foundation stone for the larger church building took place on June 3, 1889. The building was erected on an area of 1,500 m² according to the plans of the Dresden architect Schramm. On July 5, 1891, the new church - a neo-Gothic brick shell with spikes and turrets, enlivened by the abundant use of sandstone - was consecrated. At first it was called St. Peter Paul Church again.
Furnishing
The church offered and can accommodate 850 visitors. The altar and the pulpit are made of sandstone. The oak top is supported by serpentine stone columns. The beautiful figure glass windows come from the Atelier Urban in Dresden.
The exterior of the church has echoes of the north German brick Gothic and is typical of the neo-Gothic of the imperial era.
Portal with tower
Entrance area
Portal with surroundings
Entrance portal
Secondary portal
Stained glass window
Soaring tower
renaming
With the incorporation of Altchemnitz and because of the already existing Pauli and Petri communities in Chemnitz, a name change became necessary. That is why the history of the parish was continued from 1894 under the name of St. Michaelis.
Second World War
During the hail of bombs on March 5, 1945, the parish hall was destroyed and the church was also damaged, especially the windows. They were renewed in the years that followed, and over time other things also had to be refurbished.
Renovations
Organ built in 1974
Since 1974 the church has had a new organ from Orgelbau Jehmlich from Dresden . It is one of the best preserved organs in town.
Bells
The bells , consecrated in October 1890, were given for the war together with the organ prospectus in 1917. Two of the bronze bells cast by C. Albert Bierling in 1920 in des', f 'and as' were also handed over to the community in 1942. The remaining small baptismal bell (as') was supplemented on October 6, 1957 with two chilled cast iron bells in the tones f 'and b' to make a triple ring.
Church roof
Just in time for the 100th anniversary, the church roof was re-covered in 1991. The costs were borne by the monument office and through donations.
Church tower renovation
The renovation of the church tower began in June 2001. The industrial air had severely damaged the sandstone on the tower, so that a renovation was urgently required. The total costs of the renovation, which was completed in 2002, amounted to more than DM 1 million. The city of Chemnitz, the Saxon regional church, the Chemnitz regional council and the municipality took over the financing.
Cemetery and cemetery chapel
Immediately behind the church is the cemetery belonging to the church. It was laid out in 1878 and replaced the old cemetery on the current site of the Altchemnitz School. After several extensions until 1894, it now has an area of two hectares.
The listed cemetery chapel was built as a red brick building in 1912 and renovated from 1992 to 1994. Above the main portal is the scripture carved in stone: "I am the resurrection and the life". The cemetery has a rich population of trees, some of which are more than 100 years old, of shrubs and hedges, as well as one of the last larger elm avenues in the city. The level paths are provided with benches. The Michaelis cemetery is therefore an important piece of the “green lung” in the Altchemnitz district.
Cultural monument of St. Michaelis Church and Altchemnitz cemetery as a whole
The church, together with the Kirchplatz garden monument, is a protected cultural monument with the file number 09202280 (see: List of cultural monuments in Chemnitz-Altchemnitz at Annaberger Straße 251).
The cemetery is a remarkable, axially organized and garden-like cemetery complex, dominated by the chapel building in the center. The totality of the St. Michaelis Cemetery Altchemnitz has the following individual features:
- Cemetery chapel,
- Luther memorial stone,
- War memorial for the Franco-German War 1870/71
- and three tombs (see list of individual monuments - Obj. 09202279)
The whole is a protected cultural monument with the file number 09302524 (see: List of cultural monuments in Chemnitz-Altchemnitz at Annaberger Straße 251).
Cemetery chapel
inscription
Cemetery as a green lung
Funerary monument
Funerary monument
Funerary monument
Funerary monuments overgrown
literature
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Saxony II. Administrative districts Leipzig and Chemnitz. Edited by Barbara Bechter, Wiebke Fastenrath, Heinrich Magirius et al. Munich, Berlin 1998.
Web links
- http://michaelis.kirchechemnitz.de/wordpress/gemeinde/ accessed on January 3, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://michaelis.kirchechemnitz.de/wordpress/gemeinde/
- ^ Schramm, Christian Gottfried
- ↑ http://michaelis.kirchechemnitz.de/wordpress/kirchenbau/
- ↑ http://hov.isgv.de/Altchemnitz
Coordinates: 50 ° 47 ′ 58.6 " N , 12 ° 54 ′ 50.7" E