St. Johannis (Memel)

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St. Johannis

The Church of St. Johannis (Lithuanian Šv. Jono bažnyčia ; also German Church , City Church ) was a Protestant church in Memel (Klaipėda) in East Prussia and Lithuania from 1258 to 1944. There were various church buildings in several locations.

history

Seal of the Komtur von Memel 1409, with towers or dome of St. Johannis, St. Marien and St. Jakobus (from left to right)
Memel before 1686, with St. Johannis (far left)

On July 27, 1258, the church of St. Johannis was named a parish church by Burkhard von Hornhausen . It was subordinated to the somewhat older Nikolaikirche as a subsidiary church. The first location is unknown. It is believed that it could have been in the outer bailey of the Memel Order Castle and was later relocated further east. The Johanniskirche was responsible for the German residents of the castle and the city of Memel, the Nikolaikirche for the Prussian and Curonian population.

Around 1525, like all churches in the Duchy of Prussia, it became Protestant. In 1540 the church burned down and was then rebuilt. Another new building was handed over from 1630. After the destruction in 1678 , the church was rebuilt from 1696 to 1706 at a new location in what will later be Marktstrasse.

The church was severely damaged in the town fire of 1854 and then rebuilt according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler . The production of the gables and turrets above the side aisles is said to have been personally initiated by Friedrich Wilhelm IV . From 1858 it was the city ​​church for all residents of Memel, regardless of their language, the Nikolaikirche became a country church for the surrounding villages.

Even after the city of Memel had belonged to the new Lithuanian state in 1919, the parish remained predominantly German.

In 1944/45 the church was destroyed and then the remains were removed.

The foundation stone of the church, the hedge in the background and the bell in the back left

From 2002 to 2012 archaeological excavations took place at the site of the church of the 16th and 17th centuries, during which a cemetery with numerous graves was uncovered.

Architecture and interior design

altar

The church building from 1859 was a three-aisled vaulted hall church . The gables and turrets above the side aisles are said to have been arranged personally by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV .

He also donated the altar painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek Christ on the Mount of Olives . The precious wooden sculptures on both sides of the altar depict Jesus Christ and Moses and were made by Jakob Alberty . The completion of the 75 m high tower was only made possible by the legacy of a citizen. On the outside of the tower a terracotta figure reminded of the Memel-born poet Simon Dach .

Pastor

From the Reformation until 1919, the Johanneskirche belonged to the Evangelical Church Province of East Prussia , then to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania .

  • 1529: Stentzel
  • 1536: Wolfgang (or Wolff) Krautmüller
  • 1567: Zacharias Krautmüller
  • 1579: Adam Huebner
  • 1591: Michael Peseritius (or Peserick)
  • 1595: Magister Joachim Neresius
  • 1621–1647: Magister Matthäus Cörber
  • 1647–1673: Christoph Praetorius
  • 1673–1696 Magister Christoph Schultz
  • 1696–1712: Magister Jacob Concius
  • 1712-1741: D. Johann Arnold Pauli
  • 1741–1783: Christian Nicolaus Wolff
  • 1783–1798: Andreas Leppach
  • 1798–1831: Victor Sprengel
  • 1831: Carl August Rättig
  • 1832: August Wilhelm Eduard Siehr
  • 1861: Wilhelm Harbrucker
  • 1900–1911: Friedrich Wilhelm Hermann Oloff
  • 1911: Friedrich Brausch
  • Otto chairman
  • 1938–1944 / 45: Consistorial Councilor Ernst Ribbat
  • Erich Riedesel
  • Alfred Blaesner

Web links

Commons : St. Johannis (Memel)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present (1907)
  2. ↑ Arnold Pauli ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2016 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 / lorenz.st

Remarks

  1. ↑ As a former religious priest, Stentzel was first pastor in Sehesten, in the Sensburg district . Since he did not speak the Polish language, he was transferred to Memel in November 1529.
  2. ↑ Peseritius came from Bartenstein, first deacon of the city church, then from November 1589 deacon in Löbenicht zu Königsberg, went to Memel in 1591 as pastor and at the same time as first archpriest to Memel and died in 1595. The Memel inspection (superintendent) extended to soot, Schakuhnen and Karkeln .
  3. ↑ Neresius from Stolp in Pomerania, had been a pedellist in Königsberg since 1583, sub-inspector of the alumni since 1586 and became a master's degree in 1587. In 1589 he became deacon of the city church and in 1595 pastor and archpriest. He died on March 10, 1621.
  4. ↑ Cörber from Jihlava / Moravia, +1647. In 1603 he became pastor in Powunden, 1614 deacon in Memel, 1621 archpriest in Memel.
  5. ↑ Christoph Praetorius was the father of Matthäus Prätorius , b. 1601 in Schwedt, died August 21, 1673. He was field preacher of the Swedish troops for 4 years during their occupation of the city of Memel. During this time he gained the confidence and respect of the Memel citizens who elected him in 1631 as a deacon. He married Cörber's daughter and was his successor in 1647
  6. ↑ Schultz b. April 5, 1636 Königsberg, died May 13, 1696. In 1657 he became a master's degree in Rostock, and in 1659 a deacon.
  7. ^ Concius * July 25, 1667 Königsberg; † July 30, 1712. Magister in Dorpat.
  8. ^ Pauli * February 21, 1682 Johannisburg; † March 13, 1741, 1703 rector in Johannisburg, 1705 field preacher to Field Marshal von Steinau, 1708 court preacher to the Russian Prince Menczikoff, active in the Lutheran congregation of St. Petersburg, 1712 theol. Doctorate in Frankfurt / Oder and archpriest in Memel
  9. ↑ Wolff * October 29, 1714 Altbrandenburg; † March 7, 1783. 1739 cadet preacher in Berlin and vice field provost.
  10. ↑ Leppach * December 5, 1737 Marggrabowa; † March 18, 1798. Was field preacher for 11 years, then adjunct von Wolff.
  11. ↑ Sprengel * 1763 Western Pomerania; † April 1, 1831. Field chaplain since 1790. From 1798 pastor and superintendent in Memel.
  12. ^ Siehr * August 7, 1798 Tilsit; † June 15, 1855 Bad Ems. Became superintendent in 1832.
  13. ↑ Oloff * 1837, pastor and superintendent
  14. ↑ Brausch * 1860. 1886 pastor in Rautenberg, 1896 in Kinten, from 1911 pastor and superintendent in Memel.
  15. ↑ Ribbat * 1882 Ragnit; † August 11, 1962 Berga. Previously was pastor in Prökuls, Kairinn, Saugen and at the Jakobuskirche Memel.

Coordinates: 55 ° 42 ′ 34.5 ″  N , 21 ° 8 ′ 12.1 ″  E