St. Laurentius is a two-aisled church without a transept with a west transverse tower and a low roof. The aisle has galleries . Oval round windows are built into the outer walls. The main nave has a barrel vault.
Building history
From the time the parish church of St. Laurentius was built (around 1140), the west transverse tower with a gable roof has largely been preserved unchanged. It is Romanesque and has sound openings in the form of a double arcade with a column. In 1570 the nave was extended to the east, a three-sided choir was added and a wooden barrel vault was drawn in. In 1690 another major renovation was carried out with an extension to include side chapels on the south side and the addition of a north aisle. In 1751 the aisle was raised by adding galleries.
In 1984 a fire destroyed the church and robbed large parts of its furnishings. The reconstruction up to the renewed consecration in 1991 took place in a simple manner. In 1996 an organ was installed again by Reinhard Hüfken .
Location and Laurentiusfriedhof
St. Laurentius was formerly the parish church of the Halle suburb of Neumarkt , originally a village that had settled around the former Neuwerk monastery of the Augustinian canons (foundation of the monastery in 1116, dissolved in 1531). The monastery has completely disappeared today. The stones were used to build the New Residence . Today the church is surrounded by an old cemetery adjacent to the botanical garden , where university scholars from Halle and other personalities, among others, were buried. The cemetery includes some honorary graves and graves that are worth preserving for other reasons. These include the following grave sites:
In addition to the Neuwerk Monastery (Augustinian Canons) founded in 1116, a settlement was built which was given to the monastery in 1121 as "Villa Nova" and was later named Neumarkt. The parish church of St. Laurentius was presumably consecrated around 1140. Until the Reformation (1547), the Augustinian monks held Holy Mass. Neuwerk Monastery was dissolved between 1528 and 1531. The town of Neumarkt with its church came to the archbishopric of Giebichenstein in 1530. This only changed when it was incorporated into Halle in 1817.
Furnishing
Baptismal font from 1478 with a portrait of St. Laurentius
Inside and on the outside walls tombstones (oldest from 1570). Some of the grave slabs were found during a restoration under the church floor.
organ
The earliest evidence of an organ in this church can be found in visitation files from 1696. At that time, it was already over 100 years old and in need of repair. It was a two-manual work with a pedal . It was not set up on the west side of the church, but above the altar. A shelf was also available for weddings.
In 1714 the community decided to build a new organ, the contract was signed on September 12th of the same year with the organ builder Christian Joachim from Halle. The organ was completed in 1715. She had the following disposition :
In 1860 the organ was replaced by a new building in a romantic style to meet the musical needs of the community. The work was carried out by organ builder August Ferdinand Wöhler.
In 1927 the organ builder Wilhelm Rühlmann from Zörbig installed a new organ instead of the old one. She had a free-standing pipe brochure .
Organ from 1927 (Rühlmann)
I Manual
1.
Drone
16 ′
2.
Principal
8th'
3.
Reed flute
8th'
4th
Viol
8th'
5.
octave
4 ′
6th
Flauto harmonique
4 ′
7th
Hollow flute
8th'
8th.
Cornet III
9.
Mixture III-IV
10.
Trumpet
8th'
II manual
11.
Lovely Gedackt
16 ′
12.
Gemshorn
8th'
13.
Flauto traverso
8th'
14th
Aeoline
8th'
15th
Vox coelestis
8th'
16.
Violin principal
8th'
17th
Fugara
4 ′
18th
Flauto amabile
4 ′
19th
Sesquialtera II
20th
cello
8th'
21st
Mixture III
22nd
oboe
8th'
pedal
23.
Violon
16 ′
24.
Sub bass
16 ′
25th
Delicately packed
16 ′
26th
Principal bass
8th'
27.
octave
4 ′
28.
Flautino
2 ′
29
bassoon
16 ′
30th
Clairon
4 ′
In 1934 the organ was rebuilt.
Disposition after the renovation in 1934
I Manual
1.
Drone
16 ′
2.
Principal
8th'
3.
Reed flute
8th'
4th
Quintadena
8th'
5.
octave
4 ′
6th
Flauto harmonique
4 ′
7th
Flat flute
2 ′
8th.
Cornet III
9.
Mixture III-IV
10.
Trumpet
8th'
II manual
11.
Lovely Gedackt
16 ′
12.
Gemshorn
8th'
13.
Flauto traverso
8th'
14th
Aeoline
8th'
15th
Vox coelestis
8th'
16.
Violin principal
4 ′
17th
Flauto amabile
4 ′
18th
Sesquialtera II
19th
Sif flute
1'
20th
Mixture III
21st
oboe
8th'
22nd
Krummhorn
4 ′
pedal
23.
Violon
16 ′
24.
Sub bass
16 ′
25th
Delicately packed
16 ′
26th
Principal bass
8th'
27.
octave
4 ′
28.
Flautino
2 ′
29
bassoon
16 ′
30th
Clairon
4 ′
In 1962 the Halle church music school was looking for practice instruments for its students, the church was suitable for use because of its location away from apartments, but the organ was not. On April 10, 1962, the community and music school signed a contract. It was decided to build a new organ. The organ should belong to the music school, but it should be made available to the congregation free of charge for church services and events. It was completed on October 31, 1964.
The organ was destroyed in the fire of 1984 with the church. After the church was rebuilt, the organ was rebuilt by Reinhard Hüfken . The new organ was inaugurated on May 1st, 1994. At this point the registers of the Rückpositiv and the pedal were completed. In 1997 the entire organ was put into service.
Bell from 1467, damaged in the fire in 1984, today inside the church
Bells
The two bells from 1467 and 1602 were damaged in a fire in 1984. You are in church today. The bell from 1467 weighs 1,100 kg, is unusually slim and has an unusually large crown made up of six handles. The bell fell from the belfry when the church burned. In 2001 an attempt was made to restore it, but it turned out that it had suffered irreparable damage. On Easter Monday 2002 the new bells could be consecrated. In the tower today a three-part bell hangs in the wooden bell chair on wooden yokes.