Stadtkirche Meiningen

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City Church of Our Dear Women

The Evangelical Lutheran town church of our dear women , also called St. Marien , is a three-aisled hall church and a landmark of the town of Meiningen . The town church is the most important sacred building in Meiningen and fulfills the function of a parish church for the Protestant communities in the region.

Construction of the double-towered St. Mary's Church , which characterizes the cityscape , began in the Ottonian period. As the oldest still existing building in the city, it combines several architectural styles as a result of an eventful building history spanning over a thousand years . The town church forms the center of the historic Meiningen old town and is on the south side of the market. With its towers and the nave, it towers over the surrounding buildings, which consist of half-timbered houses from the 17th and 18th centuries and classicist town houses from the 19th century. Close to the north side of the nave is the "Heinrichsbrunnen" with the statue of Emperor Heinrich II. According to tradition, Heinrich II. After his coronation as king during the homage trip during his stay in Meiningen at the beginning of January 1003 initiated the construction of the church.

history

middle Ages

The church was first mentioned in documents in 1008, when the Marienkirche, together with the parish church of St. Martin and the town of Meiningen, came into the possession of the Würzburg monastery . Since the later town church, in contrast to the older parish church of St. Martin, is not yet mentioned in a deed of donation from 982 relating to Meiningen, construction of the church is to begin around the year 1000. Some sources indicate the year 1003, which cannot be proven. A pre-Romanesque basilica without a tower and a simple apse , which was consecrated to the mother of Jesus, Mary , was initially built as a solid limestone building . The location chosen was a place halfway between the Königsgut located on a Werrafurt and the existing St. Martin's Church , around 1000 m north of the Königsgut . A little later the parish rights passed from the Church of St. Martin to the new Church of St. Mary. After paying homage to Bishop Bruno von Würzburg at Easter 1034 in Meiningen, he initiated the first expansion of the church with the construction of a choir and a transept , which gave the nave the shape of a cross. As the builder, the bishop had a so-called cross penny stamped as a monogram with the inscription "BRUNO EPISKOPOS" and walled it into the choir. This was later reused in the construction of the new choir and can still be seen today on the northeastern choir pillar. Construction work was completed in 1045. After 1100 the construction of the two towers began on the westwork . A Marienkapelle was also built on the south side of the church. On June 3, 1175, a lightning strike destroyed the church tower that had been built up until then and melted the bell attached there . The fire that started destroyed the church roof and the Marienkapelle.

The westwork of the church 1296

As a result, the construction of the westwork with two towers of the same height had to be started again, which was completed in 1278. The rectangular substructure of the north tower has been preserved to this day with a few changes; the substructure of the south tower was removed in 1886 and rebuilt a few meters to the south. After the extension had been completed, on June 7, 1278, the Würzburg Bishop Berthold II von Sternberg consecrated the Romanesque church for the second time in the name of “Our Dear Women”. In 1296, a lightning strike destroyed the bell tower, the bell and the church roof. The newly built Marienkapelle was also lost again. Simultaneously with the restoration of the destroyed components, the floor of the church was raised by more than a meter in order to counter the flooding caused by the Werra , which often flooded the floor of the church.

In the 15th century, the parish planned to enlarge the church in Gothic style based on the model of French cathedrals because of the growing city . In the years 1443 to 1455, the Gothic choir, which still exists today, was built on a much larger scale than the existing Romanesque nave. Today's transept, built on the north side, was also essentially built in these years to accommodate the sacristy and library. But it could not be completely completed and was given an unplanned tow roof. This part of the building is generally referred to as the sacristy to this day. The builders first placed the new choir in front of the old Romanesque choir, only to tear down the old one after the completion of the new choir. Due to a lack of finances, the planned new Gothic nave was to be built a few years later and the sacristy completed. Social upheavals, several major city fires at the end of the 15th century as well as fines and curtailment of urban freedoms as a result of the Franconian City War and the German Peasant War , which put a heavy financial burden on the parish and city for a long time, caused the plans for a new nave to fail for the time being.

Modern times

The town church around 1800

In 1542, like the town of Meiningen, the church came under the rule of the Counts of Henneberg . They carried out the Reformation in the Henneberger Land in 1544 and the town church became Protestant . In 1546 the church received its first organ , which was built into the choir instead of the west wall as is usually the case. At the end of the 16th century the county came into the possession of the Saxon ducal house and the Wettins chose Meiningen as the administrative seat of the Henneberger Land, which caused the city to flourish again. So again major construction work could be carried out on the church. In 1594 the old tower domes were removed and the church towers were given additional upper floors in the shape of an octagon in the Renaissance style . The north tower received one storey more than the south tower and two lanterns placed one above the other . The top lantern took up the "Luther bell" as a quarter-hour bell. The north tower was thus higher than the south tower, which in turn received the bell system and a tail dome was added. The towers were crowned with gilded buttons. At the same time, a renaissance spiral stair tower was added to the north tower to provide access to the tower house. The oldest preserved stone city coat of arms is located above the entrance gate. A planned third tower, which was to be built to the south of the south tower, was not realized. Inside, the church received a new organ from 1596, a new pulpit , additional equipment and wooden galleries in the side aisles .

During the Thirty Years War, marauding troops of various origins plundered and devastated the church several times. The gilded tower buttons were used as targets by the mercenaries. They literally perforated the buttons, which is why they had to be replaced later. After the founding of the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen in 1680, Meiningen became the capital and residence town, and the town church served as a court church until the new castle church was completed in 1692 . For this purpose, a crypt was built under the sacristy in 1680 , in which Marie Hedwig von Hessen-Darmstadt , Duke Bernhard I's first wife, who died that same year , was buried. In the next 200 years, apart from numerous repairs and an unscheduled construction work on the north tower, there were no changes to the church. In 1763 the top lantern of the north tower had to be removed again due to its dilapidation. The Luther bell was put into storage and only hung up again in the south tower in 1817 and re-consecrated as a Reformation bell.

The big renovation
The church in 1876
Start of renovation in 1884
Work on the sacristy and south tower in 1888

The constant renovations and extensions over the centuries, which were often not completed due to a lack of finances or the effects of war, resulted in a great disharmony of the entire structure. The towers had different heights and were offset from the nave, which in turn was smaller than the choir, and some components were damaged. The south wall of the nave was no longer plumb as a result of the church roof fires in the Middle Ages . The appearance and size of the church also no longer met the demands of the growing royal seat. The ducal house and the parish decided to rebuild the church, which was designed by the architect and chief building officer Otto Hoppe and carried out from 1884 to 1889 under the supervision of the young architect Carl Göbel (1857–1940). A demolition of the nave proved to be inevitable. During these years the Church underwent the greatest change in its history.

Hoppe, who only started the renovation after a few years of hesitation, summed up the size of the renovation with the following quote: “The task of the project is an extremely difficult one, between the real components that must be preserved, the old towers from the 11th century and inserting a ship in between the high choir from the 15th century that is in harmony with both parts. ”The renovation was financed by donations, loans and a church building lottery set up especially for this purpose across Germany.

The church received a new neo-Gothic nave in 1884/85 . During the construction work, the floor from the Romanesque period came to light, the floor tiles of which were decorated with animal motifs. Numerous recovered tiles are now stored in the Meiningen museums . In 1887 the sacristy received a neo-Gothic gable with the coats of arms of the three previous rulers. A church roof was erected over the central nave , the sacristy and the existing choir in 1888/89, which was covered with colored glazed tiles. Here who served St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna as a model. The church towers were rebuilt from 1886 to 1889. The builder had the south tower moved 3.5 m to the south. Both towers were matched in height and appearance. The gap between the towers was closed with the neo-Romanesque main portal, the old Romanesque and the new Gothic rose window and a neo-Romanesque gable. The entire interior was redesigned, including a new organ. The inauguration of the converted church took place on September 23, 1889. A few years later, in 1902, the tower domes, which were built with Greppin bricks , were clad in copper plates, which was financed by donations from the main sponsor Adolf Braun and other wealthy citizens.

From Brahms and Reger to the turn

During his last stays in Meiningen, Johannes Brahms often played on the organ built in 1889. Also, Max Reger composed during his time as Meininger Hofkapellmeister 1911-1914 regularly on the organ and gave instructions to expand and improve the organ works. His suggestions and suggestions were finally implemented in 1932.

During the First World War, the Reformation bell was dismantled, which was melted down for war production and was therefore lost. In 1938, the stone Madonna from the 14th century , which had previously been attached to the outside of the south tower , had to be moved into the interior due to stone damage. In 1942, the National Socialist rulers had the large sermon bell and the Last Supper bell dismantled and brought to Hamburg to be melted down for war purposes .

Information booklet about the Meiningen town church (1980)

The church survived the Second World War with moderate damage. In particular, the lead glass windows, the roof and the organ were partially destroyed by the explosions of air mines on February 23, 1945. The bells survived the war years unscathed, so that the Meiningen people could solemnly lift them back to their original place on August 15, 1950. As a replacement for the Reformation bell, the parish consecrated the new peace bell in 1955. In 1961, the "Franz Lehmann glass workshops" from Berlin-Weißensee installed new glass windows in the Gothic windows of the choir room .

Memorial stele on the north wall

From 1982 to 1990 the church was a meeting point for the prayers for peace , which helped to prepare for the turning point in the GDR ( → main article: turning point in Meiningen ). The prayers for peace took place here every month at the beginning and every Tuesday from September 1989. The town church developed into the most important place of the political change from September to the beginning of 1990 in what is now southern Thuringia . Due to the large number of participants in September and October 1989, not all participants could find a place in the church, so that thousands of people gathered in front of the church on the market and with the help of loudspeakers could participate in the peace prayer in the church.

On October 24, 1989, after the peace prayer, the first Tuesday demonstration (see Monday demonstration ) with around 1,000 participants took place, on November 7, 1989 there were already around 25,000 people. Burning candles were carried out of the church and brought with peaceful demonstrations through the city center to state institutions such as the MfS or SED district leadership, where they were put down thousands of times. During the peace prayer on the evening of November 7th, the overcrowded church received the news that the GDR government had resigned. After a short moment of pause, the town church was filled with the loud shouts of joy from the people. Until the beginning of 1990 demonstrations took place after the prayers for peace, the last prayer for peace during the turnaround was held on May 29, 1990. Monthly prayers for peace are held in the town church up to the present day.

After the turn

The town church has been extensively renovated since 1993. The stone facades were thoroughly cleaned and repaired. Organ builders professionally repaired the Reger organ. In 2002, the side aisles were given new colored lead glass windows in place of the temporary glass windows that had replaced the original windows that had been destroyed since the Second World War. The electrical and mechanical systems of the bell system were also renewed. So far, three of the nine planned construction phases have been completed.

In 2003, the Protestant and Catholic parishes in Meiningen celebrated the millennium of the town church “Our dear women”, which was Catholic for around 540 years and has served as a parish church for the region's Protestant parishes since 1544 . On October 24, 2009, a memorial stele was inaugurated on the north wall of the nave and a floor slab in front of the main portal to commemorate the prayers for peace and demonstrations in autumn 1989.

Building description

Exterior construction

View of the colored roof of the town church
Gable of the sacristy

Due to the history of the building, the church consists of different architectural styles. The rectangular substructure of the towers is Romanesque up to the beginning of the octagonal upper floors , the choir and the sacristy (without gable) are Gothic . The octagonal upper floors of the towers and the stair tower with a tail dome on the north tower date from the Renaissance period . The neo-Gothic style is dominant, however , when the nave , the church roof, the gable of the sacristy and the tower dome were rebuilt in this architectural style from 1884 to 1889 .

The building with its two 53 meter high towers dominates the market. Both towers have a circumferential gallery at a height of around 35 m, which are connected by a bridge. The neo-Gothic spiers are crowned with finials , with a weather vane on the south tower and a cross on the north tower. Both tower domes are covered with patina- coated copper plates. The bell system with five bells is located in the south tower. The north tower has tower clocks on three sides, directly below is the Türmerstube, which was inhabited until the 1930s. The roofs over the neo-Gothic central nave , the Gothic choir and the sacristy are covered with colored glazed tiles that form an impressive diamond-like pattern. Some gables and roof sections were decorated with decorative buttons. The transverse gable roofs of the yokes over the side aisles were covered with wine-red tiles. Above the crossing there is a small stone roof turret , which is crowned by a metal cross.

On the westwork, which is decorated with Romanesque friezes , there are Romanesque and Gothic rosettes in addition to Romanesque domed arched windows . Above that, between the towers, sits the large central gable with a stone cross on the gable. The buttresses of the side aisles are adorned with stone pinnacles and finials at their ends. In the side aisles, the builder placed gabled Gothic windows in the upper row, the lower row has a rectangular shape with Gothic glazing as an interrupted continuation of the upper window. On the neo-Gothic gable of the sacristy, which is flanked to the east by a stair tower with a pointed dome, are the Franconian rake , the coat of arms of Franconia for the Würzburg monastery , and the coats of arms of the county of Henneberg and of Saxony-Meiningen , which have been attached primarily since the founding of the Ruled in Meiningen until the church was rebuilt in 1884. The colored coats of arms are the work of the sculptor Zeth.

inner space

Interior panorama

The visitor enters the interior of the church through the Romanesque main portal of the westwork. You first come to a vestibule, from which stairs lead to the left and right into the towers. After a few flights of stairs in the south tower there is an impressive window view into the interior of the ship before you finally reach the tower room halfway up the tower. After crossing the intermediate building with the large gable you come to the north tower, from there a spiral staircase leads up into the tower to the gallery. A total of 140 steps have to be overcome.

On the right in the vestibule there is a memorial plaque in honor of Otto Hoppe, the architect of the renovation. Another portal with colored skylights leads straight ahead into the nave. The door leaves of this portal are equipped with Romanesque door knockers . The nave is provided with galleries on the side aisles and the west wall , which are covered with ornate wooden parapets. On the west wall on both sides of the portal and on the east wall next to the choir there are grave slabs and reliefs of well-known Meiningen citizens who were buried in the church at the end of the Middle Ages. The walls of the aisles are decorated with paintings depicting Christian events. The Reger organ is installed above the west gallery and the superstructures for the church choir, the pipes of which are grouped around the gothic colored glazed wheel window.

The pews of the central nave are arranged across and those of the side aisles are arranged lengthways. Here and in the galleries there is space for around 1,000 church visitors. At the end of the aisles in front of the choir, there are two further entrances to the church, the south and north portal. Both portals have colored glazed Gothic skylights. The pulpit is attached to the right pillar of the triumphal arch between the nave and the choir . The stone Madonna from the 14th century found its place on a pillar to the north aisle after the move. In the choir, a Gothic portal leads into the north-facing transept with the sacristy and library and to two princes' estates, one above the other. In front of it there is a small organ "Positiv" to support musical events. A filigree ribbed vault rises above the choir and nave . On the keystones in the choir and central nave are reliefs and paintings depicting Mary with the child, the lamb with the cross flag, the coat of arms of Franconia, the coat of arms of the Würzburg bishop and von Henneberg, the coat of arms of the councilor Völker, the symbol of the cloth makers' guild and various coats of arms of the city of Meiningen.

Furnishing

pulpit

the pulpit
Stone Madonna

Plans to reuse the old pulpit when redesigning the interior of the church after the major renovation in 1889 were dropped at the suggestion of Duke George II and a new one was made. The old pulpit foot in the form of a wooden sculpture in the shape of Moses was preserved and can be viewed in the Meiningen museums. Today's pulpit has an artfully and filigree carved wooden parapet, in whose segments there are five carved biblical figures by the wood sculptor Blechschmidt. The front, middle niche is reserved for the blessing Christ , based on the work of Bertel Thorvaldsen . It is flanked on both sides by Matthew , Markus , Lukas and Johannes , all of whom were modeled on the figures of Peter Vischer on Sebaldus tomb in Nuremberg . The sound cover , also made of wood and made with Gothic decorations , once had an angel figure as an attachment. After its removal, it is also exhibited in the Meiningen museums.

altar

The altar dates except for the crucifix from the year 1960. The 1889 Hoppe designed neo-Gothic wooden altar with carved figures of Paul , Peter , Mary , John, John the Baptist and Moses was considered out of date and inappropriate for the style of Meininger City Church felt. In its place a spacious, two-tier platform made of coarse shell limestone was erected , in the center a monumental stone block made of Heyroder shell limestone appropriate to the size of the church. The altar was made by master stonemason Fritz Berz from Mihla . The cross erected behind the altar bears a restored, life-size crucifix, which was created around 1500 in the workshop of Veit Stoss . The restorer exposed the second Gothic version of the incarnate and the first version of the blood marks. The altar was consecrated on May 22, 1960 by Regional Bishop Moritz Mitzenheim .

Stone Madonna

On the occasion of a visit by Emperor Ludwig IV (the Bavarian) and Bishop Otto II of Würzburg on October 14, 1344 in Meiningen, they presented a stone Madonna and Child Jesus as a gift from the town and parish of Meiningen. The Madonna is a Franconian work with a Swabian touch, recognizable by the typical compact physique as well as the stylization of the hair and the folds on the robe. The statue is made of the Burgpreppacher sandstone and was made in Würzburg .

The Madonna originally stood on a console under a canopy on the westernmost buttress of the south aisle in place of the former Lady Chapel. In the 1930s, damage from stone corrosion was found on her left hand and the folds of the folds. It was then removed and restored by Paul Birr. In order to avoid new environmental and weather damage, it found a new place in April 1938 on a 2.30 m high console in the interior of the church. The over 650 years old Madonna is a landmark of the town church and can be seen in the church seal of the parish .

Choir window

Gothic choir from 1455 with stained glass windows by Gerhard Olbrich

After the old organ was dismantled from the choir room in 1886, new colored choir windows had to be installed. The total costs of around 14,500 marks were raised by foundations from Meiningen associations, members of the ducal house and private individuals. The "Hof-Glasmalerei Burckhardt & Sohn" from Munich received the order for the production of the six windows . During the major renovation, this company also installed all the windows in the ship and the glazing for the skylights of the southern and northern entrance portals. The choir windows were designed as follows: 1st window - Baptism of Christ , 2nd window - Nativity , 3rd window - Lord's Supper below , Crucifixion above , 4th window - Christ's burial above, Christ's resurrection below , 5th window - Resurrection and 6th Window - outpouring of the Holy Spirit .

During the Second World War, the choir windows were destroyed by air mines . Temporarily repaired after the war, in 1961 the "Franz Lehmann glass workshops" from Berlin-Weißensee installed new glass windows designed by the Berlin painter Gerhard Olbrich . On the three central choir windows they depict scenes from the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of John . The windows are designed as follows. Bottom row on the left (2nd window): Christ the living Lord in the midst of his church (Easter and Pentecost), bottom row in the middle (3rd window): Michael's fight with the dragon - church in contention - Mary on the crescent moon, her child, shone with the sun from whom God is raptured, lower row on the right (4th window): Last Judgment (trumpets) - resurrection to life and judgment, upper row left and right: God's church - twelve elders each in adoration and veneration, upper row in the middle: Christ the judge of the world - the sacrificed lamb with seven eyes and seven horns - mouth of Christ with sword as the word of God. The outer choir windows are painted with carpets.

Reger organ

Reger organ by Martin Josef Schlimbach (1889)

The town church had its first organ installed in 1546. It was the organ from the monastery church of the Meiningen Franciscan monastery, which was dissolved after the Reformation. The present organ dates from 1889 and was installed by the organ builder Martin Schlimbach & Sohn (Würzburg) behind the large wheel window of the westwork, a Gothic rose window.

Johannes Brahms and Max Reger , among others, played and composed on this organ . At Reger's suggestion, the Eberhard Friedrich Walcker company added a swell as a third manual to the organ . It became the Reger organ and was inaugurated on October 10, 1932 by Erhard Mauersberger .

In 1945 the organ suffered severe war damage and was inadequately repaired at the end of the 1940s and deteriorated visibly during the GDR era. From 1992 to 1994 the organ was extensively repaired and restored by the organ building company Hey from Urspringen and inaugurated on May 6, 1994 as part of the Meininger Landesmusiktage by the well-known organist Werner Jacob from Nuremberg. In 2006 the organ received a new wind supply .

The disposition of the Reger organ:

I main work C – c 4
Principal 16 ′
Quintadena 00 16 ′
Principal 08th'
Hollow flute 08th'
Gamba 08th'
Dumped 08th'
octave 04 ′
Gemshorn 04 ′
Reed flute 04 ′
Fifth 02 23
octave 02 ′
Schwiegel 02 ′
Cornett III-V 08th'
Mixture V – VII 02 ′
Sharp IV 08th'
Trumpet 08th'
Clarine 04 ′
II upper structure C – c 4
Principal 08th'
flute 08th'
Ital. Principal 04 ′
Flute harmonique 04 ′
Nasard 02 23
Principal 02 ′
Piccolo 02 ′
third 01 35
Sif flute 01'
Cymbal V 01'
Dulcian 16 ′
clarinet 08th'
Beat 08th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – c 4
Night horn 16 ′
Principal 08th'
Reed flute 08th'
Dolce 08th'
Vox Coeleste 08th'
Minor principal 0 04 ′
recorder 04 ′
Schwiegel 02 ′
Fifth 01 13
Cymbal V 013
Krummhorn 08th'
Brass shelf 04 ′
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
Principal bass 16 ′
Violin bass 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
Dacked bass 16 ′
Octavbass 08th'
violoncello 08th'
Bass flute 08th'
Quintbass 010 23
Octavbass 04 ′
Pedal Mixture V
trombone 16 ′
Trumpet 08th'
shawm 04 ′
Singing Cornett 0 02 ′
  • Coupling : normal coupling, super coupling and sub coupling.
  • Playing aids : including crescendo and roller, typesetting combination SK II, A – H, 1–8, three lockable register levels.
  • Remarks
  1. a b Resounding.

Bells

Two of the first bells fell victim to lightning strikes in 1175 and 1296. The losses had to be bridged with borrowed bells from neighboring communities until a new one was purchased. The Last Supper bell and the baptismal bell come from the bell system that was built into the Romanesque towers that had been completed shortly before in 1295. The peace bell listed under No. 4 is the replacement for the Reformation or Luther bell that was cast in 1594 and melted down in 1917.

The current bell system of the town church is located in the south tower and was renovated in 2007 except for the Last Supper bell. This was lifted back into place in 2009. The electrical control had to be renewed in 2008. In the future, the “Gnadenglocke” is planned as a new bell to commemorate German reunification.

No.
 
Surname
 
Casting year
 
Foundry, casting location
 
Diameter
(cm)
Weight
(kg)
volume
 
tower
 
1 Sermon bell 1618 Melchior Moering, Erfurt 146 1820 of' south
2 Prayer bell 1360 Master Hermann, Nuremberg 113 1200 as' south
3 Communion bell 1955 Franz Schilling, Apolda 82 410 c " south
4th Peace bell 1295 unknown 76 332 of" south
5 Baptismal bell 1295 unknown 62 200 f " south
6th Striking bell (rigidly suspended) 1594 Christoph, Nuremberg 95 500 b ' North

use

In addition to everyday church life and its function as a parish church , the town church hosts music events with choirs, folklore groups, musicians practicing different styles of music, or organ concerts. This also includes the annual “Meininger Organ Summer”. Exhibitions and special activities with ecclesiastical themes are also held in the church on a regular basis.

During the city festival at the beginning of July and every Wednesday afternoon in the summer months, visitors can use a spiral staircase in the north tower to climb the galleries on the towers, which offer a good all-round view of the city center. The "Türmerwrauen" in the tower room serve the guests with coffee and cake, a group of committed women who use the proceeds to restore damaged parts of the church.

literature

  • Johann Sebastian Güth: Poligraphia Meiningensis. Gotha 1676, Meiningen City Archives.
  • Otto Hoppe: About the town church in Meiningen. 1883, Meiningen City Archives.
  • Reissland / Schneider: monuments in the city center. Kulturbund der DDR, E36 / 82, 1982.
  • Horst Strohbusch: The light came from the church - the turning point in Meiningen 1989–1990. Verlag Börner PR, Meiningen 1999, ISBN 3-930675-19-6 .
  • Hannelore Schneider: The Meiningen city church. Bielsteinverlag, Meiningen 2004, ISBN 3-9809504-1-7 .

Web links

Commons : Stadtkirche Meiningen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Johann Sebastian Güth: Poligraphia Meiningensis . Reyher, Gotha 1676, p. 130 (a), 153 (b), 242 (c) , urn : nbn: de: bvb: 12-bsb10002773-8 .
  2. Meininger Document Book No. 3–5; Reg. Thur. I No. 614, 616, 618 - Meiningen City Archives.
  3. Meiningen's first mentioning document from 982 - Meiningen City Archives.
  4. Georg Karl Friedrich Emmrich : History of the city of Meiningen under Würzburg sovereignty (1008–1542) , Meiningen 1804.
  5. a b Eduard Schaubach: Church Chronicle , Schaubachsammlung B No. 2, Thuringian State Archives Meiningen, pp. 143 (a), 153 (b).
  6. ^ Hermann Pusch: On the building history of the Marienkirche Meiningen , pp. 61–69.
  7. Timber orders of the council of Meiningen dated May 7, 1596, Thuringian State Archives Meiningen, GHA III 307.
  8. a b c Superintendent Wolfgang Schwalm: The bells of the Meiningen town church , old registry, Meiningen 1955.
  9. a b Notes from Otto Hoppe from April 4, 1883, Meiningen Church Archives 8/12.
  10. ^ Erwin Theodor Döbner : Revision report of July 10, 1882, Meiningen Church Archives 8/12
  11. decision memorandum of the parish on September 11 1884, ThStA Meiningen, Consistory 14,269th
  12. ^ Carl Göbel: Memories of the Meiningen church building , Meiningen city archive.
  13. ^ Letter from Adolf Braun, Kirchenarchiv 8/6.
  14. a b c Horst Strohbusch: The light came from the church - The turning point in Meiningen 1989–1990 , Meiningen 1999.
  15. ^ Note from Duke Georg II to Otto Hoppe dated November 28, 1887, church archive 8/13.
  16. ^ A b Superintendent Wolfgang Schwalm: Die Stadtkirche Meiningen , 1961, pp. 12-15.
  17. Activity Report of the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Churches in 1959, Church Archives Meiningen, 43/69.
  18. Restorer Naumann: written statement from May 5, 1960, old registry.
  19. Mon. Boica XLI No. 32 - Meiningen City Archives.
  20. ^ Evangelical Lutheran parish Meiningen, history of the city church, tower woman book.
  21. ^ Eduard Fritze : The city church in Meiningen , p. 34.
  22. Otto Hoppe: Letter to Duke Georg II of December 16, 1884, HMA 183.

Coordinates: 50 ° 34 ′ 2.5 "  N , 10 ° 24 ′ 55.5"  E