City Church Ludwigslust

The portal of the city church in Ludwigslust

The Evangelical Lutheran town church in Ludwigslust was originally the court church of the Ludwigslust palace complex in the small town of the same name in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . It is located around 500 meters south of the castle and is connected to it by a series of courtyards. Both buildings together form the largest baroque ensemble in Mecklenburg.

The construction

The church was built at the instigation of Duke Friedrich from 1765 to 1770 as part of the expansion of the residence by the architect Johann Joachim Busch as a court chapel and later burial place.

The church on an engraving by JD Findorff, 1767

Due to its orientation towards the castle, the church is not east- facing and is connected to the castle as the starting point or end point of an axis over a kilometer long. The fact that the palace and church and thus the central ballroom of the residence, as well as the ducal box and the altar lie in a huge line, the ensemble illustrates the position of the prince in the sense of divine grace . The actual church is a brick-built, externally simply plastered hall building with a mansard roof , which is preceded by an extra-wide, backdrop-like portico , which serves as a point de vue when viewed from the castle with its Tuscan portico . Of the five visible Jochen the church hides behind only the middle three holes. The front is crowned by sandstone figures of the four evangelists and a tall monogram of Christ ; J. Eckstein created the figure decorations. The columned hall is crowned by a high gable, this bears the dedication inscription in large letters

IESU CHRISTO / MAGNO PECCATORUM REDEMTORI HOC TEMPLUM CONSECRATUM EST / A MAGNO PECCATORE REDEMTO / DEI GRATIA FRIDERICO DUCE MEGAPOLITANO / AEDIFICARI COEPTUM ANNO MDCCLXV MENSE MARTIO / FINXX MARTIO / FINXX ANNO

This temple is consecrated to Jesus Christ / the great redeemer of sinners / by a great redeemed sinner / Friedrich, by God's grace Mecklenburg duke / construction started in 1765 in March / completed in 1770 in July

North side with the royal box

Interior with columns and coffered ceiling and altar wall with the painting by Findorff

Epitaph from 1582: Knight Godtschalk Klenow and his wife kneel in front of the crucifix

Detail of the altar painting: You can see the organ and part of the papier-mâché squares

The interior of the church is divided by 16 wooden columns - without a load-bearing function - and spanned by a coffered , wooden barrel vault. The highlight of the church hall is a monumental painting on the south wall depicting the Annunciation of the Shepherds . With an area of more than 350 m ^{2, it dominates} the entire altar area, the multi-dimensional painting, consisting of around 1000 paper mache squares, was created by the court painter Johann Dietrich Findorff and completed by Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt . Behind the levels of the painting, which are painted on cardboard and glued to a wooden wall, the sacristy , above it the organ and the singing galleries are almost invisible from the direction of the church hall .

Below as Confessio raised altar area with its central pulpit and the sweeping staircases is the tomb of the Duchess Louise Frederica von Württemberg. The tomb of her husband, the builder Duke Friedrich, stands in front of the entrance to the crypt in the middle of the church hall. The design counterbalance to the altar area is the box of the ducal family on the north wall of the church, which, with its elaborate baroque decor, forms a contrast to the more classical church interior.

A special feature of the Ludwigsluster Church is the almost universal use of painted paper mache - the so-called Ludwigsluster Carton - as material for the decors, ceiling rosettes, candlesticks and other items of equipment. The altarpiece of the church comes partly from the destroyed village church in Klenow, the village from which Ludwigslust developed in the 18th century.

The bell towers standing separately at the entrance to the cemetery

The church does not have its own bell tower, the bell stalls are housed a few hundred meters east in the towers of the cemetery portal.

organ

The organ originally came from the workshop of Paul Schmidt , today's organ is the work of Friedrich Frieses III. It was restored from 2002 to 2003 for almost 200,000 euros.

I main work C – f ³
Drone	16 '
Principal	08th'
Gedact	08th'
Double flute	08th'
Portal flute	08th'
Gemshorn	08th'
Gamba	08th'
flute	04 '
Octave	04 '
Pointed flute	04 '
Fifth	02 ² ⁄ ₃  '
Octave	02 '
Progressio Harm. II-IV	02 '
Trumpet	08th'

II Oberwerk C – f ³ (swellable)
Violin principal	08th'
Lovely Gedact	08th'
Soft flute	08th'
Viola d'amour	08th'
Voix céleste	08th'
Aeoline	08th'
Octave	04 '
Reed flute	04 '

Pedals C – d ¹
Principal bass	16 '
Sub bass	16 '
Fifth	10 ² ⁄ ₃  '
Principal bass	08th'
violoncello	08th'
Bass flute	08th'
Octave	04 '
trombone	16 '

The city church

The former court church has served as the Evangelical Lutheran town church of Ludwigslust since the 19th century . The community belongs to the Parchim provost in the Mecklenburg parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany ( Northern Church ). It has around 2,800 members and employs around 20 full-time employees and more than 100 volunteers. The city church was the scene of protests against the GDR regime in autumn 1989.

Services are held in the town church on Sundays and public holidays from Easter to New Year's; in the winter months, services are relocated to the parish hall. Concerts are also held in the church, and the building can also be explored on regular guided tours. The Ludwigslust City Church Association takes care of the preservation and maintenance of the church .