Church building in Cottbus

The Cottbus church buildings with their sculptures, organs and bells represent a valuable treasure of sacred art. Churches have shaped the cultural landscape for centuries, including in Cottbus .

Cottbus church building

The Christianization of Lusatia took place from Meißen and was completed around 1100. A church in Cottbus is mentioned for the first time around 1180 in the “Nienburger Bruchstück”. The city is described as a market town with a brick church. In the city and the surrounding villages, churches in the Gothic style were built over the next three centuries, mainly made of fired bricks, but also partly from field or lawn iron stone.

In 1537 the Protestant denomination was finally established in Cottbus by Margrave Johann von Cüstrin. The city was then predominantly Protestant for centuries; there was only a small number of Catholic believers in Cottbus and the surrounding area, who were looked after by the Neuzelle monastery. The Reformation also had consequences for the building of churches, the decorations were restricted, as was the number of altars. After the Reformation, the interiors of many churches were redesigned in the style of the Renaissance and Baroque , epitaphs and coats of arms show the competence and responsibility of the nobility for ecclesiastical life and the preservation of the churches. The growth of the city population and the decline of medieval half-timbered churches in rural areas, and some villages were also able to afford their own place of worship for the first time, led to new churches being built in the various styles of historicism in the 19th century . Later, in the first half of the 20th century, mainly churches and parish halls with church halls in the Jugend- and Bauhaus style as well as heritage protection architecture were built. The meetinghouses built in the post-war period want to make a church recognizable, but are economical in their means.

The peculiarity of Niederlausitz, the coexistence of two nations, the Germans and the Sorbs / Wends, is hardly reflected in the church buildings. However, until the beginning of the 20th century there were regular services in the Lower Sorbian language in the monastery church and the village churches . From the 19th century onwards, the religious landscape became more diverse again, so that today there is a surprising variety of free churches and religious communities in Cottbus, especially in view of the prevailing non-denominational population.

Protestant churches

Name / location	Built	description	image
Monastery church Klosterplatz 1	around 1300, expansion: 14. – 16. Century	The church is the only surviving structure of a Franciscan monastery, which was probably built between 1270 and 1300, and is thus the oldest church in the city of Cottbus. In the course of the Reformation, the monastery was dissolved in 1537 and rededicated as the Protestant parish church of the surrounding village communities. Since the services were also held in Wendish, it is also called the "Wendish Church". The Gothic brick building, with a length of 55.22 m, has an elongated, asymmetrical two-aisled shape. A slender tower is built into the southeast corner of the building; furthermore, the sacristy joins to the north in the far east. The building is kept simple according to the principles of the Franciscans; The tower, the slender white pointed arches and the ornamental gable of the aisle set accents. The main and side aisles each have their own gable roof and late Gothic interior vaults, with those of the main aisle showing a richer figuration. The richly decorated pulpit from around 1720, like the larger than life-size, very natural-looking crucifix from 1340, is made entirely of wood. In front of the mighty wooden altar from the middle of the 18th century, which fills almost the entire east wall, is a richly decorated, stone font from the 15th century. In the center of the altar is a depiction of the crucifixion, above it is another painting depicting the resurrection; Pillars, Corinthian columns, pilasters, acanthus cheeks, angels, a god's eye and sun rays complete it. It is also adorned with a Lower Sorbian lettering, probably from 1908. There are also four plaques in Lower Sorbian from the middle of the 19th century on the organ loft. They represent the oldest surviving Lower Sorbian plaques in Lower Lusatian churches. The painting of the stalls is also remarkable and the galleries with ornamental flowers. The most valuable piece of equipment in the church is the crucifix; researchers suspect that it is the most important crucifix from this era in all of Central Europe. The cross tapers vertically upwards, horizontally the bar is curved to the right and left so that it resembles branches. This shape of a cross is rarely found in northern regions and symbolizes the tree of life. The church is also home to the only preserved Sauer organ in Cottbus; it was created in 1907/08 as opus 1019 with 24 registers and a neo-baroque prospectus. The monastery church houses an important monument of the town's history: the grave slab of the town's founder Fredehelm von Cottbus († 1307) and his wife Adelheid († 1319). The family coat of arms shown shows the cancer, today's heraldic animal of the city of Cottbus.
Luther Church Thiemstraße 27, OT Spremberger Vorstadt	1911/12	When the general industrial boom resulted in a population explosion in Cottbus as well, and the city expanded noticeably to the south, it was decided to build an additional church for the new urban area. The Berlin architect Robert Leibnitz designed the single-nave hall church in a simple Art Nouveau form with a gable roof and a flat, relief-like main portal on the north side. In the south there is a simply designed apse with a rectangular plan. What is particularly striking about the building is the strong, massive-looking west tower on the side of the nave. After bombing in the Second World War, the Luther Church burned down almost completely and was supposed to be demolished. However, it was rebuilt quickly by GDR standards, so that the church was consecrated again in 1951. The Art Nouveau elements have only partially been preserved on the outside. When entering the church, the large wooden crucifix on the light green wall of the apse attracts attention. It is a carving from Oberammergau. The simple interior is spanned by a dark red barrel vault, which ensures very good acoustics; The pulpit and altar are made of brickwork. The Cottbus sculptor Rim Carrier produced the font. The organ was created by Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden .
Martinskirche Madlower Schulstrasse 2, OT Madlow	late 14th century	The church, idyllically situated in the green of the Spreeniederung, is located a little outside the urban area, between the villages of Madlow and Kiekebusch. A Slavic sanctuary is said to have once been there, and a wooden chapel was built in its place in 1124. Today's late Gothic brick church, dedicated to Martin von Tours, was built on this previous building. The square tower, fitted with a variety of panels, was built a little later than the rectangular nave. Typical for the Lausitz is the floor-by-floor division by rows of panels. The wall base is mixed with field stones and the attached sacristy also shows some field stone masonry. In 1871, while maintaining the ridge height, the nave was raised, which can be seen from the smaller-format bricks used. The ringing consists of three bells, two very valuable bronze bells dating from the 15th century and one made of iron that was cast in Apolda in 1956. It bears the inscription: "People, people, hear God's word". In 1879 remains of old wall paintings were discovered, but they were painted over again. During the restoration in 1971, the old, classical-style church furnishings were removed and the church got its current simple appearance. The interior of the church looks bright and modern; the stone baptismal font comes from the excavated church in Klinge. The organ built in 1988 by the “Löbling” company in Erfurt invites you to attend organ concerts; the wooden ceiling in the shape of a coffin lid gives the interior excellent acoustics.
Upper Church St. Nikolai Oberkirchplatz 1	15th century	The Upper Church of St. Nikolai is the largest church in Cottbus and Lower Lusatia. It was built over a previous building from the 12th century and marks the center of the Cottbus settlement. In the Middle Ages it was named "St. Nikolai ”, derived from Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra. The name "Oberkirche" expresses a social hierarchy, because it was the parish church of the German urban bourgeoisie. The Wendish rural population, however, went to the “lower church”, today's monastery church. It is a late Gothic pseudo-basilica with a choir, a slightly older west tower and various additions. A conspicuous division of the roof surfaces by a wall strip makes this design clear to the outside; on the inside, panels subdivide the unexposed lower upper aisle. The three-aisled brick building has a length of 73.5 m and a tower height of 54.94 m. Compared to the mighty nave, the tower looks very low, yet it is a landmark of the city that can be seen from afar. It has a rectangular base, a re-entrant top part and a copper-clad baroque hood. The tower axis, which has been shifted to the north, and the different dimensions prove that it belonged to the predecessor building of today's church. The appearance of the upper church is determined by the very large pointed arch windows and the white plastered decorative panels on the gables of the additions, the rows of panels of the tower and the white of the pointed helmets of the north chapel, the north-west stair tower and the south-west vestibule. The pointed helmets are also decorated with decorative crenellated wreaths. Deep frieze bands under the eaves enrich the exterior with tracery filling in the form of quatrefoils. In a niche in the buttress of the south-west vestibule is a sandstone sculpture showing Mary as Queen of Heaven under a canopy on a heraldic shield console. It is a copy from 1911; the heavily damaged original from the beginning of the 16th century is now in the tower hall. The white painted interior looks high and spacious. It is characterized by a late Gothic variety of star and ribbed vaults. Originally, until the late 16th century, there were figural wall paintings that were destroyed during a fire. Remnants of it were uncovered in 1951 on a pillar and on the nave wall. There are various grave monuments from the 16th and 17th centuries on the walls. One of the most important works of art in the city is the large, 11 m high early baroque altar, created by Andreas Schulze in 1664. It has a clear horizontal and vertical structure; the lower half is made of sandstone, the figures are made of alabaster and the upper part is made of wood. At its center is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, while the life story and the Passion of Christ are marginalized. The richly decorated baptism made of gilded sandstone in the north chapel dates from the 2nd quarter of the 17th century and is a permanent loan from the Lichtenburg castle church in Prettin. The organ prospectus comes from Hainichen / Saxony from 1759, while the organ work with 50 registers was created in 1984 by Hermann Eule Orgelbau Bautzen and has an impressive richness of sound.
Philipp-Melanchthon parish hall, Hans-Sachs-Str. 27, OT Ströbitz	1930/31	The brick building, the facade of which is modeled on the Bauhaus style, was designed by the Cottbus architect Max Hanke. It is named after the humanist, educator and reformer Philipp Melanchthon. Services were held in the modest parish hall from the start. A kindergarten has also been located in the building since 1932. The planned construction of a large church on the property was prevented by the outbreak of World War II.
Castle Church Spremberger Street / Schlosskirchplatz	1707-1714	Catherine's Chapel, which was surrounded by a small cemetery, was located in the same place as early as 1419. It fell into disrepair after two city fires and the Thirty Years War. In 1685, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm ordered the French Huguenots, who had been expelled from their homeland for reasons of faith, to open up his territories and to support their settlement with extensive discounts. In 1701, refugees also settled in Cottbus and founded the French Reformed community. The elector donated the property with the structural remains of the St. Catherine's Chapel to the French colony. In 1705 she received permission to build her church, which was then called the "Reformed Church". The German Reformed congregation continued to hold its services in a hall of the castle until it was given permission to use the church in 1714. After the unification of the French-Reformed and German-Reformed congregations in 1757, the name "Castle Church" became commonplace because the German Reformed clergyman was appointed both court and castle preacher. The church is a single-nave plastered building with a hipped roof and a low, rectangular sacristy on the east side. The side entrances on each side were bricked up during the reconstruction in 1855 and can now be seen as “blind windows”. On the long sides of the ship, the windows are arranged in two rows and separated by a plaster tape; The upper ones have a round arch and the lower ones a flat arch. The soaring, graceful tower built in 1870 cuts deep into the nave, as it was not allowed to cross the building line on Spremberger Strasse. With the building of the tower, the west side of the church received its stepped gable divided by blind arch niches. The pillar-free interior is vaulted with three segment-arched wooden barrels and painted uniformly white. Opposite the entrance is the white pulpit integrated into the east wall, which is crowned with a golden wooden cross. On the right is a cross of nails made from three nails from Coventry Cathedral, which was bombed in 1940. The castle church has been a member of the Cross of Nails Community since 1984. In 1972 the city mission took over the castle church and used it as a meeting place. Recently there were occasional events in the church, but hardly any services. On September 18, 2014, it was given to the Jewish community for the establishment of a synagogue
Zinzendorfkirche Walther-Rathenau-Straße 16, OT Schmellwitz	1937	This south-facing, simple and practical clinker church was built according to the plans of the architect Hans Palm. It was named in 1962 after the bishop and theologian Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). In the mid-1950s, it received an extension on the north side. When the new building area Neu-Schmellwitz was built, the community grew and on the site next to the church, a community and a rectory was built in 1986 as part of the “Churches for New Cities” building program with funds from the West German partner churches. The hall church has stained glass windows and a saddle roof, which was re-covered in 2001. In the area of ​​the windows and the tower, protruding brick strips lined up one above the other decorate the building. The stepped gable with a brick cross above the entrance porch is also striking. The functional church space is spanned by a wooden beam ceiling, the beams of which are set off against the carmine-red infill ceiling. The organ is located on the north side above the door to the extension.

Sold

Name / location	Built	description	image
Bodelschwingh parish hall Am Doll 4 OT Sandow	1927	The house, which was named after Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, who is considered to be one of the fathers of the Diakonie, was built in the style of a Brandenburg manor house with a small bell tower. It was originally opened as a play school (Protestant kindergarten) and later continued as a social station for the Lazarus sisters. From this the parish hall developed. In 1995 the Bodelschwingh parish merged with the Oberkirchen parish. In 2006, the house was sold in the face of a drastic drop in income from the decline in parishioners. Today it is a restaurant. In 2010 the previously unnamed north hall in the upper church was given the name Bodelschwingh-Saal in memory of the theologian and the former congregation. The sacred furnishings of the former parish hall, such as the altar, lectern and baptismal font, are now located in this hall.

Catholic churches

Name / location	Built	description	image
Christ Church Street of Youth 22	1848-50	The simple, tower-free brick hall building was built in exposed brick architecture based on a design by Fritsch and Stoske and was originally named “To the Good Shepherd”. It is the first Catholic church to be built after the Reformation. After the construction of the Marienkirche in 1935, the gates of the old church closed and it was only used as a warehouse or was empty. All the church equipment was brought into the new church. In view of the growth of the Catholic community, the church was put back into service in 1967 after a renovation. In the course of this, it received its current name "Christ Church". The gable roof carries a roof turret with a bell on the street side gable. This was demolished in 1945 because of the risk of collapse and reconstructed in 1995. The bell, cast in 1849 by the company “Hadank” in Hoyerswerda, bears the inscription: “Toene long to the glory of God”. On the long side, large arched windows dominate the building, while the gable corners are accentuated by small arched windows. The large neo-Gothic tracery rosette in the western front is striking, underneath are the three entrance portals. The semicircular apse on the east side has three round arched blind windows. The sacristy and parish rooms are located under the church. In place of the original sacristy on the south side, which was destroyed in the war, there is now a plastered area depicting the washing of feet. The light interior of the church is simple and functional. In contrast, there is the late Gothic Madonna and Child from 1470. Under the newly designed stained glass windows, which symbolically reflect the Christian's life and faith, there are small reliefs showing the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Edith Stein Church, Klopstockstrasse 4a, OT Sachsendorf	1987-89	The continued influx, including Catholics, into the large new building areas made another church necessary for the south of Cottbus. After lengthy negotiations that dragged on for over 10 years, because church buildings were undesirable in socialist times, today's church premises could be acquired by exchanging land. The building permit was subject to the condition that the entire building project had to be paid for with “ Westgeld ”. The community was left out and could only take care of the interior. A special permit, a dispensation from Rome was required for the naming, since Edith Stein was blessed at this point, but not yet canonized; this only took place in 1998. The Cottbus architect Thomas Woskowski designed the modern building, which was conceived as a community center. The parish rooms are under the church and the apartments for church workers are in the northern extension. Externally, a bell tower, crowned with a golden cross, adorns the small church. A broad staircase leads from the side front through a beautifully designed copper portal into an anteroom. When you enter the interior of the church, a neat, clearly structured chancel opens up. In the center of the room is the heptagonal stone altar around which the community gathers in a semicircle. The tall and narrow glass windows in green pastel colors designed by Gottfried Zawadski from Kamenz, which symbolize the tree of life, are striking. The sacred and decorative objects inside the church were largely designed by artists and businesses in the region. An exception is the carved figure of Mary, which is a copy of a late Gothic Madonna with the child and comes from Bavaria. The bronze bell in the small tower above the altar island was cast in 1604 and used to ring in the Catholic Church of Sedlitz before it had to give way to open-cast lignite mining. The two-manual, electronic church organ from the Ahlborn company provides background music .
St. Maria Friedenskönigin Adolf-Kolping-Strasse 17	1934/35	After the First World War, the Catholic community in Cottbus grew, and since the premises of the church “Zum guten Hirten” were no longer sufficient, the plan to build a new church matured. Diocesan councilor Mokroß designed the north-facing church with the impressive 30 m high double tower front. The choice of name was a very deliberate reaction to the threat of war that threatened the Nazis' seizure of power. In keeping with the shape of early Christian basilicas, the building is divided into an 18 m high main nave and two low aisles. It is designed in the "New Objectivity" style and consists of a reinforced concrete skeleton with a front facade made of dark red bricks. The monumental concrete figure depicting the risen Christ in a niche above the main portal is particularly impressive. It was created in 1963 by the Weißenfels artist Brückner-Fullroth. The bell consists of two bronze bells cast in 1996 at the Rudolf Perner bell foundry in Passau and a restored medieval bell. In order to gain urgently needed community space, the church was rebuilt from 1976 to 1982. It included the creation of a weekday chapel as a multi-purpose room in the area of ​​the former apse and sacristy, a Lady Chapel on the floor above and the redesign of the chancel. The towers and the former organ loft were converted into a community center. The Dresden architect Wolfram Starke and the sculptor Friedrich Preß gave the interior of the church a completely new face. In the course of the renovation, the originally longitudinal church space was aligned transversely and the vaulted ceiling of the central nave was straightened with a wooden panel. The benches are now arranged in a horseshoe shape around the altar, which resembles a tree stump with a plate on top. It symbolizes the "root of Jesse". The interior is surrounded by a massive crown of thorns nailed together from red-stained beams, which is pierced by a large white wooden cross opposite the altar. Opposite the cross is an early Baroque figure of Mary from the Erfurt Cathedral as an artistic counterpoint to the factual design. The glass paintings of the small arched windows of the side aisles show symbolic images of invocations of the Lauretanian litany, such as "You ark of the covenant", "You golden house", "You morning star". The Marienkapelle on the second floor contains the larger than life Madonna with the name "Maria, Queen of Peace" created by Felix Hertelt in 1934. It stands in the same place from which it previously ruled the entire church - above the old high altar. Below her are reliefs that are based on the childhood stories of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke. In 1994 the Marienkirche was elevated to a provost church.

Free churches and religious communities

Name / location	Built	description	image
Advent Church Gaglower Straße 13, OT Madlow	2000	The building was conceived as a church community center. The Advent church in Cottbus has existed since 1903.
Old Apostolic Church in Germany Waisenstrasse 11, OT Ströbitz		The seat of the community is on the ground floor of the apartment building. The Old Apostolic Church in Germany was founded in 2006 by apostles who left the Apostle ministry of Jesus Christ; In 2007 she joined the Old Apostolic Church.
Apostle ministry of Jesus Christ Madlower Hauptstrasse 39, OT Madlow	after 1990	The Apostle Ministry of Jesus Christ, established in 1960, is a corporation under public law (AJC K. d. Ö. R.) with the seat of the main church office in Cottbus.
Biblical Faith Community Cottbus e. V. Ostrower Damm 2	around 1870	The community, founded in June 1997, has its seat on the 2nd floor of the front building of the former CS Elias cloth factory. The factory was renovated in 1992 and is now an office building.
Evangelical Free Church Community Bautzener Str. 111, OT Spremberger Vorstadt	1988-92	The modern building has a spacious entrance area. In the building there is a large hall with a gallery, which offers space for around 200 people, as well as a small hall and ancillary rooms that allow a wide range of uses. Towards the altar, the view falls on high stained glass windows and a large, simple wooden cross. The baptismal font is located under the altar area. EFG-Cottbus has been an independent member of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany since June 5, 1982 Kdö.R.
Evangelical Brothers Unity Street of Youth 94	around 1860	The Evangelische Brüder-Unität began its work in Cottbus in 2003 with the “stop”.
Evangelical-Lutheran "Community St. Michael" Schillerstraße 15		In May 2002, the “St. Michael Community” established in 1999 set up its community rooms, a chapel and a room for Bible and children's lessons there. The altar of the community bears the inscription: "Here is Golgotha".
Methodist Church Virchowstrasse 41	1910	A gate entrance leads to a green backyard in which the parish hall is located. It was inaugurated as the Elim Chapel. Between 1977 and 1984 the old building was expanded and converted into a modern community center by the community members. It is known today as the Christ Chapel. The Methodists have been based in Cottbus since 1895.
Free Christian Congregation Sachsendorf Thierbacher Str. 18, OT Sachsendorf	1984	The multi-purpose building was built as part of the complex center (at that time with library, youth club, hairdresser and department store) of the new Sachsendorf development area. The community emerged in the mid-1990s.
Catholic-Apostolic Congregation Hubertstrasse 23, OT Schmellwitz	1883/84	The building is one of the few examples of a Catholic-Apostolic sacred building in Brandenburg. The construction was in the hands of the Cottbus master mason CL Schade and the Cottbus master carpenter O. Rost. It is a towerless, rectangular exposed brick building with an apse and gable roof. The gable has a small round arch attachment that carries the cross. Two arched niches flank the high arched portal on the street-side gable wall. The long sides are divided into three by wall panels; there is a block frieze under the eaves. The interior is closed off by a plastered flat ceiling. The wooden organ loft with pillared balustrade and clock comes from the construction time and the organ from 1925 by Friedrich Ernst Gustav Heinze from Sorau. Parts of the interior are also preserved in neo-renaissance forms - such as the altar, prayer desk, choir screens and pews, baptismal font, priest's chair and offering box.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Congregation Cottbus (Mormonen) Madlower Hauptstrasse 60, OT Madlow	after 1990	Parish hall;
Regional Church Community Berliner Straße 136	around 1880	This is a nested building complex set far behind the building line on the north side of Berliner Straße. The execution of the building is clearly linked to the factory buildings of that time, whereby the residential building differs from the west wing, which is used for commercial purposes, by simple architectural decorations, such as the arbor with parapet panels, pilasters and serrated arches. Since 1911 the building has been owned by the church community, which has been active in Cottbus since 1901. Through them, several halls were added to the north and east sides of the house.
New Apostolic Congregation Inselstr. 12	1988	This is a modern church building with eye-catching tall, narrow stained glass windows and clinker facing inside and out.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Cross ( Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ) Karlstrasse 80, OT Schmellwitz	1878/79	The towerless brick building with a large central apse has a floor plan in the form of a cross and does not have a bell, because Friedrich Wilhelm IV allowed the Lutherans to found their own "separate from the state church" and to build their own places of worship. these, however, without towers and bells. The design of the church comes from the building officer Abel from Lauban and was realized by the local master mason Wilhelm Schneider and master carpenter Karl Simon. Neo-Romanesque style elements and arched windows with lead glazing dominate the church facade; The corner turrets are decorated with sandstone crowns, while the gable on the west side, where the main portal is located, bears a sandstone cross. In the interior, the coffered barrel vault is striking, its dark brown wooden coffers form a pleasant contrast to the light church interior. The apse is vaulted by a dark blue starry sky. Below, as well as around the stained glass windows, there are borders with a floral pattern, which makes the apse appear very colorful overall. In the course of a thorough renovation, the artist Elly-Viola Nahmmacher (1913–2000) redesigned the wooden altar ensemble consisting of a triumphal cross, altar table, baptism, pulpit and candlestick in 1979. She worked out the structure of the wood in a very three-dimensional way and it therefore looks extremely lively. The organ, built by the Heinrich Schlag organ building company and restored in 1993, is, like the whole building, a listed building.
Jehovah's Witnesses Am Seegraben 13, OT Groß Gaglow	after 1990	This low-rise building is a so-called Kingdom Hall, which is furnished in a simple and functional manner.

Destroyed

Name / location	Built	description	image
Old Synagogue (Jewish community), today's Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 132	1901/02	The Jewish religious building was built by the company Hermann Pabel & Co. in neo-Romanesque brick construction. The three entrances to the synagogue were located on the front under a huge tracery rosette. In the main room, under the high dome, there was space for 200 worshipers and in the two side galleries reserved for women, around 140 parishioners. The synagogue was destroyed during the Reichspogromnacht in 1938 and the ruins later removed. A department store was built on the site from 1966–68. On its west side there has been a memorial plaque since 1988, which was renewed in 1998. In 1998 the Cottbus Jewish Community was re-established as a non-profit, registered association. In order to get its own house of worship, the Jewish community is currently negotiating the purchase of the castle church.

Church buildings in the villages incorporated from 1993

Name / location	Built	description	image
Branitz parish hall An der Aue 13, OT Branitz	1963	Until 1962 Branitz belonged to the monastery church community and did not have its own parish hall; Services took place in the Friedenseiche restaurant. After that, the large community was split up and the village of Branitz, together with Merzdorf and Dissenchen, formed the parish of Cottbus-Land-Ost. By amalgamating the parishes, it has been a branch parish of the Protestant parish of St. Nikolai since 1998. Since the desire arose to meet in a separate room for church events, the community acquired a plot of land in the village in 1960. Initially, a discarded railway wagon procured in 1962 served as the provisional community space, which was incorporated into an extension in 1963, i.e. that is, it was walled in and integrated into a chapel with a flat roof. In 1966 a community room was added, so that the wagon can hardly be recognized as such today. In 2007 the free-standing belfry with the bell of the former Bodelschwingh parish hall, made possible by a donation campaign and voluntary construction work, was inaugurated. This was followed by further construction work: a new paint job, the roof renovation, renovation of the outbuilding, road construction and the installation of a new heating system. The church interior is simple and functional.
Church in Dissenchen Dissenchener Hauptstrasse, OT Dissenchen	1956/57	In order to get their own church, the Dissenchener converted a former house with stables into a church. A fundamental renovation was carried out between 1988 and 1990, with the altar and pulpit also being rebuilt; they are made of brick. At the top of the high gable, which ends with a two-meter-high cast-iron cross, is the bell, which is rung with a rope that comes out of the wall opposite the altar. With its small windows, the church interior is somewhat reminiscent of the interior of a ship. The crucifix on the altar is a colored mosaic work set in steel. On the wall behind the altar is a sketch-like representation of the Good Shepherd, which a Dissenchen blacksmith made from steel strip. The copper baptismal bowl, which almost resembles a children's bathtub in shape, also comes from his workshop. The bowl rests on a tripod made of curved square steel profiles, and the wire cross braces attached to it suggest waves.
Döbbricker Dorfkirche (Protestant) Döbbricker Dorfstraße, OT Döbbrick	1911	The believers from Döbbrick, Skadow and Willmersdorf had to go to the cloister church in Cottbus until the beginning of the 20th century in order to be able to take part in church services or confirmation classes. As early as the 19th century, several places tried to have their own church. Döbbrick prevailed because the citizens provided suitable land free of charge. The design for the church with the eye-catching volute gable on the north facade, where the entrance portal is also located, was provided by the Berlin architects Mäckelt and Witt. It was built in the New Rococo style and a wooden bell tower rises on its roof. The white highlighted volutes, window frames and building edges create a striking contrast to the carmine-red plaster of the building. The ornate wooden clock face of the tower clock is also a rarity. The church was spared war damage in its history, only its big bell was melted down twice for armor. In 1999/2000 the outer facade, the tower and the tower clock were restored and in 2009 the tower was reinforced and a new second bell was installed. Fritz Langer from Stargard created the original baroque interior. The various flower and tendril motifs of the wall, bench, gallery and ceiling paintings shine in blue, red and yellow ocher. On the wall of the organ loft, directly above the entrance, there is a psalm word in Lower Sorbian, which translates as "I want to sing of the grace of the Lord forever and proclaim his truth with my mouth for and for". In 1997 the richly decorated organ was completely overhauled. A special feature is the colorfully designed pulpit altar framed by two columns in the apse - in this case the pulpit is placed vertically above the altar; it forms a unity with him. It symbolizes the equality of sermon and Lord's Supper. Behind the altar is the sacristy, which has its own exit. Next to him are the two hot air ovens, which are still fired by hand with wood and briquettes three hours before the service. The historic chandelier with 16 candles hangs from the ceiling, all of which had to be lit individually before the mass until 1924; then the church got a power connection and thus also electric light. The congregation still has a treasure, a Bible from 1898. It was given to it by Empress Auguste Viktoria, the wife of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and has a handwritten dedication. However, this valuable Bible is not kept in the church for security reasons.
Döbbricker Petruskirche (Evangelical-Lutheran SELK ) Döbbricker Dorfstr. 20, OT Döbbrick	1878	Since they were forbidden to continue using the burial chapel in the Ostrow district of Cottbus as a place of worship, the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation (SELK) bought the Döbbrick tavern and dance hall, which was under compulsory administration. The dance hall was transformed into a worship room. In 1873 a free-standing wooden bell tower was added to the building. The casting of the bell was made possible by a donation of five hundredweight gun bronze from Kaiser Wilhelm I. It bears the slogan “Fear God; Honor the King ”in Lower Sorbian. When more and more fundamental structural damage became apparent, the community decided in 1878 to rebuild the church. In 2002 the house was renovated, in which the character of the church as an old building was retained. The plaster was removed from the side walls so that the bricks, which were not originally intended as fair-faced masonry, are visible in all their flaws and inaccuracies. They are intended to symbolize the biblical statement that God builds his church with faulty, sinful people. In order to get an open and inviting impression of the church, the windows on the south side were extended to doors. Furthermore, a group room and various guest rooms with corresponding sanitary rooms were built in the top floor of the church; A solar system was installed on the roof. The altar, pulpit, baptismal font, cross and candle holder are made from the wood of the old roof beams. The outer structure of the wood was not significantly changed or refined, so that you can see the traces of processing from then and also damage and cracks that have occurred in the meantime. This symbolizes another theological statement: "God shapes people - as they are: faulty and imperfect - and takes them into his service." The Evangelical Lutheran Petrus Congregation Döbbrick forms a joint parish with the Evangelical Lutheran Kreuzgemeinde Cottbus.
Groß Gaglower Dorfkirche Dorfstrasse 30, OT Groß Gaglow	1891	The neo-Romanesque brick church was built in place of a previous building, a small half-timbered church from 1688, which had to be demolished due to dilapidation. It was designed by the Cottbus building councilor Beutler. The walls of the defiant-looking church are structured by pillars and sparingly decorated with friezes and cornices. Two crosses cut into the masonry flank the large arched window in the apse. The more ornate tower has a rhombic roof with gargoyles and round windows in the triangular gables. The church was badly affected by a shell hit in World War II; the damage could only be repaired gradually. Numerous construction works have taken place since 1986. In 1990 the tower hood was given a new roof. The largest renovation took place between 2004 and 2005, during which the roof, roof structure, the suspended wooden ceiling and the galleries were renovated. In addition, the entire interior was restored, the organ and fittings were cleaned and parts of the original painting were exposed. Inside, the large apse with cross vault and the free-standing, carved wooden pulpit are striking. The again visible, circumferential tape bears the inscription: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth and a pleasure to men". A daytime sky is depicted in the cross vault, which is supposed to symbolize hope. The church interior is also characterized by the horseshoe gallery and the open roof structure, the rafters and beams of which are visible. The largest work of art in the church is the wooden epitaph for WFvd Heyde († 1742).
Kahren village church Kirchstrasse 1, OT Kahren	15th century	At this point, a previous building is mentioned for the first time in 1346, which had the dimensions of the current tower. Two phases of construction can be recognized on today's late Gothic church, consecrated to "John the Baptist". The original building was, like the previous building, mainly made of coarse field and lawn iron stones. Construction began with the wide tower front, which was presumably built narrower towards the top for economic or stylistic reasons. There is evidence that construction of the tower began as early as the 14th century. A tower spire with a surrounding crenellated crown forms the top of the tower. Between 1706 and 1708, in the second construction phase, a polygonal choir was added, the nave walls were raised and the windows were enlarged to their present shape. This work was carried out in brick masonry. The richly decorated, baroque pulpit and the western gallery, painted with verses from the Bible, also date from this period. In order to illuminate the two galleries, the two oval windows were broken into the tower front in the 18th century and the church received three extensions. Today only the northern building, used as a sacristy, is preserved; the two southern crypt extensions were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 19th century, the symmetrical extensions made of half-timbered or brick, in which there are staircases to the galleries, and the church received an east gallery. The tombstone of the first Protestant pastor J. Richter († 1647) and various epitaphs by von Pannwitz are embedded in the south wall of the building. The wooden altarpiece, designed in the Renaissance style, dates from the 16th century; on it the sacrifice of Isaac is shown as the main picture, and on the tablets below the Lord's Supper and the adoration of the shepherds are shown. The altar crucifix dates from 1791. The church is also equipped with a floating baptismal angel. It was created around 1706 together with the baroque pulpit, the fields of which show the Salvator, the four evangelists and the donor coats of arms, probably in the Muskau carving workshop " Thirty Marks ". Because the mechanism for lowering the 1.50 meter tall angel is no longer intact, today only the detached brass bowl is used for baptism. It bears the coat of arms of the Alliance of Pannwitz and von Lüderitz. The 15th century, Johanness bowl with head commemorates the consecration of the church.
Merzdorfer Church Merzdorfer Hauptstr. 15, OT Merzdorf	1950/51	The regional church community (LKG) built this chapel on a piece of land that it had been given as a gift before the Second World War. The papers needed for this were organized by a member of the community who worked in the administration. The building was the result of collective work, bricklayers resident in the village erected the building, the preacher's family did the legwork and the village women prepared meals from the food they could spare. A simple community hall was created with space for 100 people. A member of the LKG from Drehnow made the altar and pulpit in his carpentry shop. When the outer skin was renovated, the chapel was given a lantern-like structure. The regional church community has not held any events since 1998, instead the parish of St. Nikolai Cottbus is a guest there and celebrates 14-day services with the help of community members.
Sielower village church Sielower Chaussee 87, OT Sielow	1906	Today's church had a number of previous buildings. The first church on this site, built between 1470 and 1480, was destroyed by arson during the Thirty Years War in 1634. In 1668 the Sielower built a second church. When this became dilapidated, the community decided, as it was relatively wealthy, for a new building, although the consistory gave preference to renovating the building. It was demolished and rebuilt in 1752–54. On June 23, 1892, lightning struck the church tower and severely damaged the nave. This put the parish and its higher-level organs before the question of whether they should build an additional building or a new one. After several years of negotiations, the decision to build a new building was made. The plastered building with a cross-shaped floor plan comes from a design by the Prussian Ministry of Culture and its exterior is based on the Baroque. The church tower was destroyed in the Second World War and only rebuilt in 1956. With the renovation in 1981, community rooms were created and in 1999 the outer shell was renovated. The interior of the church appears bright and friendly; the ceiling and wall paintings shine in a soft blue after their renovation in 2004. The baroque altar with its wooden top, which is of high artistic quality, and the richly decorated pulpit date from around 1600. The valuable altarpiece, a little more than a meter high and carved from limewood, was probably made by a student of Tilman Riemenschneider second third of the 15th century. It most likely shows the dying Mary Magdalene who is carried up by seven angels in penitential garb; that it is a representation of Maria Ägyptica, a hermit converted to Christianity, is rather unlikely. The altarpiece was already in the first Sielow church and miraculously survived the fire. In the second Sielow church building, it was supplemented by the baroque frame that still exists today. The apostles Peter and Paul are depicted in the side niches of the altar, while the rest of the essay shows a painting of the Last Supper. It is also equipped with fittings and side-adjusting columns. The organ was created by Friedrich Ernst Gustav Heinze from Sorau; it was completely overhauled in 2005.
Willmersdorfer Dorfkirche Dorfstraße / corner Friedhofsweg, OT Willmersdorf	1937/38	Willmersdorf belonged to the cloister parish of Cottbus until 1962, then the parishes of Willmersdorf, Döbbrick, Maiberg and Skadow were spun off, which now formed an independent parish. In 1998, as part of the structural reform, they were reassigned to the monastery parish. The striking clinker church was designed by the Cottbus architect Hans Palm. It essentially has characteristics of the homeland security architecture; The entrance door, window frame and the bent roof shape show the influence of the architect by Expressionism. The building is the only church of this architectural trend in the Cottbus area. The nave walls with their high stained glass windows and protruding clinker strips are reminiscent of those of the Zinzendorf Church, whose architect is also Hans Palm. In front of the north facade, a five-storey tower flanked by two two-storey extensions was set up, which is topped off by a retracted pyramid helmet. The upper floors of these extensions are built as half-timbered buildings with brick infills. The church bells come from Apolda; the largest of them bears the inscription: “Jesus Christ yesterday and today and the same also for ever”. A comprehensive renovation of the church took place from 1992 to 1996; the tower has been covered with copper since 1993. The barrel vaulted interior appears high and bright; the space under the gallery is separated from the main nave by blinds and is used as a classroom and as a winter church. The organ gallery on the north wall is decorated with verses from the Bible and floral motifs; the apse is framed by a discreet ribbon, and to the left of it there is also a Bible verse on the wall. In the apse, above the carved crucifix, there is a round stained glass window depicting a sower as a shining eye-catcher.

literature

• Irmgard Ackermann, Marcus Cante, Antje Mues: Monuments in Brandenburg. Volume 2.1, Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, 2001, ISBN 3-88462-176-9 . (Monastery Church, Upper Church, Castle Church, Christ Church, St. Maria Queen of Peace, Catholic Apostolic Congregation, Regional Church Community Cottbus e.V.)
• Evangelical Church District Cottbus (Ed.): Churches in and around Cottbus. 1995. (Philipp Melanchthon parish hall, Bodelschwingh parish hall, Evangelical Free Church Community, Evangelical Methodist Church, churches in the incorporated villages).
• City administration Cottbus, press office; Historic Heimatverein Cottbus (Ed.): Cottbuser Heimatkalender 2004. (Kreuzkirche).
• City administration Cottbus, press office; Historischer Heimatverein Cottbus (Hrsg.): Cottbuser Heimatkalender 2005. (Edith Stein).
• City administration Cottbus, press office; Historic Heimatverein Cottbus (Ed.): Cottbuser Heimatkalender 2009. (St. Maria Friedenskönigin).
• City of Cottbus; Wendisches Museum (ed.): Medieval village churches - sacred architecture in the area around Cottbus / Chośebuz. 2000 (Martinskirche, Johanneskirche).
• City Museum Cottbus in the authorship of the Sorbian Institute / Cottbus branch (ed.): The Wendish Cottbus - Serbski Chóśebus. (= Cottbus leaves). Regia Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-86929-093-5 .
• City history collections in collaboration with the Ströbitzer Bürgererverein e. V. and the BVB-Verlagsgesellschaft (ed.): Stadtchronik. (= Cottbus leaves). Regia Verlag, 2003, ISBN 3-936092-98-2 .
• Bürgererverein Sielow e. V. (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the anniversary 700 years Sielow 1300–2000. Schiemenz printing works (Sielow village church).
• Wolfgang Bernhardt: Chronicle of the community Kahren. Self-published, 1991.
• Evangelical Church District (Hrsg.): Evangelical Churches between Spree and Neisse. Verlag Reinhard Semmler, 2006, ISBN 3-935826-68-0 .
• Branitz Citizens' Association V. (Ed.): Branitz: History and stories. Regia Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-86929-024-9 .
• City of Cottbus, local advisory board of the Willmersdorf district (ed.): Willmersdorf / Rogozno through the centuries 1449–1999, local chronicle and commemorative publication for the 550th anniversary celebration.

Web links

Commons : Church building in Cottbus  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christina Dirlich: Jesus suffers from the tree of life. (No longer available online.) In: Lausitzer Rundschau . August 14, 2008, archived from the original on June 24, 2016 ; Retrieved June 17, 2016 . 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.  
2. ^ The Luther Church in Cottbus. In: Flafs Free Drawing. August 8, 2011, accessed June 17, 2016 . 
3. ↑ martinskirche-cottbus.de
4. ↑ Upper Church of St. Nikolai. (No longer available online.) In: kirchengucker.de. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016 ; Retrieved June 17, 2016 . 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.  
5. ↑ Julia Haak: Cottbus: The church is now becoming a synagogue. In: Berliner Zeitung . September 18, 2014, accessed June 17, 2016 . 
6. ↑ General description of the church [St. Maria Friedenskönigin] ( Memento from February 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Catholic Church in Cottbus.
7. ↑ adventgemeinde-cottbus.de
8. ^ The Altapostolische Kirche (Germany) e. V. In: religions-info.de. Retrieved June 17, 2016 . 
9. ↑ gottesdienstundmehr.de
10. ↑ efg-cottbus.de
11. ↑ haltestelle-cottbus.de
12. ↑ stmichael-online.de
13. ↑ cottbus-emk.de
14. ↑ About us. Free Christian Congregation Sachsendorf, accessed on June 17, 2016 . 
15. ↑ State Church Community Cottbus
16. ↑ selk-cottbus.de
17. ↑ jehovaszeugen.de
18. ^ Jewish places in Cottbus. Jewish Community Cottbus, accessed on June 17, 2016 . 
19. ↑ juedische-gemeinde-cottbus.de
20. ↑ Peggy Kompalla: Cottbuser Oberkirchen-Saal receives the name of a former community. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. August 10, 2010, accessed June 17, 2016 . 
21. ↑ St. Nikolai sells parish hall in Sandow. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. April 4, 2006, accessed June 17, 2016 . 
22. ↑ The Evangelical Monastery Church Community Cottbus. In: klosterkirchengemeinde.de. Retrieved June 17, 2016 . 
23. ↑ Ronald Ufer: Proud of the village church on the Anger. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. November 3, 2011, accessed June 17, 2016 . 
24. ↑ Katharina Kaufmann: A lot is manual work in the Döbbrick church. (No longer available online.) In: Lausitzer Rundschau. August 15, 2008, archived from the original on June 25, 2016 ; Retrieved June 17, 2016 . 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.  
25. ↑ Merzdorf chapel outside town. Regional Church Community Cottbus, accessed on June 17, 2016 . 
26. ↑ st-nikolai-cottbus.de
27. ↑ Ulrike Elsner: Sielower Altar probably by Riemenschneider's pupil. In: Lausitzer Rundschau. December 29, 2005, accessed June 17, 2016 .