Lutherkirche, Wiesbaden
Lutherkirche | ||
---|---|---|
Year consecrated 1911 | | |
Location | ||
Location | Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany | |
Geographic coordinates | 50°4′13″N 8°14′16″E / 50.07028°N 8.23778°E | |
Architecture | ||
Architect(s) | Friedrich Pützer | |
Style | ||
Specifications | ||
Direction of façade | west | |
Height (max) | 35–40 m | |
Materials | brick | |
Website | ||
lutherkirche-wiesbaden |
The Lutherkirche (Luther Church) is one of four main
History
By 1903, population growth in Wiesbaden necessitated the building of a fourth Protestant church. The city already had three: the
The jury ruled:
- The ground plan of this design is innovative, and promises to create an exceptionally beautiful interior, plus in all probability good acoustics as well. The exterior has an original and appealing appearance and can be even further adapted with minimal changes to the local architectural style, as has by chance already been seen. In particular, the spires need an alteration, which will anyway occur, as necessary, during further elaboration of the design (…) The design achieves an impressive architectural effect by comparatively simple means, and can be regarded as a significant step forward on the path to advancing Protestant church architecture.[2][3]
Construction was originally scheduled to begin in July 1907, but was somewhat delayed. Earth was broken on 28 August 1908, a stone-laying ceremony took place on 1 November 1908,[4] and the Lutherkirche was inaugurated on 8 January 1911.[5] The roof of the building was damaged during World War II. Postwar, the colourful interior wallpaintings were covered by whitewash.[1] In the 1980s the walls were restored using the original plans,[5] and the restoration of the church was completed in 1992.[2] The building is of national importance as an example of Jugendstil.[6]
Architecture
Exterior
The Lutherkirche is located off the Gutenbergplatz, right on the Ringstraße. It is built in Jugendstil and has a white plaster facade. The most notable features are the 50 m high tower and the expansive roof, 20 m high with a ridge rising to 37 m,[7] which is supported by a steel construction of a type that was unusual at the time.[8]
The
The Lutherkirche forms a unified architectural complex with the two parish houses (Mosbacher Straße 4 und Sartoriusstraße 14). Karl Dienst considered it "from the large-scale structure to the smallest detail … a harmoniously composed Gesamtkunstwerk of German Protestant culture." ("von der großen Form bis ins kleinste Detail … als ein harmonisch durchkomponiertes Gesamtkunstwerk des deutschen Kulturprotestantismus".[9]
Interior
The inner space of the Lutherkirche is decorated according to the rules of the Wiesbadener Programm, which says that the three parts of the church service – the altar (for the Eucharist), pulpit (for the sermon) and organ (for the music) – should be arranged next to each other in the centre and the participants in the service should be arranged around these three elements.[10][6]
The church has 1,200 seats, spanned by a
Organs and church music
The church has three organs. The organ firm Walcker completed an instrument with three manuals in 1911. It is placed behind the altar and regarded as part of the Gesamtkunstwerk, as envisioned in the Wiesbadener Programm.[10]
In the mid-1970s the Walcker organ was in such poor condition that a new organ was commissioned. The job of building a new organ in the gallery over the entrance went to Klais Orgelbau of Bonn.[10] The new organ was consecrated in 1979. It has three manuals (like the Walcker organ), over 44 registers, mechanical tracker key action and electrical stop action.[10]
In the 1980s, when the original Jugendstil interior decoration was being restored, it was decided to restore completely the old Walcker organ from 1911 as well. The preservation of the instrument has historical value, especially important as most Walcker organs in Frankfurt were destroyed in the war.[6] The German Republic and the State of Hesse helped fund the project, which was carried out from 1986 to 1987, by Klais.[10] The organ was reconsecrated in 1987.[12] It has 46 registers, with electrical key and stop action.[13] The historic Walcker organ has been used for recordings of music of the period, such as Martin Schmeding's recording of the organ works by Max Reger.[14]
There is also a positive organ near the altar to accompany the choir, built in 1984 by Thomas Jann (Regensburg) and equipped with 4½ organ stops.[10]
The church has a choir, the Bachchor Wiesbaden, a Kinder- und Jugend-Kantorei (children's and youth chorale) and a Posaunenchor.[5] Good acoustics and organs suiting all styles make the church a venue for church concerts, including a venue of the Rheingau Musik Festival which held in 2015 a concert with the Thomanerchor, conducted by Gotthold Schwarz,[15] and in 2022 a concert with that choir and its new conductor Andreas Reize.
References
- ^ a b c "Lutherkirche" (in German). Wiesbaden. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Lutherkirche, Wiesbaden". Rheingau Musik Festival. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ Cited on www.lutherkirche-wiesbaden.de
- ^ "Kirchenraum mit orientalischem Charme" (in German). FAZ. 5 August 2011. p. Seite 52.
- ^ a b c Bökenkötter, Heike (30 December 2010). "Kirchenraum mit orientalischem Charme" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ a b c "Orgel in der Evangelischen Lutherkirche Wiesbaden" (PDF) (in German). Denkmalpflege Hessen. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Geschichte" (in German). Lutherkirche, Wiesbaden. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Die Lutherkirche in Wiesbaden" (in German). orgel-information.de. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ Dienst, Karl (2003). "Kirchenraum mit orientalischem Charme" (PDF). Umbruch (in German). ekkw.de: 18. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Die Orgeln der Lutherkirche in Wiesbaden" (in German). orgel-information.de. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Künstlerischer Werdegang / Rudolf Linnemann" (in German). Linnemann-Archiv. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ Laudes organi: Festschrift und Programm zur Wiederindienststellung der restaurierten Walcker-Orgel (1911) in der Lutherkirche Wiesbaden : 22. bis 27. März 1987 (In German) (in German). A. Kummor. 1987. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Wiesbaden, Lutherkirche / Restaurierung der Walcker-Orgel von 1911" (in German). Klais Orgelbau. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ "Max Reger Edition – Sämtliche Orgelwerke Vol. 3 / Martin Schmeding" (in German). Cybele. 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ Zibulski, Axel (10 July 2015). "RMF: Leipziger Thomanerchor überzeugt in der Lutherkirche auch ohne Kantor" (in German). Wiesbadener Kurier. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
Further reading
- Baedeker, Karl (2001). Wiesbaden, Rheingau: Stadtführer. Ostfildern-Kemnat: Karl Baedeker GmbH. ISBN 978-3-87954-076-1.
External links
- Lutherkirche, Wiesbaden
- Bachchor Wiesbaden
- Gutachten / Zum Antrag der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden für die Aufnahme in die Unesco-Liste des Weltkulturerbes (in German) Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz
- Wiesbaden, Sartoriusstraße 16, Lutherkirche panoramio.com