St. Thomas, Strasbourg
The Lutheran St. Thomas Church ( Église Saint -Thomas ) is one of the most culturally and historically and architecturally significant churches of Strasbourg. Since then, the Strasbourg cathedral in 1681 had to be returned by the French Catholics after the occupation of Strasbourg, the Thomas Church is the main church of the Lutheran entire region, the Church of the of Alsace and Lorraine. The church is also famous for its organ by Johann Andreas Silbermann from 1741.
History
Already in the 6th century, the apostle Thomas was worshiped at its present location. In the 9th century bishop Adeloch had built a magnificent new church building, including adjacent school. Both burned from a lightning strike in 1007, then again 1144. Began in 1196 from the facade to the building of a new, massive fortress-like building with massive gate tower in the late Romanesque style. Around 1270 /80 of the choir and the transept arose with the crossing tower in Gothic style. This was followed by the construction of the nave hall church as up to about 1330. The construction works ended 1521 with side chapels in the style of late Gothic. 1524, the church was the Lutheran faith assigned ( Martin Bucer served here as a pastor ), she was able to maintain this status despite the annexation of Alsace in Catholic France. Today she manages a number of primary and secondary schools ( École Saint -Thomas, Foyer Jean storm ... ) as well as housed in the adjacent Baroque building Séminaire protestant.
The Thomas Church played a crucial role in the older liturgical movement as the place where Friedrich Spitta in 1888 tested new forms of worship and the Academic choir called into life. After 1893 came Julius Smend added as a regular preacher. 1894-1899 here the song book for Alsace-Lorraine has been developed.
On 7 May 2006, the establishment of the Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine was celebrated at St. Thomas Church.
Architecture
The Thomas Church is a five-aisled hall church, the oldest building of its kind at that time, southwest German territory. The interior length is about 65 meters, the internal height about 22 meters ( about 30 feet below the late Gothic cupola ), the interior width is approximately 30 meters. On the side of the left outer aisle galleries are attached. Right and left of the apse are separated, late Gothic chapels.
Equipment
Tombs
In the church there are several grave monuments from the period 1130 to 1850, including two works by Landolin impotence. Most famous are the richly decorated Romanesque sarcophagus ( 1130) of Bishop Adeloch and the huge late Baroque Mausoleum (1777 ) Marshal Hermann Moritz of Saxony, a work of the Parisian sculptor Jean -Baptiste Pigalle. The Marshal was not allowed to be buried in the French capital because of its Lutheran faith. Among the many other interesting monuments, the renaissance grave plate (1510 ) of Nicholas Roeder animal mountain falls on showing his rotting corpse in a realistic way. Roeder had the life-size sculptures of Olives Group ( 1498) founded that today stands in the south transept of Strasbourg Cathedral.
Frescoes
A late Gothic representation of St. Michael's in the right nave belongs to that of St. Christopher in Wissembourg the largest of its kind in France.
Glass window
Of the medieval stained glass windows, only the multiply restored rose window of the facade in all its fields is obtained. Of the large nave windows only the upper part is seen, which is architectural and floral motifs to elaborate manner. Of formerly including depictions of saints were destroyed by Protestant iconoclasts in the 16th century. The chancel windows are of contemporary style.
Organs
The church is known internationally for its historically and musically significant organs: The 1979 by Alfred Kern restored in approximation to the original Silbermann organ from 1741, on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played in 1778; and in 1905, the organ builder Fritz Haerpfer planned by Albert Schweitzer made and in 1906 built the choir organ. The Silbermann organ now has 38 registers on three manuals and pedal.
Disposition of the main organ
- Couplers: I / II, III / II, II / P III / P
Disposition of the choir organ
- Couplers: II / I, I / P, II / P
Bells
Four new bells cast the bell foundry Bachert from Karlsruhe. The bells were cast on 29 May 2009 and inaugurated on 6 September 2009. They complement the historic 1783 vice cast large bell that rings only on exceptional occasions as well as the smaller Lord's Prayer - bell from the year 1810; both works the Strasbourg bell foundry precious.
Since the Middle Ages, it is tradition that the bells of St. Thomas Church always five minutes before those of the cathedral ring to it to be neither drown nor drowned by this. The new bells were tuned for this reason also almost on the bells of the cathedral, " to avoid religious wars. "