UMGEBUNGSENTDECKER
TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS OF AN ART AND HISTORY LOVER
and my experiences as a teacher in China
Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel
Describe your image
Describe your image
CONTENTS
- About the Guelph treasure, the most expensive book in the world
- Where was Saxony in the past?
- The territory of the Guelphs (Bavaria and Saxony)
(Heinrich the Lion vs. Friedrich Barbarossa)
- Heinrich the Lion founds Lübeck, Munich and Schwerin
The Duchy of Brunswick- Lüneburg
- The Welfenschatz - an exciting story
- Herzog-August-Bibliothek - known to a few despite its importance
- Wolfenbüttel Castle, a wooden castle
The Welf Treasure,
the most expensive book in the world and
a library as part of the national cultural heritage
Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel had made me curious for a long time. Of course, I had heard of Heinrich the Lion, and that he was a Welfe and the founder of important German cities such as Munich and Lübeck, Wolfenbüttel was only known to me by name. Overall, that's not a lot.
In addition, my interest was spurred on by quite unexpected sources: When I flew to the USA at some point, a pretty nice and interesting woman was sitting next to me, we chatted cheerfully and she said that she was doing a research project on early Renaissance literature at the Duke's August Library in Wolfenbüttel. I asked her if she could speak German and she turned out to be a professor of German studies.
Die Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel
The Gospel Book of Heinrich the Lion, Duke August Library, Wolfenbüttel
The money for the purchase of the Gospel was raised by the states of Lower Saxony and Bavaria, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Federal Republic of Germany, which are the current owners. The book is kept in the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel. (If you want to know where and by whom the book was made, click here , you will come to Helmarshausen an der Diemel in Northern Hesse. There you can see the artist in the form of a bronze sculpture.)
The effort that went into acquiring this book - always with the aim of preserving cultural heritage - is interesting. Either it was a Guelph, King George V of Hanover, who bought it from the Prague Metropolitan Chapter in order to exhibit it in a Guelph museum in Dankwarderode Castle together with the Guelph Treasure in the 19th century, or it was the purchase from 1983 with the aim of Safeguarding national cultural heritage. Incidentally, who was the previous owner at the last Gospel auction is kept secret by Southeby's. The book was owned by the Guelphs until 1945. Who ultimately sold it is unknown.
Also quite unknown to me was the Welfenschatz, which is not just a treasure, but a political issue that would be worth mentioning at the moment, i.e. in February 2021. But beyond the corner of the feature pages of national newspapers or radio stations from Lower Saxony, nobody reports about it, although there is talk of a legal case between the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and American descendants of German-Jewish art dealers, which ended up before the US Supreme Court with at least a sum in dispute of 200 million euros, not to mention the cultural and historical value and the political dimension.
Anyway - it all sounds exciting and it was clear to me that I wanted to travel to the land of the Guelphs, to Lower Saxony.
Where was Saxony in the past?
Gustav Droysen: Holy Roman Empire around 1000, Duchy of Saxony , general
historical hand atlas, 1886, license: public domain
Old Saxony - tribal duchy of Saxony
Old Saxony is located in northern Germany and has nothing to do with today's state of Saxony in the southeast.
Around the year 1000, the northern border between Old Saxony and Jutland ran from the Schlei, where the town of Haithabu was once located, through what is now southern Schleswig to the mouth of the Eider on the North Sea. In the east the border ran along the Baltic Sea coast to the Kiel Fjord, from there it led south along the Limes Saxonicus until it met the Elbe east of Lüneburg in Wendland. From there followed the border of the Elbe up to the mouth of the Saale, which formed the southeastern border up to Naumburg and the mouth of the Unstrut. From there the lower reaches of the Unstrut forms the border until it continued north of Thuringia to today's Hannoversch Münden, where the Werra and Fulda become the Weser. From there it went north along Hessen. Kassel, the Eder and Fritzlar are located a little south of the former border, which then dipped into today's North Rhine-Westphalia, led across the Hochsauerland roughly to Schmallenberg and Attendorn, and then to the north along roughly today's Lüdenscheid and Hagen. Today's Siegerland did not belong to Old Saxony. The border never touched the Rhine. Further north it ran east of Arnhem northwards, further west of the Ems and then led up to the North Sea. East Frisia, the territory of the Frisians, did not belong to the area of Old Saxony. From the mouth of the Weser, the North Sea coast formed the border up to the mouth of the Eider in the North Sea.
The territory of the Guelphs
For readers who are not interested in historical details, here is the condensed quick guide:
The dynasty of the Guelphs was represented in three places in the Holy Roman Empire: It all started with the older line in the 9th century in the Moselle-Franconian area, later followed in the 11th century by the younger line, the most important areas of which were Saxony and Bavaria. Heinrich the Lion's great-grandfather was Duke of Bavaria. His son, Heinrich the Black, married to Saxony and in turn his son, Heinrich the Proud, the father of Heinrich the Lion, was thus Duke of Bavaria and Saxony.
From Droysen / Andrée; Th. Lindner rev. - Inset from plate 26/27 of Professor G. Droysens Allgemeiner Historischer Handatlas, published by R. Andrée, 1886, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17094966
Henry the Lion
as city founder and builder
Henry the Lion was an important ruler and the house of the Guelphs is one of the oldest noble families in Europe that still exists today. As Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, he founded the cities of Lübeck, Munich and Schwerin, he designed his residential city of Braunschweig by building the Dankwarderode Castle and the collegiate church of St. Blasii, he was also the builder of the cathedrals of Ratzeburg, Schwerin and Lübeck and he was the client for the precious gospel book named after him mentioned above.
St. Blasii Cathedral
Brunswick Lion in front of the Ratzeburg Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral
The quarrel between Guelphs and Staufers,
Heinrich the Lion versus Friedrich Barbarossa,
In the 12th century there was a power struggle in the Holy Roman Empire between the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
The Hohenstaufen come from the southwest of the Holy Roman Empire, so they were Swabians.
The power of the Guelphs had grown over time with the size of their territory so that they ruled like kings and because of their size they ultimately coveted the royal crown of Germany and thus the imperial title over the Holy Roman Empire.
But the Hohenstaufen also wanted the crown. Their power lay in the fact that they were closely related to the Salian dynasty - the imperial family. When the last Salian emperor died, the Hohenstaufen thought it was their turn.
The two most important opponents from the respective houses were the Guelph Heinrich the Lion and the Staufer Emperor Friedrich I, known as Barbarossa.
In the dispute over supremacy in the Holy Roman Empire, not only the Hohenstaufen but also smaller princes in the empire had little interest in a superior power of the Welfs and since there was an elective monarchy in the empire and the succession to the throne in German lands was not regulated by inheritance law such matters are usually dictated by tactics.
The Hohenstaufen finally won this dispute, but not through wars and battles, but because the imperial fiefs of Saxony and Bavaria were revoked from the Guelphs.
Baiern went to the Wittelsbachers in 1180, who ruled the state until 1918, Saxony was divided up in 1180, the western part (Westphalia) went to Kurköln, the eastern part later became part of Anhalt and Brandenburg.
The imperial ban was imposed on Heinrich the Lion as it had been before on his father Heinrich the Proud. Heinrich spent the period of imperial ban in England with his father-in-law, the King of England. He later returned and spent the rest of his life on the remaining territory of the Guelphs, which they owned by inheritance from Wulfhild von Sachsen - the areas around Braunschweig, Lüneburg and Wolfenbüttel.
The Guelphs' territory was extremely reduced and their power has been significantly reduced since then.
It is almost astonishing that Henry the Lion is so present in historical consciousness, because basically he has lost quite a lot. But the dispute with the Hohenstaufen as well as his achievements as city founder, builder and patron of the arts are probably remembered.
Tribal Duchy of Saxony before it was broken up in 1180 . Orange is the property of Henry the Lion , which in 1235 formed the basis of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg.
From scanned and slightly edited (superfluous text removed) by commander-pirx - (editor and publisher) Eduard Rothert: Maps in maps and sketches from the development of the larger German states, Volume VI of the & quot; Historischen Kartenwerkes & quot ;, part a) North and Central Germany, Düsseldorf 1902 ,, PD-alt-100, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6471332
It is almost surprising that Henry the Lion is so present in the historical consciousness, because basically he could not assert himself and lost quite a lot. But the dispute with the Staufers and his achievements as a city founder, builder and patron of the arts are probably the reasons why he has remained one of the better-known figures in German history to this day.
The rest of the Guelph property:
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Welfisch-Staufische dispute was settled when Otto the Child, a grandson of Henry the Lion, was enfeoffed with the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in 1235.
The double name of the duchy came about through the two castles in Braunschweig and Lüneburg including the associated rights. Under Otto's sons Albrecht and Johann, the duchy of Lüneburg and Braunschweig was divided in 1269. Nevertheless, the double name Braunschweig-Lüneburg was retained in Lüneburg, as Dankwarderode Castle had been assigned to both brothers and the ducal dignity was associated with Braunschweig Castle.
The following history of the duchy is marked by divisions and mergers.
T he Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
In the 15th century, the Brunswick Line moved the residence to Wolfenbüttel, as tensions in the city between the dukes and the city population grew. The Brunswick line lost its old residence and was named after the new residence city: Wolfenbüttel. In the Thirty Years' War the old Brunswick line died out and was continued by Duke August von Lüneburg-Danneberg, who founded the new Brunswick line. Under him, Wolfenbüttel reached its peak and he set up the Herzog-August-Bibliothek, which was the largest of its kind in Europe at the time.
Braunschweig had been independent since the departure of the Brunswick dukes, but in 1671 the Guelph rulers managed to recapture the city with a united army, which was a great success and a long-cherished dream of the Guelphs, as the ducal dignity was attached to the castle and Braunschweig was a place of identification for the dynasty .
The Brunswick line then moved back to Dankwarderode Castle, which meant considerable bloodletting for Wolfenbüttel, because many of Wolfenbüttel's residents moved with them to the new royal seat, so that Wolfenbüttel's population fell from 12,000 to 7,000.
If you want to go directly to Wolfenbüttel, click here, otherwise it goes first to today's city of Braunschweig.
Braunschweig
So far there has been a lot of history, a lot of dynasty, but where do you start when you want to explore the city?
Preferably on Burgplatz, because it is the secular and spiritual center of the city.
The Burgplatz
The Brunswick Lion
In the middle of the square there is a bronze sculpture on a pedestal depicting a lion that bears a certain resemblance to the she-wolf in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, who suckles Romulus and Remus. In fact, there are similarities: Both sculptures are made of bronze.
It can be assumed that Henry the Lion saw the Roman she-wolf during one of his Italian campaigns that he undertook with Emperor Barbarossa.
Lions stand for power, Rome stands for imperial claims. Heinrich probably chose this animal and had it cast in bronze because he wanted to demonstrate his claim to power over the Staufer emperor Barbarossa.
The lion was created in the second half of the 12th century, he is 880 kilos, 1.75 high and 2.79 long.
Interestingly, the sculpture stood on Burgplatz in Braunschweig as an original sculpture from the 12th century until the 1980s.
It was only removed during World War II. But not immediately, but only from 1943. Until then, it stood completely unprotected in the city, which was a preferred target of the Allies because of its armaments industry, so that over 40 air raids were carried out on Braunschweig.
After all, the lion was dismantled and hidden for the rest of the war in the Rammelsberg mine in Goslar (which, by the way, is now a World Heritage Site), where it survived the war walled up in a remote tunnel. Actually, it was not supposed to be brought to Goslar, but to Silesia. There it would have fallen into the hands of the Red Army in 1945. Then it would surely be in Moscow today, because the Soviets had brought all the art treasures they could get in Germany to the major museums in Moscow and Leningrad. At the beginning of the 1950s they returned a number of these looted treasures to the socialist brother state GDR, including the collection of the National Gallery in Berlin, the Picture Gallery in Dresden, the Pergamon Altar, etc. Art treasures that came from museums in the western territories of Germany and during the war were hidden in eastern territory, as it almost happened to the Brunswick Lion, were kept in Moscow.
By the way, exactly this fate happened to some other art treasures, including the "Treasure of Priam" from ancient Troy and the "Treasure of the Merovingians", both of which were exhibited in Berlin in the Museum of Ethnology on the site of the former West Berlin and therefore when western territory had not got these treasures back.
The Brunswick Lion returned to the city after the war and, as I said, was not replaced until late. The original is now located next door in Dankwardsrode Castle. Incidentally, the mine in Goslar not only housed the lion, but also the seven-armed candlestick and the Imervard cross from the cathedral
There are several replicas of the lion nowadays. A lion stands in front of the Ratzeburg Cathedral, one in front of the Kaiserpfalz in Goslar, one in front of the Schwerin Cathedral, one in Harvard in the USA, one in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and some were destroyed in the war like the lion in front of the cathedral in Lübeck.
Interestingly, there are various Braunschweig Lions in the Anglo-Saxon world, but the connections between the Saxons and the British are obvious: Anglo-Saxons, House of Hanover, and today's successors of the Guelphs such as Ernst August von Hanover and his son are not only German citizens, but also Austrian and British.
Dankwarderode Castle
Dankwarderode Castle is located on the east side of the square, in the middle of the city, which you might not immediately associate with the name "Castle". It looks like a Palatinate and in fact the Imperial Palatinate of Goslar was the model, which Heinrich the Lion wanted to express his claim to power. (If you want to know what the Kaiserpfalz in Goslar looks like, click here .)
Today you can only see the palas of the former castle on Burgplatz. In the 13th century it burned down as part of a city fire, during the Renaissance it was rebuilt. During the Renaissance, at the beginning of the 17th century, Duke August moved his residence to Wolfenbüttel, and the castle fell into disrepair. Parts of the castle were demolished so that not much was left besides the main hall.
It was not until the 19th century, the century of the Middle Ages cult, that the castle was reconstructed as a neo-Romanesque building, which, after extensive research, is based on the castle of Henry the Lion.
Dankwarderode Castle on Burgplatz
Dankwarderode Castle is on the eastern side of the square, in the middle of the city. It looks like a Palatinate and in fact the Imperial Palace of Goslar was the model that Heinrich the Lion wanted to use to express his claim to power. (If you want to know what the Kaiserpfalz in Goslar looks like, clickhere.)
Today you can only see the Palas of the former castle on the Burgplatz. In the 13th century it burned down during a town fire, it was rebuilt during the Renaissance, at the beginning of the 17th century Duke August moved his residence to Wolfenbüttel and the castle fell into disrepair. Parts of the castle were demolished so that not much remained except the palace.
Only in the 19th century, the century of the medieval cult, was the castle reconstructed as a neo-Romanesque building, which, after extensive research, was based on the castle of Henry the Lion.
St. Blasii Cathedral
On the south side of the Burgplatz is the St. Blasii Cathedral, which Heinrich had built as a burial place for himself and his wife Mathilde of England.
St. Blasii Cathedral
The tomb is located inside the cathedral, on which you can see Heinrich and Mathilde as a stone sculpture while he is holding a model of the Brunswick cathedral in his hand. The sarcophagus is in the crypt, the burial place of the Brunswick Guelphs.
Tomb of Henry the Lion and his wife Mathilde of England in St. Blasii Cathedral
Crypt with the Guelph crypt
View of the apse in St. Blasii Cathedral
Apse and choir vault of St. Blasii Cathedral
North aisle St. Blasi i
The Welf Treasure
an exciting story
The Welfenschatz already mentioned above is one of the most important church treasures of the Middle Ages, consisting of works from the 11th to 15th centuries, it still includes 44 works from the former 82 and it was the treasure of the collegiate church of St. Blasii, which is located in the middle of Braunschweig on Burgplatz stands, the representation center of Henry the Lion. Its value is now estimated at 200 million euros. But the treasure is no longer there.
In 1929, Duke Ernst August von Braunschweig-Lüneburg sold the treasure because the Guelphs had lost their sources of income after the revolution of 1918 and they needed money. Negotiations about the sale to museums or the city of Hanover had previously failed because the financial situation was more than damp in these areas too.
Eventually the treasure went to a consortium of art dealers who
showed it in the cities of Frankfurt, Berlin and in the USA, not in the sense of a curatorial activity, but to sell it, which happened with 40 exhibits, i.e. about half. Most of the items sold today are in the Cleveland Museum in Ohio and the Art Institute of Chicago. (You can find a list of all parts of the treasure before 1929 as well as their current storage locations here.) The art dealers got into financial need as a result of the global economic crisis and in view of the increasingly threatening anti-Semitic climate in Germany, they sold the treasure in 1935 to the pro forma still existing state of Prussia . For the rulers of the Nazi dictatorship, this art purchase was an act with a high symbolic effect, since the treasure had now been "saved for the German homeland" after "wandering through the new world". The Second World War began, the treasure was relocated for protection, then confiscated by the Americans and later returned in trust, it went to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which first showed it in the Dankwarderode Castle in the center of Braunschweig, until it was resisted by the city of Braunschweig as well as the state of Lower Saxony was brought to Berlin, where it has since been shown in the Museum of Applied Arts.
Seven-armed candlestick and St. Mary's altar with virung and apse in the background
But the story does not end there, because the descendants of the Jewish art dealers want the treasure back because, they argue, it was a forced sale. So they went to the highest American court, the Supreme Court, which unanimously found on February 3, 2021 that this was a matter that cannot be decided by an American, but only by a German court. According to the current state of scientific research, there was no compulsion to sell the treasure and the purchase was properly carried out. Presumably the treasure will stay in Berlin in the future.
Braunschweig today
The city was badly hit during the war because it was a location for industry, armaments and research, so that large parts of it had completely disappeared after the war. During the reconstruction of the city, the concept was pursued to create so-called traditional islands, selective urban development, historically modeled ensembles that can give future generations an idea of the former city. This concept was discussed controversially, but in the end it works out, because in some squares and some streets you get an idea of what it once looked like, although some buildings are not in their original location but have been moved to their new location. The accusation of having designed an open-air museum became loud.
Braunschweiger Rathaus
Residential palace
The castle was so badly damaged during the war that reconstruction was rejected in the 1950s and it was torn down against the resistance of many Braunschweig residents. Behind the castle there was the castle park, which has since disappeared because a shopping center, the castle arcades, was built there. In 2007 the arcades were inaugurated. The facade of the residential palace was reconstructed, but it looks a bit lost today between the rest of the 1960s buildings.
wiederaufgebaute Fassade des Schlosses
Magniviertel
Mutter Habenicht, traditionelles Gasthaus
Typische Braunschweiger Spezialität: Kartoffelschnaps mit kleinem Kartoffelpuffer
Wolfenbüttel
There is a lot to see in Wolfenbüttel: On the one hand the castle , which is after all the second largest in Lower Saxony; the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel resided here. Then you should take a look at the Herzog-August-Bibliothek , which in its time was hailed as the eighth wonder of the world. Incidentally, none other than Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was the head of the library and wrote, among other things, his main work "Nathan the Wise" in Wolfenbüttel. Then there is the picturesque old town, which remained unscathed during the war with hundreds of half-timbered houses and two churches that should be particularly emphasized: The main church Beatae Mariae Virgines , the very first large Protestant building with the crypt of the dukes of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and also the conductor Praetorius is buried in the church. The second church is St. Trinitatis , which is considered to be one of the most important baroque buildings in Germany and from which you can read all the principles of Protestant sacred architecture.
Herzog-August-Bibliothek
Herzog-August Library
August the Younger (1579 - 1666), after whom the library is named, came from the Celle line of the Guelphs and actually had no chance at all to become ruler of a principality. But when the Brunswick line died out after the Thirty Years' War, there was an inheritance dispute that August won.
Even before that, when he lived modestly in Hitzacker on the Elbe, the well-traveled, educated and studied man collected books. In keeping with the spirit of his time, he collected the knowledge of the world, presumably in order to derive the claim to rule as a connoisseur and ruler of this world knowledge, as everyone did in the Renaissance. Some collected curiosities and scientific objects, naturalia, exotica etc. from the newly discovered continents, others collected world knowledge in books. The Renaissance was definitely the age when the passion for knowledge of the world was expressed in excessive collecting. But also the penetration of creation and the understanding of the work of God drove the princes in the Renaissance age. Whoever understands creation is almost godlike. Many great collections of our time have developed from this need to collect, or the collections formed the nucleus for later museums.
At first glance, the library doesn't look as solemn and overwhelming as, for example, the baroque monastery libraries in southern Germany such as St. Gallen or Admont or the Anna Amalia library in Weimar. It also looks quite modern in parts for a library that stores medieval treasures, especially because of its relatively new furniture from the 1970s. Almost all book spines are cream-colored, white, some brown or yellowed. In any case, the dominant tone on all shelves is white. The height of the books on each of the three floors is approximately the same. A dark ceiling rises above it and the books are illuminated indirectly, as if they had an illuminating power that brings light into the dark room.
August had already created a catalog in Hitzacker, a bike with six books that can be viewed in the library today.
Katalog der Bibliothek, angelegt von Herzog August
Lessing House
Wolfenbüttel Castle
Main church of Beatae Mariae Virginis
Gesetz-und-Gnade-Bild von Vredeman de Vries, Kirche Beatae Mariae Virginis, Wolfenbüttel
The above painting by Vredemann de Vries corresponds to the law-and-grace genre. This genre was often painted in the Cranach School and interpreted here in his own way by de Vries. It is a Reformation allegory that takes up Luther's idea that the faith of the individual alone leads to salvation.
Law and grace images are built up antithetically.
On the left side the law can be seen, embodied by Moses, who is holding the tablets of the law in his hand. The law determines who will ultimately be driven to hell and who will be redeemed. Asking and begging does not help, so most of the pictures depict sinful people in the Cranach style, as they are driven to hell by the devil and death. This was omitted in this picture, instead Moses holds a sword in his left hand that is used for judging. His gaze is directed at the picture viewer and can be interpreted as a warning, perhaps observing gaze. The sin on the left is represented by Eve, who tasted the apple from the tree of knowledge. She has attributes of the beings of darkness - horns, dragon wings. Her serpentine body winds around the cross.
The cross with Christ crucified divides the picture in half.
Jesus' gaze points to the right half of the picture, because grace is seen on the right. The human being, embodied here by the man kneeling in front of the cross, presumably Adam, although he is clothed, turns to Jesus and thereby experiences grace, no matter what sins he has committed. To the right of him is John the Baptist. He points to Jesus and holds the gospel in his hand.
Welfengruft in der Kirche Beatae Mariae Virginis
St. Trinity Church
St.-Trinitatis-Kirche, Wolfenbüttel
At first glance, the broad front of this church is noticeable, and that brings you to an essential point of Protestant church building.
While in the Middle Ages churches were designed as longitudinal structures, i.e. as basilica, in which one went through the long nave to the liturgical area, i.e. choir, altar, apse and a clear direction was given to the most important (e.g. Cologne Cathedral), is a Protestant church consistently designed differently.
The most important thing in the Roman Catholic Mass is the Eucharist, also known as the Last Supper or Holy Communion. This proclaims the salvation event of life and death and the resurrection of Christ. At the moment of the The Lord's Supper is Christ among the believers. This takes place on altar instead, which thus the Is the center of a Catholic church building. In addition, the Roman Catholic Church is hierarchically structured, which is expressed in the fact that the pastor is the central person in the worship service. His office is tied into an ecclesiastical order in which he stands between the bishop and the congregation. A longitudinal building best reflects a hierarchical order, the further east, the closer to the altar, the closer one is most important.
It is quite different in the Protestant Church the end. At the center of this belief is the Bible, that is, the word. Everything that was added in the course of church history and cannot be substantiated by the Bible is categorically rejected by the Evangelical Church. These include, for example, the saints in the Bible do not occur at all. For evangelicals, the only legitimate reference point is the Bible. The church as an institution is less important than the individual's commitment to his or her faith.
The Gospel of Matthew says, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them." This sentence enables a Protestant to live his faith without a pastor and in any place, for example on a meadow or in a living room. Belief in personal relationship too God is the only thing that matters.
As a result, the office of a pastor is less important than in the Catholic Church.
Because the Protestant Church thereby has a certain democratic Has structures, some free churches go so far that there is no pastor at all, but that every parishioner can go forward on an equal footing during a service to convey his or her thoughts to the parish. Of course, this requires a strong biblical firmness of the parishioners, the members of a free church in the Rule.
In Protestant church architecture, the central meaning of the word and the less hierarchical structure of the congregation is expressed in the fact that the place where the word is spoken is in the center of the church and not at its end. It's the pulpit that is in the evangelical Church is often located above the altar, with the organ above it. The architectural Hierarchy clearly that one has the word over the altar, which is for the Eucharist stands, puts.
With one rather democratic Conception the community is one lengthwise less suitable, therefore Protestant churches are often central buildings (e.g. Frauenkirche in Dresden or Bergkirche in Seiffen) or transverse structures (e.g. Trinitatiskirche in Wolfenbüttel; Petrikirche in Ratzeburg) , as the parish can easily arrange itself around the pastor in order to listen to him. Basically, a plenary hall in a parliament can be compared to an ideal Protestant church.
The same was true of the benches in new buildings after the war arranged that the place where the word is spoken is surrounded by several sides.
Galleries are also a characteristic of the Protestant church, they enable a closeness to the spoken word, in no way do the galleries in a Protestant church have anything to do with you rank to do.
Medieval Churches weren't like that, of course designed because there had been no Reformation at that time. If after the Reformation one When the medieval church became a Protestant church, because the sovereign joined the Protestant faith, it naturally remained a longitudinal building.
Even in the 19th century there were discussions about the conception, after which one orientated itself more towards the Middle Ages, so that some newly built Protestant churches then again resembled a Gothic longitudinal building.
With the Evangelicals, the concept of the community and the concept of the church are little separated. the church as an institution indeed does not play the supporting role as i n the Catholic Church.
After the second World War I showed this in the architecture to the effect that community centers with a room for church services were built. This turned away from the Sunday church towards an everyday church in which parish life also takes place.
In Protestant churches that come from the Middle Ages, for example in Wismar, parish life takes place in the Side chapels instead, for example in the form of handicraft corners for children, etc. In Wismar, films are shown in the church even in the summer, of course none Blockbusters , but classics that are related to the city ("Nosferatu" by Wilhelm Murnau). This temporarily turns the church into a cinema, so to speak. Such sights hurt some Catholics because they naturally lead to a disenchantment of the church's thought.
In general, Protestant churches appear sober, which many - including some Protestants - find less appealing. Naturally There are umpteen different manifestations and not every Protestant church is simple, some churches are irritating because they are so lush , e.g. the Frauenkirche in Dresden, which was built in full baroque style, which does not seem sober, but the building is in his The conception is Protestant through and through. The same applies to the lavishly furnished Berlin Cathedral. As residential cities, Dresden and Berlin needed representative buildings and that's why Simplicity just not suitable.