The Bergkirche (Mountain Church) is one of four main

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, the capital of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

, Germany. It was completed in 1879 in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

based on a design by

Johannes Otzen Johannes Otzen (8 October 1839 – 8 June 1911) was a German architect, urban planner, architectural theorist and university teacher. He worked mainly in Berlin and Northern Germany. Otzen was involved in urban planning in Berlin. He built Goth ...

. The church is focused on having the altar and pulpit close to the congregation, following

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

's concept of a

universal priesthood The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in most Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ''ministerial'' priesthood ( holy orders) found in some other branches, incl ...

. It also serves as a concert venue for church music.

History

Plans for a second Protestant church, after the Marktkirche, date back to 1837, but were not realised until decades later, due to the two wars (

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

and Franco-Prussian War) that Prussia had to fight between 1866 and 1871. Building began in 1876, and was completed in 1879. The Protestant Bergkirche was built in

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, designed by

who would write the

Wiesbadener Programm The (Wiesbaden program) is a program for Protestant church architecture developed in Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, Germany, in the late 19th century. It contradicted an older (Eisenach rule) from 1861 which demanded that new church buildings ...

. The building process was supervised by Hans Grisebach. It was named Bergkirche because it was built on a high plateau within Wiesbaden's inner city, and the surrounding quarter is named after the church. The steeple, with a slate roof, dominates the area. The Wiesbadener Programm was written by Otzen and Emil Veesenmeyer, minister of the Bergkirche, in 1891, aiming at an unobstructed view from every seat in the church to the combined location of altar, pulpit and organ. The third Protestant church in Wiesbaden, the Ringkirche, followed this program, completed in 1894 after Otzen's design, as well as the fourth church, the Lutherkirche, opened in 1911.

Architecture

The building recalls elements of a 13th-century parish church. Olten followed the "Eisenacher Regulativ", an official regulation for church buildings which required, as in a

Gothic church Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

, a cross as a floorplan and the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

to the east. He shortened the nave and made the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

octagonal, as the central focus for

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

close to the congregation. The result is a ''protestantische Predigtkirche'' (Protestant sermon church) according to

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's concept of a

priesthood of all believers The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in most Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ''ministerial'' priesthood ( holy orders) found in some other branches, incl ...

. The interior features paintings, stained-glass windows and sculptures.

Church music

A first

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

was built in the Bergkirche in 1879 by E. F. Walcker & Cie. It was replaced in 1931 by from

Oettingen in Bayern Oettingen in Bayern (Swabian: ''Eadi'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated northwest of Donauwörth, and northeast of Nördlingen. Geography The town is located on the river Wörnitz, a tributary ...

, but retaining the front and a few stops.

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

was consulted for the rebuilding of the organ. In 1948, the organ was remodelled by . A new organ was built in 2016 by , with 40 stops on three manuals and pedal. The church has a mixed choir, Kantorei der Bergkirche, conducted by Christian Pfeifer, which performs in services and in concerts such as in 2019 Arvo Pärt's ''

Johannespassion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as dire ...

'' with

Klaus Uwe Ludwig Klaus Uwe Ludwig (16 September 1943 – 20 December 2019)Klaus Uwe Ludwig
vrm-trauer.de was a Germa ...

as the organist, and Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'' as part of the

Wiesbadener Bachwochen (Wiesbaden Bach Weeks) is a biennial festival of music around Johann Sebastian Bach in Wiesbaden, the state capital of Hesse, Germany. It was initiated and has been run by Martin Lutz. The city awards the Bachpreis der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden ...

festival.

Gallery

Bergkirchenviertel.jpg, The Bergkirche in the quarter named after it Udo Gottfried, 12plus1.jpg, Choir, with a temporary art exhibit Klaus Uwe Ludwig Bergkirche Wiesbaden September 2016.jpg,

Klaus Uwe Ludwig Klaus Uwe Ludwig (16 September 1943 – 20 December 2019)Klaus Uwe Ludwig
vrm-trauer.de was a Germa ...

at the organ, September 2016

References

External links

* {{Authority control Churches completed in 1879 Gothic Revival church buildings in Germany Protestant churches in Wiesbaden