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The Burgkirche was a
In 1687 the court expanded the grounds for the church by purchasing a garden on the Schlossteich pond north of the former slaughterhouse from Oberburggraf Ahasverus von Lehndorff. The new Baroque church was built from 1690–96;
The Burgkirche was a Reformed Protestant
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
church of the Prussian Union in Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
, Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
.
History
After the conversion of the Hohenzollern electorJohn Sigismund of Brandenburg
John Sigismund (german: Johann Sigismund; 8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from the House of Hohenzollern. He became the Duke of Prussia through his marriage to Duchess Anna, the eldes ...
, also Duke of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
from 1612, the first Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
service was performed in 1616 by the Hessian court chaplain Johannes Crocius in a hall of Königsberg Castle
The Königsberg Castle (german: Königsberger Schloss, russian: Кёнигсбергский замок, Konigsbergskiy zamok) was a castle in Königsberg, Germany (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia), and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussi ...
. In 1662 the 'Great Elector' Frederick William ordered the building of a new Reformed church and Latin school
The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...
in the Burgfreiheit quarter near the castle, granting land near a slaughterhouse. The transfer of land only occurred in 1665, however, and the initiative was halted until the 1680s.
In 1687 the court expanded the grounds for the church by purchasing a garden on the Schlossteich pond north of the former slaughterhouse from Oberburggraf Ahasverus von Lehndorff. The new Baroque church was built from 1690–96; Johann Arnold Nering
Johann Arnold Nering (or Nehring; 13 January 1659 – 21 October 1695) was a German Baroque architect in the service of Brandenburg-Prussia.
A native of Wesel, Cleves, Nering was educated largely in Holland. From 1677 to 1679 he also travelled ...
modeled it after the sober appearance of the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. It was dedicated in the presence of the new King ''in'' Prussia, Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
on 23 January 1701. By 1819 the German reformed church was known simply as the Burgkirche (Castle Church).
The wooden vault of the nave was covered with stucco, and only the apses had a stellar vault. The pulpit was on the long side of the nave covered with a crown. The organ was the work of Johann Josua Mosengel's assistant Georg Siegmund Caspari (1693–1741), who built the instrument as his “Probstück“ (=masterpiece) under Mosengel's supervision.Werner Renkewitz, Jan Janca, Hermann Fischer: ''Geschichte der Orgelbaukunst in Ost- und Westpreußen.'' Volume II, 1: ''Mosengel, Caspari, Casparini''. Pape Verlag, Berlin 2008, page 244 and 254-256. It was, like many organs in Konigsberg, decorated with the Prussian eagle The state of Prussia developed from the State of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of the Teutonic Knights had been a black cross on a white flag. Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the b ...
and is considered to be the last new built organ in the area of East Prussia, which was equipped with a choir organ. Commissioned by commerce official Charles Cabrit, the church's portal was designed in 1727 with allegorical sandstone figures of justice, love and, charity.
Between 1817 and 1945 the congregation formed part of the Evangelical Church in Prussia
The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pru ...
, a church body comprising Reformed, Lutheran and United Protestant
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations.
Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...
congregations. The church was severely damaged by the 1944 Bombing of Königsberg in World War II
The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command dest ...
and burnt out completely. The remnants were demolished by the Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
administration in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
in 1969.
References
* *Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgkirche (Konigsberg) 1944 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed churches Destroyed churches in Germany Former churches in Königsberg Churches completed in 1696 1696 establishments in Europe