French Reformed Church French Reformed Church The French Reformed Church (german: Französisch-reformierte Kirche) was a

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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in eastern

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 named ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

Located at the corner of Königstraße and Landhofmeister-Straße in

Neue Sorge Königstraße Neue Sorge, also known as Königstraße or Königstrasse after its main boulevard, was a quarter of eastern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. Etymology The origina ...

, the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

building served the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

community of the city with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

sermons. It was built from 1733 to 1736 according to plans by Joachim Ludwig Schultheiß von Unfriedt. King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...

, a

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 ...

, provided 12,000

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

out of the total cost of 18,687. The new church was dedicated on 29 July 1736 in the presence of the king. During negotiations for the

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...

in 1807, Pastor La Canal of the church and Königsberg commerce councillor Prin convinced

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

to reduce Prussia's war indemnity from 20 million to 12 million

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

. Beginning in 1817 German sermons were given every fourth week; by 1831, the pattern was reversed and French sermons were given every fourth week. The parish was fluent in German, but adhered to its Huguenot past out of tradition. Pastor Louise Guillaume Daniel Detroit denounced the

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief ...

in 1847, leading to his removal in 1852. The French Reformed Church was heavily damaged by the 1944

Bombing of Königsberg A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

and 1945

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussia ...

. Its ruins 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 ...

were demolished from 1967 to 1968.

Design

Built as an elongated decagon, the church had a lighter and graceful look. The square central space was surrounded by elliptical side aisles supported by columns. The wooden pulpit dated from 1737, while the tassel-decorated organ was made in 1739. The central archive in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

contains artifacts from the church, including a gilded silver goblet (1690 by Paul Müller), a copy of the goblet (1749 by Cornelius Muerkerk), and a gilded ciborium of silver (1699 by Paul Müller).

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:French Reformed Church (Konigsberg) 1736 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1968 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures demolished in 1968 Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed churches Destroyed churches in Germany Former churches in Königsberg Huguenot history in Germany Churches completed in 1736 Religious organizations established in 1733 Rococo architecture in Germany Frederick William I of Prussia