St. Matthew was a church in the old town of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. During its history it had several names and functions. As a church of the

Franciscan order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, built in 1488, it was known as ''Barfüßerkirche'' and ''Heiliggeistkirche''. It served as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church, known as ''Neukirche'', from 1699. A new congregation formed in 1876 and named the church ''Matthäikirche'' (St. Matthew). The building was destroyed in a bombing in 1943.

Franciscan church

The church was built from 1488 for the Franciscan order ''Barfüßer'' ("

Barefeet Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to h ...

") and known as the ''Barfüßerkirche''. It enlarged earlier church buildings dating back to the 1230s. It was dedicated in 1502 to the Holy Spirit and therefore also called ''Franziskanerkirche zum Heiligen Geist'' and ''Heiliggeistkirche''. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the building served as storage for merchandise from 1552 to 1699.

Neukirche

The church was remodeled in 1699 in

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

as the fourth

church in Leipzig, known as ''Neukirche'' or ''Neue Kirche'' (New church). The altar was created by . The church was dedicated on 24 September 1699. An organ was built in 1704 by .

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

was the musical director from 1704, succeeded by Melchior Hoffmann in June 1705, and from 1720 by Georg Balthasar Schott. From 1723, the church music was supervised by the

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...

(director of church music in Leipzig), then

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, with the third choir of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

singing, while the first choirs performed in the main churches

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

(St. Thomas) and Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas). The building served as a prison in 1806 during the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

, and from 1813 as a hospital.

Matthäikirche

In 1876 a new congregation formed and named the church ''Matthäikirche'' (St. Matthew), after remodeling in

Gothic revival style 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 ...

by . It was restructured again by from 1892 to 1894. Fotothek df roe-neg 0000535 002 Ruine der Matthäikirche

The church was destroyed in a bombing on 4 December 1943.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * ''Kirchen in Leipzig''. Schriften des Leipziger Geschichtsvereins 2/1993. Sax-Verlag, Beucha 1993 * Heinrich Magirius (u.a.). ''Stadt Leipzig. Die Sakralbauten''. Mit einem Überblick über die städtebauliche Entwicklung von den Anfängen bis 1989. vol 1. Dt. Kunstverlag, München 1995, p. 679-697

External links

Johann Sebastian Bachs Wirkungsstätten in Leipzig / Matthäikirche (Neukirche)
Paulinerkirche {{Authority control Churches in Leipzig Leipzig Matthew Leipzig Matthew Leipzig Matthew Leipzig Matthew Buildings and structures demolished in 1943 Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II