The New Altstadt Church (german: Neue Altstädtische Kirche), also known simply as Altstadt Church, 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 the

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ''Alt ...

quarter of

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 ...

. It was built as a replacement for the dismantled medieval

Altstadt Church Altstadt Church (german: Altstädtische Kirche) was a medieval church in the Altstadt quarter of Königsberg, Germany. It was dismantled during the 1820s and replaced with New Altstadt Church. History The originally Roman Catholic parish church ...

History

The original Altstadt Church, which dated from 1264 and was located south 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 Prussian ...

, was dismantled from 1826 to 1828 because of cracks and sinking. Services were temporarily moved to

Neurossgarten Church Neurossgarten Church (german: Neuroßgärter or Neuroßgärtner Kirche) was a Protestant church in northwestern Königsberg, Germany. History The church was approved in 1643 because of the growing size of Altstadt Church. Construction began on 31 ...

. The replacement church's site was chosen as the intersection of Kreytzenscher Platz and Junkerstraße north of the castle. Construction began in 1838 based on plans by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassica ...

. Although the original design had to be reduced in scale because of cost, the

Brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

Neo-Gothic 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 ...

church was praised for its columns. The New Altstadt Church was dedicated in 1845, with its

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

transferred from or based on its predecessor. A highlight of the church was its 13 m tall high altar. It included a wooden carving from 1606 by an unknown master of the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

Mary of Nazareth Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, and the thieves

Dismas The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief, Wise Thief, Grateful Thief, or Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesus ...

and

Gesmas The impenitent thief is a man described in the New Testament account of the Crucifixion of Jesus. In the Gospel narrative, two criminal bandits are crucified alongside Jesus. In the first two Gospels (Matthew and Mark), they both join the crowd ...

. The carving was moved to a massive barn near Arnau in 1943, but was subsequently lost during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Also notable was a deer chandelier with

Mother and Child ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...

from c. 1500. Its confessional was designed by Isaak Riga the Younger. The church's exterior survived the war and was in a good shape, with only the interior destroyed 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 ...

but it was not rebuilt by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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 ...

after the 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 ...

following a campaign to delete Königsberg's German element. The remnants of the outer walls were dismantled in 1959 and columns from its portico are included in the entrance of Kaliningrad's

Baltika Stadium Baltika Stadium (russian: Балтика стадион, ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kaliningrad, Russia, that was home to FC Baltika Kaliningrad. The capacity of the stadium is 14,660, making it an average-sized stadium in the Russian First Di ...

Gallery

Image:Altstadtkirche.jpg, Design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel Image:Altstadtkirche-1844.jpg, Construction of the New Altstadt Church, 1844 Image:Altstadtkirche-1845.jpg, New Altstadt Church, 1845 Image:Altstadtkirche an der Junkerstrasse.jpg, Lithograph depicting the red

clinker brick Clinker bricks are partially-vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings. Clinker bricks are produced when wet clay bricks are exposed to excessive heat during the firing process, sintering the surface of the brick and forming a shin ...

church Image:Altstaedt Kirche Poststr.jpg, Postcard depicting the church from Junkerstraße

References

* * * {{Authority control 1845 establishments in Germany 1944 disestablishments in Germany 19th-century Lutheran churches in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Destroyed churches Former churches in Königsberg Gothic Revival church buildings in Germany Lutheran churches in Königsberg Churches completed in 1845