St. Luke's Church ( or ''Lukaskirche'') is the largest

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church in Munich, southern Germany. It was built in 1893–96 and designed by Albert Schmidt. It is the only pre-World War II

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

building remaining in the historic section of central Munich. St. Luke's is located on the banks of the

Isar The Isar () is a river in Austria and in Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel mountain range of the Alps. The Isar river enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Krün, Wallgau, Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching ...

, between the Steinsdorfstraße and Mariannenplatz. The address of the grounds is on Mariannenplatz (Mariannenplatz 3), while the main entrance is on the Steinsdorfstraße. The two eastern bell towers and the almost 64-meter-high dome are prominent features. Although the large church is nicknamed Dom der Münchner Protestanten (Cathedral of the Munich Protestants), St. Luke's is not a seat of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

(''

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

'').

History and description

The history of Protestant churches in Munich is comparatively recent. The first Protestant groups early in the 16th century were banned and suppressed. The

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria () was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger ...

was predominantly Catholic under the reigning

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

family after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

; but in 1799 the

head, Prince-elector Max IV Joseph, married Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine, a Lutheran princess, and there was suddenly a Protestant presence at court in Munich. Nineteenth-century Munich also became a city with a growing number of immigrants from other regions of Germany, many of them Lutherans. In 1826, there were already 6,000 Lutheran parishioners in the city. The first Protestant church, St. Matthew, was inaugurated in 1833. It was demolished in 1938 by the Nazis and rebuilt after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in another location. The second Protestant church, St Mark's, was inaugurated in 1877. By the last decades of the 19th century, Munich's Lutherans were in need of a third, and larger church. But the Bavarian royal family was concerned to protect the Catholic character of the city, therefore the Lutherans were given land on the banks of the river Isar to build St. Luke's. The first stone was laid on 29 June 1893 and the church was consecrated on the first

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

, 1896.

Architecture and art

The architect Albert Schmidt has used pre-

styles in order to please the Roman Catholic city rulers: The exterior architecture is built in Romanesque forms, while the interior is reminiscent of the early Rhenish

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

based on the geometric shape of a Greek cross. In the east there is a three-sided

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, the western facade is seven-sided and has square towers. St. Luke's had some artistically outstanding stained glass windows from 1896 to 1899, which had been created by the München Mayer'sche Hofkunstanstalt (Mayer's court art workshop Munich) after drafts of the Englishman Charles Dixon, one of the best-renowned glass painters of his time. Those windows were destroyed irretrievably during the great air raid of 6/7 September 1943. The lost windows of the chancel were replaced by new ones by Hermann Kaspar in 1946. The altar painting is a work of the artist Gustav Adolf Goldberg, which is dedicated to the

Entombment of Christ The burial of Jesus refers to the entombment of the body of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus after his crucifixion before the erev Shabbat, eve of the sabbath. This event is described in the New Testament. According to the Gospels, canonical gospel ...

Organ

The organ was built in 1932 by the G.F. Steinmeyer & Co. (Oettingen).

Gallery

File:Isar barrage Lukaskirche.jpg, Weir on the River Isar with St. Luke's File:St Lukas St Johann Baptist.JPG, St. Luke's with the Roman Catholic church of St John the Baptist in the background File:München - Lukaskirche.jpg, St. Luke's in 1918 File:Lukaskirche, Múnich, Alemania3.JPG, Exterior File:München St. Lukas Glocke 1.jpg, Inscriptions Bell, 1862 File:Lukaskirche München, Kirchenschiff.jpg, Interior File:Muenchen St Lukas Orgel.jpg, Organ File:Lukaskirche Innenraum Muenchen-3.jpg, Pulpit File:Lukaskirche Innenraum Muenchen-2.jpg, Altar

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

Munich Luke Munich Luke Munich Luke Munich Luke Cultural heritage monuments in Munich