St. Martin is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church and the associated

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish in

Lorch am Rhein Lorch am Rhein () is a small town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It belongs to the Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site. Geography Location The town is characterized by winegrowing and tourism. Lorch lies ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

, Germany. In 2002, it became part of the

Rhine Gorge The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the Rhine between Koblenz and Rüdesheim in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage S ...

, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The church features the oldest and largest monochrome wood-carved

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 ...

in Germany. Its organ from 1984 makes it also a concert venue, where international organists such as

Olivier Latry Olivier Jean-Claude Latry (born 22 February 1962) is a French organist, improviser, and composer. He is professor of organ in the Conservatoire de Paris. He became interested in the organ after listening to recordings by Pierre Cochereau. His ...

have performed.

History

The present

building was begun in the 13th century, replacing an earlier Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. The

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 ...

was built first, around 1270, possibly by craftspeople who also worked at the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...

. After an interruption, the main nave was built from around 1304. A second nave was begun in 1398. The steeple was erected on the foundation of a watch tower from Roman times. The front to the West was remodelled by an entrance hall around 1480. A fire destroyed the roof of the church and the steeple in 1554, repairs were done by 1576 and 1578 respectively. The parish was part of the

Diocese of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...

until the

Diocese of Limburg The Diocese of Limburg (Latin: ''Dioecesis Limburgensis'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Cologne, with metropolitan see being the Archdiocese of Cologne. Its territory encompasses ...

was founded. In 2002, it became part of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Features

The church's

high 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 paganis ...

is from 1483. The monochrome carved wooden altar was attributed to the workshop of Master Hans (Bilger) from

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

, but this is not confirmed, and comparison to other works by him raises doubts. The altar is the highest and first monochrome carved altar in Germany. The church features choir benches from the end of the 13th century with carvings of figures, a Gothic

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

from the 15th century. Many of the church's valuable religious art works were sold in the 19th century by parson Geiger to finance a renovation; remaining pieces include a

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

from ca. 1400 and a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

from 1464. Two altars in the aisles are from the shop of Hans Steinlein.

Organ

The present

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

was completed in 1984, built by . The organ has 43

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

, three manuals and pedal. Many features of the former 1880 instrument by were used in the new organ.JUBILÄUM 25 Jahre nach dem Orgelbau lockt Konzert in die Lorcher Kirche St. Martin
Thorsten Stötzer,

Wiesbadener Kurier The ''Wiesbadener Kurier'' (also known as the WK) is a regional, daily newspaper published by the ''Wiesbadener Kurier GmbH & Co. Verlag und Druckerei KG'' for the area in and around the state capital of Hesse, Wiesbaden in Germany Ge ...

, 28 July 2009. The church has been the venue of the annual organ concert of the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

from its beginning in 1987, with performers such as

Marie-Claire Alain Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the world ...

, ,

Edgar Krapp Edgar Krapp (born June 3, 1947 in Bamberg) is a German organist and music professor. Krapp is a member of the Board of the Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society) in Leipzig and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. Biography Krapp's first organ le ...

, and

from

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

who played on 7 July 2019. Johannes von Erdmann, organist at the church from 1987 to 2001, made recordings on the organ.

References

Literature

* * * * * *

External links

*
Pfarrkirche St. Martin in Lorch
rheingau.de

konservierung-restaurierung.de * Hans Hubach: ttps://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/32980590.pdf Überlegungen zum Meister des Lorcher Hochaltarretabelscore.ac.uk 1993 * Christa Kaddar
Ein Zentrum sakraler Kunst / Der Rheinsteig in Lorch führt direkt an wahren Schätzen in der Pfarrkirche St. Martin vorbe
(in German) kirchenzeitung.de March 2018 {{authority control Gothic hall churches in Germany Roman Catholic churches in Hesse Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Churches in the Diocese of Limburg Rheingau