, image = Michaeliskirche Erfurt.jpg , caption = View from east , pushpin map = Germany , pushpin label position = top , map caption = Location in Germany , coordinates = , location =

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

, Thuringia , country = Germany , language(s) = German , denomination =

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 ...

, previous denomination =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, dedication =

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, style =

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 ...

, years built = c. 1183, 1278–1290 , tower quantity = 1 St Michael's Church (german: Michaeliskirche) in the historical centre of the city of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

, Germany, is a

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

. It belongs to the and is the university church of the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt (german: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after Germ ...

.Information about the Universitätskirche

History

Around 1183, a church was built on the present site, donated by the

patricians The patricians (from la, Wikt:patricius, patricius, Greek language, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Rep ...

Walter Kerlinger and Dietrich Hotermann as well as Conrad Brun and Heinrich de Stalberg. At that time, the church was located on the ''

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The ...

'' next to the Jewish quarter of Erfurt. The late- Romanesque lower storeys of the tower today are still from the first church. Then, between 1278 and 1290 – under the long-time pastor Heinrich Bauso – a

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 ...

less

hall was built, the core of today's church. Since 1392, St Michael's Church had been the university church of the then founded

. The university's teaching buildings were directly opposite it, including later the ''Collegium Maius''. In 1451, a northern side

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and galleries were added. Around 1500, the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

Chapel was completed, donated by the pastor, theology professor, multiple dean and rector of the university, Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Bonemilch von Lasphe.

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

, who studied in Erfurt between 1501 and 1505, regularly attended masses in St Michael's Church. He preached here on 21 October 1522, after Erfurt's first

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 ...

sermon was preached in St Michael's Church in the previous year. Bonemilch had ordained Luther a priest in 1507 (probably on 3 April). Luther's friend Johannes Lang, the reformer of Erfurt, preached in St Michael's Church from 1530 and was buried here in 1548. In 1681, the pointed barrel was renewed. Between 1742 and 1750, further overhaul work took place. With the closure of the university in 1816, St Michael's Church became a parish church. In 1819 and 1820, a remodelling in the

Gothic Revival 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 ...

style was carried out. A further extension was added to the west side in 1928. At the same time, the neo-Gothic interior decoration was removed and replaced by the

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, who ...

style. On 9 February 1945, a

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

bombing raid on Erfurt's historical part caused severe damage to the roof and interior of the church, and the organ was badly damaged, too. The church was then secured to the extent that it did not become a ruin. A restoration in 1958–1960 then allowed the church to be used again. Since 1973, the church has been administered by the (Protestant City Mission). In 1987, during the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

era, the church hosted a highly acclaimed exhibition entitled ("City-just Traffic, Traffic-just City"), which was particularly directed against the planned extension of the city ring road through the old part of the city. This was followed by exhibitions from 1987 to 1989 entitled "Creation Element Water" and "Creation Element Air", which dealt with the corresponding environmental problems in the GDR. From 1989 to 1995, the exterior and interior of the church were renovated again. Since Pentecost 2007, it has also served as a place of worship for the "

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...

Community of West Thuringia / Erfurt", which holds services there on every second and fourth Sunday of the month. In 2002, the Michaeliskirche was re-designated as a university church, and in 2007 the first university service was held after the re-designation. The church tower contains Erfurt's oldest bell – named "Katharina", dating from 1380. St Michael's churchyard is "one of the most beautiful witnesses of late Gothic architecture". In addition to 24 erected grave monuments from the 17th to 19th centuries that originate from the floor of the church, it also has two historical gravestones from the 15th and 16th centuries. 19870530175NR Erfurt Michealiskirche Michaelisstraße.jpg, The churchyard 19870530170NR Erfurt Michealiskirche Michaelisstraße.jpg, Interior view Erfurt St. Michael 01.jpg, The altar Erfurt St. Michael 05.jpg, The organ Erfurt St. Michael 07.jpg, Painted façade pipes

Organ

After the organist and organ builder Balthasar Kühn suffered a fatal accident in 1648 while repairing the organ, its condition became worse and worse. Finally, it was decided to have Ludwig Compenius build a new instrument from the material of the old organ and that of the demolished St George's Church. It was completed in 1652. After that, St Michael's Church became an important musical centre. In 1753, the Wagner brothers renewed and enlarged the organ. In 1896, the Wilhelm Rühlmann company from Merseburg built a new pneumatic instrument for which only parts of the old organ were reused. In 1928, the organ was moved to the present gallery and rebuilt once more. The Compenius organ did not escape the bomb damage in 1945. From 1999 to 2000, it was reconstructed by the organ-building workshop Rühle from Moritzburg. Large parts of Compenius' case and the 27 painted façade pipes have been preserved. The instrument is meantone tempered on the chorus tone.

Bibliography

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References

External links

360° view of St Michael's Church
{{Authority control

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Erfurt Michael Gothic architecture in Germany 13th-century churches in Germany Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism 16th-century Lutheran churches in Germany