The Stiftskirche (''Collegiate Church'') is an inner-city church in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, the capital of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

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 is the main church of the

Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg (german: Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the German former state of Württemberg, now part of the state of Baden-Württem ...

(''Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg'') as well as the parish church of the evangelical (

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 ...

) inner-city church district of Stuttgart. Stiftskirche Stuttgart

History and structure

Recent research found structures of a small Romanesque church dating to the 10th and 11th centuries within the outline of today's church. In 1240, a stately three-naved church with two towers was built in the Romanic style, apparently by the Counts of Württemberg who from around that time were residing in the nearby Old Castle. The remains of

Ulrich I, Count of Württemberg Ulrich I, Count of Württemberg (1226 – 25 February 1265), also known as Ulrich the Founder (), was count of Württemberg from about 1241 until 1265. Life Ulrich's relation to his predecessors is uncertain. The historian Hansmartin Decker Ha ...

and his second wife, Countess of Württemberg, Agnes von Schlesien-Liegnitz (both died in 1265) rest in a double tomb in the south tower chapel that dates to the late 13th century. When Stuttgart became the new residence of the

rulers of Württemberg A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

, they added a new

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 ...

chancel between 1321 to 1347. Ulrich V added a Late Gothic nave in the second half of the 15th century. In 1500, a coloured, later (from the 19th century) golden pulpit was added. With the adoption of the Lutheran

Protestant 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 ...

in Württemberg in 1534, all pictures and altars were removed from the naves, pewage and a gallery were added. The tombstones were moved to the interior of the church. The Lutheran reformer

Johannes Brenz Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg. Early advocacy of the Reformation Brenz was born in the then Imperial City of Weil der S ...

, the main

Protestant Reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

of Württemberg, was buried under the chancel after his death in 1570. From 1574, small statues of all the Counts of Württemberg (i.e. since Ulrich I) were added at the North wall of the chancel. In 1608, a new grave crypt or burial vault was added. All of the Württemberg rulers until 1677 were buried there.

Catherine Pavlovna of Russia Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (russian: Екатерина Павловна; 21 May 1788 S 10 May 1788– 9 January 1819) later Queen Catharina Pavlovna of Württemberg, was the fourth daughter of Paul I of Russia, Tsar Pau ...

, Queen of Württemberg from 1816 until 1819, was buried here from 1819 to 1824, before her remains were brought to a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

on the Württemberg mountain. In 1826, the roof of the chancel was renovated, as was most of the interior of the church in the 1840s. Near the end of

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 ...

, the church was heavily damaged by the bombing raids on Stuttgart in 1944. The church was rebuilt in the 1950s, however, the interior was rebuilt in a modern style.

Gallery

File:Stuttgart Stiftskirche - Nave View towards Chancel.jpg, Nave to chancel view. File:Stuttgart Stiftskirche - View from Chancel towards Nave. .jpg, Chancel to nave view.

Other burials

Eberhard I, Count of Württemberg Eberhard I (13 March 1265, in Stuttgart – 5 June 1325, in Stuttgart) was Count of Württemberg from 1279 until his death. He was nicknamed 'der Erlauchte' or the Illustrious Highness. Life Eberhard's half-brother and predecessor Ulrich II ...

Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Württemberg Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach (29 November 1451, Ansbach – 28 March 1524, Nürtingen) was a princess of Brandenburg by birth and by marriage Duchess of Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly correspo ...

Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich I of Württemberg (19 August 1557 – 29 January 1608) was the son of George of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. Several references are made to him in Shakespeare's '' The Merry ...

Sibylla of Anhalt Sibylla of Anhalt (28 September 1564 – 26 October 1614) was a German princess from the House of Ascania who became Duchess of Württemberg as the wife of Duke Frederick I. Life Sibylla of Anhalt was born in Bernburgon 28 September 1564, as the ...

John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg John Frederick of Württemberg (5 May 1582, in Montbéliard – 18 July 1628) was the Duke of Württemberg from 4 February 1608 until his death on 18 July 1628 whilst en route to Heidenheim. Life John Frederick of Württemberg was the eldes ...

Barbara Sophie of Brandenburg Barbara Sophia of Brandenburg (16 November 1584 – 13 February 1636) was duchess of Württemberg by marriage to Duke John Frederick of Württemberg and acted as regent of the Duchy of Württemberg for their minor son, Duke Eberhard III of Würt ...

Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (16 December 1614, in Stuttgart – 2 July 1674, in Stuttgart) ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1628 until his death in 1674. Eberhard III became the heir under guardianship in 1628 during the Thirty Years' Wa ...

*Duchess Anne Catherine of Salm *Maria Dorothea Sophia of Oettingen-Oettingen *

William Louis, Duke of Württemberg William Louis of Württemberg (7 January 1647 – 23 June 1677) was the ruler of the senior Duchy of Württemberg from 1674 until his death in 1677. William Louis was born in Stuttgart, the ninth child of Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg, and ...

Magdalena Sibylla of Hesse-Darmstadt Landgravine Magdalena Sibylla of Hesse-Darmstadt (28 April 1652 – 11 August 1712) was regent of the Duchy of Württemberg from 1677 to 1693, and was a prominent German composer of baroque hymns. Life Magdalena Sibylla, Duchess of Würt ...

Renovation

The latest major renovation took place from 1999 to 2003. The design and realization of the new concept comes from the Hamburg-based Architect Bernhard Hirche. The altar sculpture was created by the Sculptor Holger Walter.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Churches in Stuttgart Stuttgart Stiftskirche Lutheran cathedrals in Germany Stuttgart Stiftskirche Stuttgart Stiftskirche Burial sites of the House of Württemberg