The Reglerkirche (, also called ''Augustinuskirche'', "Augustine's Church") is a church building in the historical centre of

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 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 lar ...

, Germany. It serves a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

parish as a place of worship and is one of the larger churches in the city's old part. In times of the former

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, it was considered a centre of church music in Erfurt.

History

Construction of the Romanesque Regler Church was begun in 1130 by the "regulated"

Augustinian canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

and completed in 1238. The church originated from a Romanesque

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

, which is said to have been founded as early as 1117. The beginnings of the collegiate church have not been properly clarified to this day. In 1362, parish rights were granted for baptism, preaching, confession and visiting the sick. The first building probably had forms of a three-

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 ...

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

of four bays with an indented, rectangularly closed

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 sp ...

and a pair of towers on the west side. The west façade of the sacred building is unique for churches in the city; the nave and choir are of

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 ...

style, despite the Romanesque clerestory. The great city fire of 1 April 1291, which destroyed almost the entire eastern part of the city from the ''Neuwerkskloster'' to the ''Krämpfertor'', caused much of the church to be demolished, with the exception of the tower block. In 1293, an archbishop's endowment states, "church badly destroyed by fire blight" – a new building is to be erected soon. In 1525, the church was converted into a Lutheran parish church as part of the

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 a fire in 1660, large parts of the attached monastery buildings burnt down. During the French occupation under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, the plundered and internally devastated church served as a military hospital. In the first half of the 19th century, the building and furnishings of the church continued to deteriorate, so that it had to be closed in 1845. With a state grant from the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n king, it was restored from 1857 to 1860 and reconstructed from 1890 to 1901. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a memorial for the fallen of the ''Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 6'' was located in front of the church; on an elaborately designed plinth, it showed a hunter in front of a mounting horse. However, it was dismantled as early as 1939 at the instigation of the Nazi lord mayor Walter Kießling. During bombing raids in

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 opposing ...

, the roof truss suffered damage. From 1919 to 1955, Martin Jentzsch was pastor at the Regler Church and had a formative influence on church and city life. Between 1960 and 1973, the church was again extensively renovated. Next to the main portal on the outside, there is currently a bronze statue of the "Mildenfurth Cross Man", created by the Thuringian sculptor Volkmar Kühn in 2002.

Interior

The late Gothic winged altar is of great art-historical importance. Created by the unknown "Masters of the Regler Altar" around 1465, it is one of the most qualitative and best-preserved altars of this period in central Germany. It is presented in three different states: * The closed altar shows 12 apostles,

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s and saints who represent the congregation's connection with the history of the church, among them and in the first place the church teacher Augustine. * The open altar presents 4 large panel paintings against a golden background, symbolising God's presence in the world. On the left, Jesus Christ's crowning with thorns and scourging; on the right, the Ascension and Pentecost. * Further open, 13 carved reliefs can be seen against a richly gilded background; the largest in the centre being the

Coronation of Mary The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God the ...

. The pulpit (probably from 1687) comes from the monastery church of St Pancratius in Hamersleben and shows the four evangelists.

Organ

An earlier organ case was designed by the well-known artist Alexander Linnemann from Frankfurt. The present organ of the Regler Church was built in several stages between 1968 and 1977 by the organ builder Friedrich Löbling from Erfurt. The ''Brustwerk'' was installed in 1983. The instrument has 38 stops on three manuals and pedal. The action and stop action are mechanical. File:Erfurt Reglerkirche 03.jpg, The late Gothic winged altar File:Erfurt Reglerkirche 02.jpg, Pulpit from 1687 File:Erfurt Reglerkirche 01.jpg, Organ built by Friedrich Löbling

Bibliography

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References

External links

{{Authority control Regler Erfurt Regler Romanesque architecture in Germany Gothic architecture in Germany Buildings and structures completed in 1238 13th-century churches in Germany Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism 16th-century Lutheran churches in Germany