St. Martha is a medieval church in the old town of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

in southern

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 dedicated to Saint Martha. Since 1800 it is a

Reformed church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

, the community of which forms part of the Evangelical Reformed Church (regional church).

History

Aerial Nuremberg Kuenstlerhaus-Nuernberg

Conrad and John von Waldstomer donated the church and the associated hospital in 1363. It was consecrated on 24 March 1385. From 1390 to 1430, wealthy Nuremberg families endowed the church with a series of stained-glass windows placed in its chancel. As a result 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 ...

the church was closed in 1526. It was then used as a theatre by the Nuremberg Meistersingers. In 1614, plays were forbidden in churches, and by 1627 it was restored to use as a church. The church was only lightly damaged during the

Second World War 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 ...

, when a bomb hit the roof and the central chancel arch. By 1946 it was fully restored.

Fire 5 June 2014

On 5 June 2014 a fire broke out leaving the interior devastated and severly affecting the church's structural integrity. Fortunately the stained-glass windows in the chancel had been removed beforehand due to renovations and thus weren't damaged. It was decided not to reconstruct the church in its original state. Instead a modern interior design by architect Florian Nagler was adopted. A simple, raised wooden ceiling encloses the restored walls which still show traces of the fire. The chancel remains in its historical shape, decorated with the stained windows. During restoration and reconstruction works the parish held its service in neighbouring St.Klara church. St. Martha was reopened on 10 November 2018.

References

Sources

*This page is based on the article on German Wikipedia.

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...

Nuremberg Martha Nuremberg Martha {{Germany-church-stub