Tragheim Church, 1930 Tragheim Church (german: Tragheimer Kirche) was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the Tragheim quarter of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

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 ...

History

At the beginning of the 17th century the

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 ...

residents of Tragheim attended Löbenicht Church and were buried in Steindamm's cemetery.Gause I, p. 411 Because Löbenicht Church was too small for the growing community, Duke George William sold to Tragheim a square containing an old brick or tile manufactory on 23 May 1624. The Tragheimers moved their cemetery to their new square and constructed a small chapel from 1626 to 1632. The new church was dedicated in 1632 and received its own pastor in 1636.Albinus, p. 318 The first five pastors of the church were non-Prussians: Johann Benedikt Reinhardi was from

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 ...

, Mauritius Karoli was from

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, Wolfgang Springer was from

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, Daniel Erasmi was from Frankfurt (Oder), and Thomas Masecovius was from Königsberg in der Neumark. In 1696 Jacob Heinrich Ohlius (1650-1725) became the first native of

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 ...

to be pastor in Tragheim. Because the original church collapsed in 1707, a new church was constructed from 1708 to 1710 according to designs by architect

Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt (variations include Schultheiss von Unfried) (1678 – 10 June 1753) was a German Baroque architect, official, and councillor most active in Königsberg and throughout East Prussia. Life Possibly born ...

(1678-1753), with patronage from Friedrich Kupner. Its Baroque steeple was completed in 1723. When Tragheim Church burned down after a lightning strike in 1783, it was rebuilt the following year according to Schultheiss von Unfriedt's original design, under the direction of Johann Samuel Lilienthal (1724-1799) and Johann Ernst Jester. Its tented roof steeple was incomplete at that time, however. Ehregott Andreas Christoph Wasianski (July 3, 1755 - April 17, 1831) - a secretary (amanuensis), confidante, and biographer of the great German philosopher

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

(1724-1804) - became the pastor of Tragheim Church in 1808. Richard Wagner married

Minna Planer Christine Wilhelmine "Minna" Planer (5 September 180925 January 1866) was a German actress and the first wife of composer Richard Wagner, to whom she was married for 30 years, although for the last 10 years they often lived apart. At an early age, ...

(Christine Wilhelmine Planer) in Tragheim Church on 26 November 1836. The church was heavily damaged in the

Bombing of Königsberg A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanic ...

(1944) and in the

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussia ...

(April 6–9, 1945). The last pastors of the Tragheim Church were Schwandt, Friedrich Werner, Eduard Korallus (pastor from 1900 to 1933), and Paul KnappPaul Knapp (1880 - April 1946) - for additional details see: :de: Paul Knapp (Königsberg) (pastor from 1933 to 1944). The remnants of the church were demolished by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

administration in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

during the 1950s.

Sights

The church contained a

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

chancellery and pulpit with beautiful carvings made in 1784 by tischlermeister (master carpenter) Carl Johann Grabowski of Königsberg. The neoclassical altarpiece was created by the wood-carver Christian Benjamin Schultz from Heilsberg, and donated to the church by the apothecary Johann Sigismund Tiepolt and his wife Susanne (née Bulle), who both died in 1800. The organ was designed in 1793/1794 by orgelbaumeister (master organ-builder) Christoph Wilhelm Braveleit (1751-1796). The church also contained an oil painting of E. A. C. Wasianski by Johann Friedrich Andreas Knorre (1763 - May 11, 1841), a distinguished portrait painter who was Director of the Provinzial-Kunst-und Zeichenschule (Provincial Art and Drawing School) in Königsberg from 1800 to 1841. Knorre also held the position of Professor of Drawing at the School.

Gallery

image:ID003845 B275 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Tragheim Church, ca. 1908 image:ID003844 B274 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Tragheim Church, ca. 1908 image:ID003843 B273 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Exterior and interior

Notes

References

* * * * {{Coord, 54, 43, 04, N, 20, 30, 29, E, region:RU-KGD_type:city_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Former churches in Königsberg Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Destroyed churches Lutheran churches in Königsberg 1624 establishments in Europe 1944 disestablishments in Germany 17th-century Lutheran churches in Germany Religious organizations established in the 1620s Baroque church buildings in Germany