Elisabethenkirche, Basel on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Elisabethenkirche, or ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen'', is a 19th-century church building in the centre of
The Elisabethenkirche, or ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen'', is a 19th-century church building in the centre of Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, next to the Theater Basel, in Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It is a well detailed example of Swiss Gothic Revival style churches. It has a tall bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
and spire. The tower has internal stairs.
History
The church construction begun in 1857 and was completed in 1864. Its architect was Ferdinand Stadler and it was the first new church erected in Basel following thereformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. Its construction was sponsored by the wealthy businessman Christoph Merian and his wife Margarethe Burckhardt-Merian, which were both laid to rest in the church in black marble sarcophagi in the crypt below the church's main floor. Christoph Merian did not oversee the completion of the church as he died in 1858. The Merians also founded the Christoph-Merian-Stiftung. Today's congregation forms part of the Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Stadt.
Present day
Today the church is home of the first Swiss "OpenChurch" or ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen]''. The Offene Kirche Elisabethen caters to the spiritual, cultural and social needs of urban people of all backgrounds. It is also known for their support of theLGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community.
The ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen'' is well known throughout the region for their ''Fasnachtsgottesdienst'', a service in honor of the Carnival of Basel. The Church has also served as the venue for punk concerts and at times it was converted into a club.
Schöpfungsfeier (service with blessing of the human-animal relation), Heilungsfeiern (weekly and trimesterly healing-/blessing services for people in need and sorrow) and their gender aware spiritual practice.
Nearly 50'000 people visit the church per year.
See also
*References
External links
* Churches completed in 1864 Reformed churches in Basel Tourist attractions in Basel Gothic Revival church buildings in Switzerland 19th-century churches in Switzerland {{Switzerland-church-stub