Gedächtniskirche, Speyer
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The Gedächtniskirche der Protestation ( English: ''The Memorial Church of the Protestation'') is a United
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church of both
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
and
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
confessions in
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
,
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, that commemorates the Protestation at Speyer in defense of the evangelical faith, specifically
Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. Built between 1893 and 1904, the church was constructed in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer by the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
rulers of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
in 1529. The tower is the tallest bell tower in the whole Palatinate at .


Historical background

In the latter part of the nineteenth century during the time of the ''
Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...
'', relations between Protestants and Catholics were strained. The Gedächtniskirche was intended as a
mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...
for Protestant Christianity, although debates among the Protestants led to a delay of about 35 years between the original idea and the laying of the foundations. The building of the memorial church was a reaction to Johann von Schraudolph's structural renewal and painting of
Speyer Cathedral Speyer Cathedral, officially ''the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen'', in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: ''Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer'') in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bish ...
in the years 1846 to 1856. Originally the intention was to renovate the Baroque Trinity Church, situated near the cathedral, but it was decided that a new building should be built instead. In the decorative
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...
, the protest is tied historically to events from the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible.


Construction

At first, the reformation church was planned to be built on the site of the "Retscher", a ruin of an old manor house belonging to the family Retschelin, near the Trinity church. It was believed that this was the site of the 1529 Diet. In order to build the so-called Retscher Church, a building union was founded. With the permission of the
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
n King Maximilian II the union launched a public fundraising drive in 1857. Because the Protestants were also financing the Luther Monument in
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
, the donations were quite meagre. The Luther monument was unveiled in 1868, in the presence of the Prussian king and the crown prince, who would later become Emperor Wilhelm I. The parish in Speyer used this event to make contact with the Prussian royal house, which would later become very valuable. After it was revealed that the Diet of 1529 had not taken place in the so-called Retscher, the project broke ties to the Old Town. In 1883, the "Association for building the Memorial church of the 1529 Protestation" decided on the current location of the church. The announcement of the dogma of
papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
gave new life to the project in 1870, along with the foundation of the German Empire under a
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
emperor in 1871. The builders were determined that the Protestant church should not be eclipsed by the cathedral, which required that its design had to be completely different from that of the Romanesque Cathedral. Forty-five architects from throughout the German empire applied for the call to tender. The five finalist architects all favoured the neo-Gothic style of architecture. The decision was made in 1884 in favour of the architectural partnership of Julius Flügge and Carl Nordmann from Essen.


Architecture

As the funds for the building were not yet ready in 1890, the building association turned to the Protestant Emperor Wilhelm II, who promised to ensure the completion of the church. Another main benefactor of the church was
Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was a German-American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railway (1881–1884) which completed its trans-continental route d ...
. On 24 August 1893 the laying of the foundation stone took place. After eleven years of building, the memorial church was finally consecrated on 31 August 1904. The church represents the doctrinary neo-Gothic style, and uses relatively pure historical forms. It was mostly modelled on the churches of the Viennese neo-Gothic style, particularly the Vienna Votivkirche, built between 1856 and 1879.


Dimensions

*Overall length of church and tower: *Overall length of the church inside: *Width in the nave: *Width in the transverse house: *Inside surface area: *Height of the arch in the central nave: , in the intersection: , in the aisles: *Tower height:


Site

The church is located to the southwest of the city of Speyer, outside the old city walls, in front of the former Landau Gate, where in the 19th century a new suburb with houses in the Wilhelminian style developed.


Materials and Design

The building stones were very carefully chosen. Several quarries were researched. The red
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
from Weidenthal that was used for the foundations could not be used for further building as it was riddled with pebble stones and therefore not suitable for statuary work. It was also feared that the red sandstone would get darker through weathering, whereas the whitish-grey sandstone from Vogesen would retain its pale colour. The quarry in Lauterecken could not be used because the strata were too low and it was impossible to cut large slabs. A total of quarry stone and wallstones were delivered. The idea of a slated roof was abandoned, because this would have required frequent repairs. Instead, the roof was laid with glazed tiles, fixed with copper wire. The church consists of an arched vault with 3 naves over the outline of a Latin cross. Because of their lighter weight, the arches are built of artificial tuff stones. The high bell tower stands in front of the short nave, with the Memorial Hall in its ground floor. The facades have no steady contours. In the spirit of the Gothic style, it is dominated by the split form, which doesn't leave any larger surfaces, but instead surrounds the whole structure with alternating with abutments and window hinges. The roofs are covered with different coloured glazed tiles that build small diamond patterns.


Memorial Hall

The Memorial Hall is situated in the ground floor of the tower. Like the tower, this has a hexagonal layout. It was a deliberate choice to situate the Memorial Hall in front of the main entrance, as that was the only place where visitors to the church can see the witnesses of the Protest, as their statues were not allowed to be situated in the interior of the church. A bronze likeness of Martin Luther stands on a pedestal made of Swedish granite in the centre of the Memorial Hall. This was a donation from the German-American Lutherans. In his left hand Luther is holding an open Bible, and his right hand is formed into a fist. With his right foot he is stamping on the papal bull of excommunication. Sunk into the ground are the words to remind of Luther's appearance at the Diet of Worms in 1521 ("''Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders, Gott helfe mir. Amen!''", which mean "Here I stand. I can do nothing else, God help me. Amen.") Statues of the six princes who protested at the Diet of Speyer on 19 April 1529 are situated on six further pedestals: #Elector of Saxony, John the Constant #
Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg (; 27 June 1497 – 11 January 1546), also frequently called Ernest the Confessor, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a champion of the Protestant cause during the early years of the Protestant Reformation. He was ...
#Duke Franz of Braunschweig-Lüneburg #Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt # George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach #
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...
At the intersections of the archway ridges in the archway are the coats of arms of the subscribers. In the haunches of the neighbouring portals are the coats of arms of the 14 Imperial cities which affiliated themselves with the Speyer Protest (
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Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
, Ulm, Constance,
Lindau Lindau (, ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital ...
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Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...
,
Kempten Kempten (; ) is the largest town of Allgäu, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by the Romans, who called the town ''Cambodunum''. K ...
, Nördlingen,
Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
,
Reutlingen Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it had an estimated population of 116,456. Reutlingen has a Reutlingen University, univ ...
, Isny, St. Gallen, Weißenburg and Windsheim).


Main Portal

The two parts of the main portal include on the middle column a sandstone figure of King David with his harp, who greets visitors to the church with a psalm on a scroll, and draws attention to the importance of music in the Protestant church: :"''The Lord will guard your going out and coming in From this time forth and forevermore''. " Psalm 121 verse 8 On the inside of the portal an angel stands with an open book, warning visitors as they leave to heed God's word: :"''Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it''"


The interior

The interior differs from a medieval cathedral in that there is no plastering or painting. Pillars and walls are similarly bare, and the only colour comes from the glass painting.


Fittings


The 36 Windows

As with Gothic cathedrals, the colourfully designed window panes are an integral component of the construction. The windows originate from nine well-known studios across various cities of the then German empire. All 36 windows are created in the historism style. The main window in the apse was donated by the last German imperial couple, Wilhelm II and his wife Auguste Victoria. This is why the chancel is also known as the Emperor's Chorus. The seven angel's heads in the three middle windows are portraits of the Emperor's children. Wilhelm II had this to say on this representation of his children: "Before they were seven little rascals, today they are angels."


=Ground floor

= :1 Death bed of a Christian woman, which is a symbol of the virtue of Hope :2 The sacrifice of
Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...
by his father Abraham is a symbol of the virtue of Faith :3 The work of deaconesses is a symbol of the virtue of Love :4 The burial of Jesus :5 `Protest at
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
' (1529) with John of Saxony and Jakob Sturm in 1529, the main reason for the construction of the church. :6 `Defiant
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
' (1521) with Georg von Frundsberg and Landgrave Philip of Hesse reminds of Luther's appearance before the Diet of Worms in 1521 :7
Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the H ...
:8 Twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple links with the scholarliness of Melanchthon in the neighbouring window :9 `Confessing
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
' (1530) with
Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...
and Chancellor Dr. Christian Baier reminds of the ''Confessio Augustana'' of 1530 :10 `Sorrowing
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
' (1631) with the Swedish king
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and the
Magdeburg Cathedral Magdeburg Cathedral (), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (), is a Protestant Church in Germany, Lutheran cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic architecture, Gothic cathedral in the country. It is the proto-cat ...
preacher Dr. Reinhardt Bake reminds of the destruction of Magedbury by Tilly in the Thirty Years War. :11 Jesus heals the sick man at the
Pool of Bethesda The Pool of Bethesda is referred to in John's Gospel in the Christian New Testament, (John 5#Healing at Bethesda (5:2–15), John 5:2) in an account of healing the paralytic at Bethesda, Jesus healing a paralyzed man at a pool of water in Je ...
, one of Jesus's healing miracles :12 Jesus with Mary and
Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...
:13 The
Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...
Centurion :14 The stoning of
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...


=Vestibule

= :15 Duke Ludwig II of Pfalz-Zweibrücken and Elector Ottheinrich of the Palatinate :16 Luther burning the bull of excommunication (1520) :17 Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony and Franz von Sickingen


=Above the galleries

= :18 The calling of the prophet
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
:19 The calling of the apostle
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
:20 Farel calling Calvin to Geneva (1536) :21 The
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
:22 Left-hand transept rosette:
Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...
window :23
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
morning (angel and women at the empty tomb) :24
Baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
window: Jesus blessing the children :25 The Reformers
Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...
and
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
:26 The Apostle
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
:27 Christ resurrected and bestowing his blessing :28 The Apostle
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
:29 The Reformers Zwingli and Calvin :30 Communion window: Elector Joachim II. of
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and his wife receiving for the first time Communion in both kinds (Berlin 1539) :31 Christmas (The proclamation by the angel to the shepherds) :32 Right-hand transept rosette: Mission window :33 Jesus in Gethsemane :34 Luther posting the theses (
Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
1517) :35 The
Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...
:36
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
receiving the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
on Sinai


Pulpit

The pulpit at the altar is a more recent addition. It was created by the Palatinate sculptor Gernot Rumpf, who, as in other areas, has shown his sense of humour here. It represents a net, and is a play on the words that Jesus said to Peter: "From now on, you will be a fisher of men." For this reason, there is a net hanging from the pulpit, in which fish have been caught in the shape of those legendary Palatinate figures, the ''Elwetrischen''. The fattest fish with an open book is Martin Luther, and this fish with plaits next to him is his wife, Katherina von Bora.


Lectern

The lectern is characterised by a grand structure with a variety of materials. Around the main part there are four bronze reliefs, representing the birth, baptism, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The top is made of oak in the style of a gothic sacristy. Already shortly after the opening of the church the lectern was seen as too flamboyant, but it was never removed or simplified. The base of the lectern consists of different coloured marble. The lectern was donated by the American railway magnate John Pierpont Morgan, and the columns were a gift from fellow New Yorker William Ziegler.


Seating

The oak pews have decorations on the ends, which echo those around the church building, along with the arms and names of their benefactors. There are 1,800 seats in total.


Organ

The original organ is no longer available. This was begun in 1900 by the Stuttgart Organ company C. F. Weigle, and was finished by the Öttingen Firm Steinmeyer in 1902. It had 65 sounding registers, divided across four manuals and a pedal. This organ was sacrificed during refurbishments in 1938–39. The current organ came from the Organ workshop D. Kleuker in Bielefeld in 1979. Its 97 registers make it the largest organ in south-west Germany. The completely plain backdrop from 1939 is still intact, and was designed by the Munich sculptor Hans Miller. See the German Wikipedia page for specifications: Orgel


Bells

The original bells were cast by Franz Schilling in Apolda in 1900–1903. The main bell (donated by the Emperor) was destroyed in the so-called ''Glockenfriedhof'' ("Bell cemetery") in Hamburg in 1942. The four remaining bells returned to the church after the end of the war, but after their ordeal they were of such a poor quality that a whole new peal was cast by the Karlsruhe foundery the Brothers Bachert in 1959. The eight bells, funded through donations, were named after well-known Reformation figures, along with the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf:
1. ''
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
'' : − − f° 2. '' Johannes Calvin'' : − − a♭° 3. ''
Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...
'' : − − c’ 4. ''
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'' : − − e♭’ 5. ''
Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...
'' : − − f’ 6. '' Martin Butzer'' : − − a♭’ 7. '' Zacharias Ursinus'' : − − b♭’ 8. '' Johannes Bader'' : − − c’’


The Josephskirche

The Catholics, too, were not keen on the "Protestant Cathedral". When the Building Association of the Gedächtniskirche acquired its site at what was then the edge of the city, the Catholics endeavoured to find a site in immediate proximity. Thus, a Catholic church building association was founded in 1887, and the foundation stone was laid in 1912 near the Gedächtniskirche. Already in 1914 the church could be consecrated in honour of the patron of the
Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...
and the patron saint of the workers, Joseph. In terms of the architectural style of St Joseph as opposed to the Gedächtniskirche it was said to be: "Catholic variety compared to Protestant austerity". The Mainz cathedral builder Ludwig Becker developed the plan, including influence from Art Nouveau, late Gothic, Baroque and the Renaissance. The Josephskirche was meant to be in stark contrast to the Speyer cathedral and the Gedächtniskirche. As a particular provocation against the Protestants, the bottom half of the right middle window above the high altar is a proclamation of the dogma of papal infallibility, as this was the motive for the building of the Gedächtniskirche.


Emperor William II

One of the firm supporters of the building was the Prussian imperial family. The five large windows of the choir are also known as the "imperial choir", because they were donated by Emperor William II and his wife Auguste Viktoria. William II preferred the Romanesque style of building, because of the French origins of Gothic.


Karl Barth

In the 1950s, there were plans to completely replace the church windows, which no longer fit in with the prevailing taste. Critics included Swiss theologian Karl Barth, who, after a visit to the church, stated that "in the war, there was one bomb too few that fell in Speyer".


Situation today

The Gedächtniskirche is now the main church of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, whose main administrative centre is situated very close to the Speyer cathedral. To celebrate its centenary in 2004, a huge investment was made to renovate the Gedächtniskirche. This led to some displeasure among the followers of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, as the remaining parishes had to restrict their building work due to budgetary problems.


References


External links


City of Speyer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedachtniskirche (Speyer) Churches in Speyer
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...