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Marktkirche (Market Church) is the main Protestant church in
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
, the state capital of
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
, Germany. The
neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
church on the central Schlossplatz () was designed by Carl Boos and built between 1853 and 1862. At the time it was the largest brick building of the
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...
. It is also called ''Nassauer Landesdom'' (Cathedral of Nassau).


History

On 27 June 1850, Wiesbaden's main church, the medieval church of St. Mauritius, was destroyed in a fire. After a report showed that its remaining outer walls were not sufficiently stable, a new church was planned. On 26 January 1851, Carl Boos was appointed the architect. Boos submitted proposals for three locations, namely the old church site at the Mauritiusplatz, the central Schlossplatz facing the
Stadtschloss Wiesbaden Wiesbaden City Palace ( or ''Wiesbadener Stadtschloss'') is a neo-classical building in the center of Wiesbaden, Germany. It was completed in 1841 as the principal city residence of the Dukes of Nassau. The palace has several wings, 145 rooms, a ...
, and a site in the vineyards on the slopes of the
Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...
. Since the new building should reflect the need for representation of the Nassau residence and emerging spa destination, the site of the former church in the old city was rejected. The five ministers and the parish council preferred the location in the vineyards on the hill, so that the new church would be visible from a distance, but were overruled by six lay people who preferred a central location on the Schlossplatz. The Duke of Nassau made the property available for the construction, but did not sponsor the construction costs. Carl Boos received the contract without a competition. On 14 January 1852, he presented first plans, but changed them on 25 February 1852, proposing a brick building based on the model of
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...
's
Friedrichswerder Church Friedrichswerder Church (, ) was the first Neo-Gothic church built in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by an architect better known for his Neoclassical architecture, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, and was built under his direction from 1824 to 1831 ...
in Berlin. His unusual design with five towers was criticised because of needing too much material and building too high, but he even increased the height of the main tower to about 98 m (300 feet). The foundation stone was laid on 22 September 1853. When the church was completed it was the largest brick building of the
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...
. Ernst Ludwig Dietrich was minister from 1929 and served as Bishop of the
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of its most prominent churches is Katharinen ...
from 1933 to 1945. His successor at the Marktkirche was from 1934 until his death in 1965 Willy Borngässer, who was arrested several times for his political views by the Nazis and imprisoned from 1943 to 1945. In 1937,
Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s, and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confes ...
, resistance fighter and honorary citizen of Wiesbaden, held his last sermon in the church before his arrest.


Architecture

The model of the church without
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
was the Friedrichswerder Church. The Marktkirche was the first all-brick building in the Duchy of Nassau. The west tower makes it the tallest building in the city. The interior has a length of 50 m, a width of 20 m and a height of 28 m and is encircled by galleries. The vaulted ceiling is painted as a starry sky.


Walcker organ

The Walcker organ is considered to be important. The original organ was built in 1863 supplied by the company,
Eberhard Friedrich Walcker Walcker Orgelbau (also known as E. F. Walcker & Cie.) of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is a builder of pipe organs. It was founded in Cannstatt, a suburb of Stuttgart in 1780 by . His son Eberhard Friedrich Walcker moved the business to ...
from Ludwigsburg. It had 53 stops and a mechanical action. In 1900 the mechanical tracker action was replaced by a pneumatic action, in 1929 by an electro-pneumatic action, and finally in 1970 (Gebr. Oberlinger, Windesheim) by an electric organ with play and stop action. The last renovation and expansion dates from 1982, when it was expanded to 85 registers (on slider chests), 20 of which date back to the original organ of 1863. The instrument has a total of 6,198 pipes. The main console was built in 1982 and is designed like the French Cavaillé-Coll organs. The choir organ can be played from the main console.


Carillon

The Marktkirche has a
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
, installed in the main tower about 65 m high. The mechanical keyboard is reached by stairs of 290 steps. The carillon, the largest in Hesse, consists of 49 bronze bells. The biggest one weighs 2.2 tons, the smallest 13 kg. All bells including the steel structure housing them weigh 11 tons. The carillon was inaugurated on
Reformation Day Reformation Day is a Protestant Christian religious holiday celebrated on 31 October in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation. According to Philip Melanchthon, 31 October 1517 was the day Martin Luther nailed his '' Ninety-five Theses'' ...
, 31 October 1986. It was financed by the parish, the city and many donations. It can be played manually and is played automatically at regular times every day.


Church music

Between 1890 and 1896, the composer, pianist and organist
Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...
played during his time in Wiesbaden on the Walcker organ of the church. An organ version of his '' Hebbel-Requiem'' by the Munich organist and composer
Max Beckschäfer Max Beckschäfer (born 23 February 1952 in Münster) is a German organist, composer and academic who taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg. He received commissions from the Munic ...
was premiered at the church in 1985 by the
Reger-Chor The Reger-Chor is a German-Belgian choir. It was founded in Wiesbaden in 1985 and has been conducted by Gabriel Dessauer in Wiesbaden. Since 2001 it has grown to Regerchor-International in a collaboration with the organist Ignace Michiels of the ...
, conducted by
Gabriel Dessauer Gabriel Dessauer (born 4 December 1955) is a German Cantor (church), cantor, concert organist, and academic teacher. After studies with Diethard Hellmann and Franz Lehrndorfer, he was responsible for the church music at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden ...
. Current organists are Hans Uwe Hielscher (since 1979) and Thomas J. Frank. Frank is also the conductor of the church choir and a project choir for performances of oratorios. Hielscher initiated a series "Orgelmusik zur Marktzeit" (organ music at market time), half an hour of organ music every Saturday at 11:30 am, played by himself and guests. He played the 1500th concert in 2010. The church has been a venue of the
Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...
, beginning in its first season with a concert of the
Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...
. It is also one of the locations for the series, begun in 2004, to perform all Bach sacred cantatas as part of monthly services in a collaboration of the
Schiersteiner Kantorei Schiersteiner Kantorei (Schierstein Chorale) is a German concert choir, founded in 1962 at the Christophoruskirche, Schierstein, Christophoruskirche in Wiesbaden-Schierstein. The choir performs regularly in the Marktkirche, Wiesbaden, and in Eber ...
, the Kantorei St. Katharinen Frankfurt and the
Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German language, German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions ...
. In 2009 the Schiersteiner Kantorei, conducted by
Martin Lutz Martin Lutz (born 19 May 1950) is a German musicologist, conductor and harpsichordist. He was the musical director of the concert choir Schiersteiner Kantorei in Wiesbaden from 1972 to 2017, and founded the biennial festival Wiesbadener Bachwochen ...
, performed Handel's ''
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
'' with
Andreas Scholl Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbube ...
in the title role, tenor
Andreas Karasiak Andreas Karasiak (born 1968) is a German classical tenor in opera and concert. Career Andreas Karasiak studied voice at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with Claudia Eder. He studied Baroque music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis w ...
and bass
Gotthold Schwarz Gotthold Schwarz (born 2 May 1952) is a German Bass-baritone and conductor. Based in Leipzig, he started as a member of the Thomanerchor and has conducted the Gewandhausorchester. Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th Thomaskantor after Johann ...
.


Further reading

* * *''Die Marktkirche Wiesbaden'', comprehensive illustrated guide, parish of the Marktkirche


Gallery

Marktkirche Exterior Detail.jpg, Detail at the main portal Marktkirche, Wiesbaden, Nave view 20200613 2.jpg, Looking down the nave, towards the altar Marktkirche Interior Detail.jpg, Vaults meet a column Wiesbaden, Marktkirche (3).JPG, Console of the Walcker organ Marktkirche_Detail.jpg Marktkirche_Plafond.jpg


References


External links

*
Marktkirche
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
{{Authority control Protestant churches in Wiesbaden Gothic Revival church buildings in Germany Churches completed in 1862 1862 establishments in the German Confederation