The Church of Saint Aurelia (église Sainte-Aurélie), situated in the west of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
near the railway station, is one of the Strasbourg churches with the longest history. 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 ...
church since the
Reformation
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 ...
, the church is of particular historical and architectural interest.
The name
The Church is mentioned for the first time in 801, when it is referred to as the church of
Saint Maurice
Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, Maurits, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favourite and most widely venerated saints of tha ...
. The name of Saint Aurelia appears only in 1324 when there is a reference to the Church of Saint Maurice "commonly called Saint Aurelia". The change in name seems to be a response to a popular movement since the church was known locally as Sainte Aurélie long before the name was officially changed. It is probably linked to the cult of
Aurelia of Strasbourg
Saint Aurelia of Strasbourg was a 4th-century saint, whose tomb in Strasbourg became the centre of a popular cult in the Middle Ages.
Biography
According to the legend, Aurelia accompanied Saint Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins from Roman Br ...
. According to the legend, the Church stands on the site of the tomb of Aurelia.
The Reformation
In 1524, at the beginning of the Reformation,
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...
was appointed as extra pastor of the church by the guild of gardeners, the largest guild in Strasbourg. He joined Symphorien Pollio, with whom the gardeners were less than happy. The Chapter of
St Thomas had at first refused the appointment, scandalised by Bucer's marriage and ex-communication. The gardeners then appealed to the City Council, who forced the Chapter of St Thomas to accept Bucer.
Bucer preached his first sermon there on 24 February 1524 and quickly rose to become the leader of the reform in Strasbourg. He stayed at St. Aurelia's until 1531. One of the first results of his arrival was the opening of the tomb where the remains of Aurelia were supposed to lie and the removal of the bones by the gardeners, with Bucer justifying this on the grounds that the tomb had become an object of idolatry. Soon afterwards he began the removal of images from St Aurelia's and other Strasbourg churches.
New church
Due to structural weaknesses, the church was completely rebuilt in the 18th century, the new church being inaugurated in 1765. The Church is notable for its
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
interior, which includes a white and gold altar. The galleries are decorated with twenty-three biblical scenes by the Strasbourg painter Pierre Joseph Noël, painted in 1767.
The church possesses the oldest bell in Strasbourg, dating from 1410, as well as a bell-tower clock dating from 1845 by
Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué
Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué (1776–1856) was the author of the third astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral, built between 1838 and 1843 (not 1842, as it is written on the clock itself).
In 1844 Schwilgué, together with his son Charles, patented ...
, the creator of the third
astronomical clock
An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.
Definition ...
of
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...
. It is the only Schwilgué bell-tower clock that is still functioning. The church is owned and used by a congregation within the
.
In 1988 the Church was listed as a French heritage site ().
Organ
The Church is also known for its 1718
Andreas Silbermann
Andreas Silbermann (16 May 1678 – 16 March 1734) was a German organ builder, who was involved in the construction of 35 organs, mostly in Alsace. Andreas also established the Silbermann family tradition of organ building, training his brother Go ...
organ,
on which
Albert Schweitzer
Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...
produced some recordings of Bach and Franck in 1936 for Columbia.
Battle of Austerlitz
In 1805 and early 1806 the Church was used to house Austrian and Russian prisoners, some of the 70,000 prisoners of war taken by the French after the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...
.
21st century parish
The current pastor, since 2012, is Petra Magne de la Croix.
File:Eglise Sainte-Aurélie de Strasbourg-Chaire-Autel (4).jpg, Altar
File:Eglise Sainte-Aurélie de Strasbourg-Autel.jpg, Altar
File:Eglise Sainte-Aurélie de Strasbourg-Evangélistes.jpg, Pulpit
File:Eglise Sainte-Aurélie de Strasbourg-Pélican.JPG, Pelican base of pulpit
References
External links
*
5-minute YouTube presentation of the church6-minute clip of the church bells
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Aurelia's Church, Strasbourg
Aurelie
Baroque church buildings in France
Monuments historiques of Strasbourg