The church St. Laurentii is the parish church of 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 ...

congregation in the centre of

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, Germany. The full name is Stadtkirche St. Laurentii (town church of

Lawrence of Rome Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

). Completed in 1718, it is the town's largest religious building. It serves as a parish church and as a concert venue.

History

Itzehoe Kreuzgang-Kloster-Itzehoe Mai-2011 SL276411

A church dedicated to St. Laurentius was first mentioned in a document from 1196. It was a Gothic hall church with two naves, which was destroyed when the town burnt in 1657 due to the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

. The church was rebuilt only provisionally. The

cloisters A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southe ...

survived and are the only medieval building left in Itzehoe. The present church was built from 1716 to 1718 in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. The tower was first only slightly higher than the church. The present tower was built from 1894 to 1896 after designs by Johannes Otzen. It is high, crowned with an

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...

and four corner towers, and was equipped with a viewing platform. The tower was severely damaged by a storm on 8 January 2002. The restoration was completed in 2005.Turmbesichtigung
/ref> Below the church, ladies (''Stiftsdamen'') of the

Itzehoe Monastery The Itzehoe Monastery is a former Cistercian abbey in Itzehoe, which was converted into a noble Protestant ladies' convent after the Reformation. The convent is headed by an abbess. History The monastery was originally founded in the 1230s on a ...

and members of the noble family of Rantzau were buried in metal sarcophages, including: * (1586–1647) * her daughter, Dorothea of Rantzau (1619–1662) * the daughter's husband, ''Reichsgraf'' (1614–1663) * Dorothea Benedicta of Rantzau (1696) * Abbess Metta Christina of Ahlefeldt (1763)

Furnishing

Most pieces date back to the time between the burning and the new church, including an altar from the workshop of , a wood carver from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

who created 24 biblical scenes, and the chancel, which was until 1962 in the centre of a

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

Church music

The

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

was begun in 1715 by

Arp Schnitger Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, especial ...

. After his death in 1719, his pupil completed the work. The Schnitger organ was replaced in 1905 by an instrument built by

Wilhelm Sauer Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Sauer (23 March 1831 – 9 April 1916) was a German pipe organ builder. One of the famous organ builders of the Romantic period, Sauer and his company W. Sauer Orgelbau built over 1,100 organs during his lifetime, amongst ...

who retained the case (''Prospekt''). Franz Grollmann rebuilt and expanded the organ in 1976. The church is a venue of the

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (SHMF) is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist and conductor Justus Fr ...

and other concerts.

Literature

* Jörg Benz, Heinz Longerich: ''Das Gotteshaus St. Laurentii besaß zwei Kirchenschiffe.'' In: ', 17 November 1998, Itzehoe 1998. * Karl-Friedrich Hacker:
Illustrierter Kirchenführer zur Gruft der St. Laurentii-Kirche in Itzehoe.
' Ed. Footura Black, Itzehoe 2011, . * Siegfried Hansen: ''Der Altar der St. Laurentius-Kirche zu Itzehoe.'' In: Heimatverband Kreis Steinburg (ed.): '' 1971.'' Itzehoe 1970, pp 5–9. * : ''Baugeschichte der St. Laurentii-Kirche in Itzehoe.'' In: Heimatverband Kreis Steinburg (ed.): ''Steinburger Jahrbuch 1966.'' Itzehoe 1965, pp 78–88. * Dietrich Krueger: ''Zum Umbau der Orgel in der St. Laurentii-Kirche zu Itzehoe.'' In: Heimatverband Kreis Steinburg (ed.): ''Steinburger Jahrbuch 1977.'' Itzehoe 1976, pp 163–169.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.kirche-itzehoe.de/isg/kirchen/st-laurentii/
Itzehoer Konzertchor
(in German) Itzehoe Laurentii Itzehoe Laurentii Itzehoe Laurentii Itzehoe Laurentii