St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) is a medieval church of the former free imperial city of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in southern

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 ...

. It is dedicated to

Saint Lawrence 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 Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

. The church was badly damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and later restored. It is one of the most prominent churches of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria () is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria. The seat of the church is in Munich. The '' Landesbischof'' (bishop) of the church is Heinrich Bedford ...

Architecture

The nave of the church was completed by around 1400. In 1439, work began on the choir in the form of a

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

in the late

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Sondergotik style of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

. The choir was largely completed by 1477 by Konrad Roriczer, although

Jakob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the '' Deuts ...

completed the intricate vaults. In the choir one can find the carving of the

Angelic Salutation The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

Veit Stoss Veit Stoss (, also spelled Stoß and Stuoss; ; ; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German language, German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic art, Gothic and the North ...

, and the monumental

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

by Adam Kraft. The latter includes a prominent figure of the sculptor himself. The building and furnishing of the church was cared for by the city council and by wealthy citizens. This is probably the reason why the art treasures of St. Lawrence were spared during the iconoclasm during the Reformation period. Despite St. Lawrence being one of the first churches in Germany to be Lutheran (1525), the wealthy citizens of Nuremberg wanted to preserve the memory of their ancestors and refused the removal of the donated works of art. The west facade is richly articulated, reflecting the wealth of the Nuremberg citizens. The facade is dominated by the two towers, mirroring St. Sebald and indirectly

Bamberg Cathedral Bamberg Cathedral (, official name Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg) is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Archdiocese of Bamberg and is the seat of Archbishop of ...

with a sharp towering West portal doorway, and an indented rose window 9 metres in diameter.

Organs

The church has three organs. *Main organ. Steinmeyer, Oettingen, 1937 rebuilt by

Klais Orgelbau Orgelbau Klais is a German firm that designs, builds and restores pipe organs. It is a family run company, founded in 1882 by Johannes Klais senior and is now run by his great-grandson Philipp Klais. The firm is based in Bonn, Germany, and has ...

, Bonn, 2003. 5 manuals *Stephans Organ. Steinmeyer op. 34 from 1862 formerly in the Evangelical Lutherin Church, Hersbruck, Restored in 2002 by

, Bonn. 2 manual *Laurentius Organ.

, Bonn 2005. 3 manual.

Organists of St. Lorenz

The church has employed organists for over 500 years, many of them prominent musicians within Bavaria. Amongst the famous names are the following: *Nicholas Pair (Bayer) ca. 1448 *Hans Seber 1510 - 1517 *Hans Feller 1517 - 1525 *''Interregnum'' from 1525 *Georg Nötteleins ???? - 1565 *Paulus Lautensack 1565 - 1571 *Wilhelm Ende 1571 - 1581 * Kasper Hassler 1587 - 1616 *Johann Staaten 1611 - 1618 *Valentin Dretzel 1618 - 1634 *Sigmund Theophil Staden 1634 - 1655 *Albrect Martin Lunßdörffer 1688 - 1694 *Johann Löhner 1694 - 1705Companion to Baroque Music. Julie Anne Sadie. University of California Press. 1998 *Wolfgang Förtsch 1705 - 1743 * Cornelius Heinrich Dretzel 1743 - 1764 *Johann Siebenkees 1764 - 1772 *Johann Gottlieb Frör 1814 - 1823 *Georg Friedrich Herrscher 1843 - 1870 *Carl Christian Mattäus 1871 - 1914 *Carl Böhm 1913 - 1917 *Walther Körner 1918 - 1962

Gallery

Nürnberg St Lorenz Guckkastenbild.jpg, Reproduction (from 1770) of a print (from 1730) by Johann Adam Delsenbach Wilder St. Lorenz Nürnberg 1852.jpg, View (from 1852) by Georg Christoph Wilder Nürnberg Lorenzkirche 006.jpg, Photographs from 1860 and 1890 Lorenzkirche in Nürnberg Franz Stegmann 1871.jpg, Interior view, Franz Stegmann, 1871 Nürnberg - Lorenzkirche.jpg, Postcard, ca. 1914 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F006560-0002, Nürnberg, Sankt Lorenzkirche.jpg, Photograph from 1959 Aerial Nuremberg Lorenzkirche from North.jpg, Aerial from North * Angelic Salutation (Stoss)

References

Sources

* {{Authority control

Lorenz Lorenz is an originally German name derived from the Roman surname Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum". Given name People with the given name Lorenz include: * Prince Lorenz of Belgium (born 1955), member of the Belgian royal family by h ...

Nuremberg Lorenz Nuremberg St Lorenz