St. Martha is a medieval church in the old town 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 Martha. Since 1800 it is a Reformed church, the community of which forms part of the Evangelical Reformed Church (regional church).

History

Conrad and John von Waldstomer donated the church and the associated hospital in 1363. It was consecrated on 24 March 1385. From 1390 to 1430, wealthy Nuremberg families endowed the church with a series of stained-glass windows placed in its chancel. As a result of the Reformation the church was closed in 1526. It was then used as a theatre by the Nuremberg Meistersingers. In 1614, plays were forbidden in churches, and by 1627 it was restored to use as a church. The church was only lightly 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 ...

, when a bomb hit the roof and the central chancel arch. By 1946 it was fully restored.

Fire 5 June 2014

On 5 June 2014 a fire broke out leaving the interior devastated and severely affecting the church's structural integrity. Fortunately the stained-glass windows in the chancel had been removed beforehand due to renovations and thus weren't damaged. It was decided not to reconstruct the church in its original state. Instead a modern interior design by architect Florian Nagler was adopted. A simple, raised wooden ceiling encloses the restored walls which still show traces of the fire. The chancel remains in its historical shape, decorated with the stained windows. During restoration and reconstruction works the parish held its service in neighbouring St.Klara church. St. Martha was reopened on 10 November 2018.

References

Sources

*This page is based on the article on German Wikipedia. {{Authority control Martha

Nuremberg Martha Nuremberg Martha