The Martinskirche (St. Martin's church) is the

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 ...

main church in

Sindelfingen Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant. The current mayor ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, Germany. It was built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

as a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

with a flat wooden ceiling, then part of a monastery. Today, the church is also a venue of church music events.

History

The present church was conceived around 1059 to serve as the church of a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, founded by Adalbert II., . The church was built on the foundations of an earlier church, in

as a

with a flat wooden ceiling. Construction began in 1080, and the church was consecrated on 4 July 1083 by the

Bishop of Würzburg A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

and the

Archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian ...

, dedicated to

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

. Building was completed in 1132 under

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

of Spoleto. The church also served the local parish. The was dissolved in 1447. Sindelfingen had its first Lutheran pastor in 1554, named Martinus. The church was restored three times: first from 1863 to 1868, directed by Christian Friedrich Leins, second in 1933, supervised by

Ernst Robert Fiechter Ernst Robert Fiechter (28 October 1875, in Basel – 19 April 1948, in St. Gallen) was a Swiss architect and archaeologist. He is remembered for his research of ancient Greek temple and theatre architecture. He was a cousin to psychologist Carl Gus ...

and H. Seytter, and third in 1973/74, led by Martin Stockburger.

Architecture

The church was built as a traditional basilica, with three

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

s. The original wooden ceiling is preserved, one of the oldest in the state of

, with the tree felling dated to 1131. The ceiling was painted with the symbols of the

four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

in 1933, designed by Fiechter in a retrospective style. The entrance door features Romanesque

door hardware Door furniture (British and Australian English) or door hardware (North American English) refers to any of the items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or appearance. Design of door furniture is an issue to d ...

(''Beschläge'') from the 12th century.

Organ

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

was first mentioned in 1576. A new organ was built in 1661 by Jakob Müntzer, using five of the stops of the earlier instrument. The organ was expanded and restored in 1687, adding a pedal and two stops.

Walcker organs

A new organ with two manuals was completed in 1830 by

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 was installed in the old housing with 19 stops and a pedal of 2 ½ octaves. When the church was remodelled from 1862 to 1864, the old housing was replaced by a simpler one to match the style of the building better. Demands for a better organ that could also serve concert music led to the foundation of a collection towards a new organ (''Orgelfonds'') before World War I. It was funded by generous private donations and from the money for the requisition of large organ pipes for the war. Walcker was commissioned to build a ''Konzertorgel''. It was completed in 1920, with two manuals, pedal and 15 stops, and with room for expansion of up to 45 stops.

Weigle organ

The present main organ of St. Martin was built in 1961 by from Echterdingen, revised in 1974 and 1991. It had 37 stops, three manuals and pedal. In 2016, the Weigle organ was restored by from Leonberg, taking it completely apart for restoration. An electronic control was added, and some stops were replaced.

Gallery

Martinskirche (Sindelfingen) Apsiden Mittelapsis mit Zahnschnittfries.jpg, Apses Martinskirche (Sindelfingen) Westportal 12. JH Löwenkopf Türring verschafft Asylrecht.jpg, West portal from the 12th century Martinskirche (Sindelfingen) Mittelschiff Pfeiler Chor.jpg, Nave towards the choir Martinskirche (Sindelfingen) Mittelschiff Pfeiler Orgel.jpg, Nave towards the organ Martinskirche Sindelfingen 20-04-2019 11.jpg, Weigle organ

References

External links

* *{{KlosterBW, 735 Former collegiate churches in Germany Churches of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg Churches completed in the 1080s Romanesque architecture in Germany 1083 establishments in Europe