St. Moritz, also St. Mauritius, is a church in
Halle (Saale)
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...
,
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
, Germany, dedicated to
St. Maurice. The late-
Gothic 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 ...
was built as an
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
''Stiftskirche'' from 1388. It features late-Gothic stone sculptures and a notable organ from 1925.
Building history
The church was built on the site of an earlier Romanesque church from 1388, dedicated to
St. Maurice. The eastern part was built first, while the earlier church was still in place. The first builder was , followed by Hans Brochstete,
Nickel Hoffmann
Nickel Hoffmann (also known as Nikolaus Hofmann, 1536 – 1592) was a German stonemason, sculptor, craftsman, and builder of the Great Masters in the later part of the Gothic Art movement and the Renaissance in central Germany.
Life and work
Hoffm ...
and others. The church was consecrated in 1411.
The design planned a steeple in the west which was never built. The interior was completed by 1557.
Georg Dehio
Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 – 21 March 1932), was a Baltic German art historian.
In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgeschichte''" (Handbook of German Art History), published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, ...
, Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Sachsen-Anhalt II, Deutscher Kunstverlag
The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...
1999, p. 261.
The early eastern part features a rich style with decorative stone sculptures.
The 15th-century western part is more modest in style, possibly due to less financial support by the sponsors, the Augustines and the ''Pfännerschaft''
gilde
Gilde is a brand name used by the Norwegian meat processing company Nortura on its red meats; including beef, pork, lamb, veal, reindeer.
Until 2006 the brand was managed by the agricultural cooperative Gilde Norsk Kjøtt who then merged with ...
. The church was restored several times, 1838 to 1841, 1910 to 1916, 1956 to 1958, and 1972 to 1978).
The building is in critical condition, needing restoration.
Parish history
The Augustine foundation was dissolved in 1519, and the church used by Dominicans as an abbey church, until it became Lutheran in 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 ...
in 1542. In 1970, the church was returned to the Catholic Church.
Furnishing
The church features notable art works, including stone sculptures by Conrad von Einbeck, who rendered the church's
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
as ''Schellenmoritz'' (Bell Maurice) in 1411.
He created ''
Schmerzensmann'' (
Man of Sorrows
Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 ('' Servant songs'') in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usual ...
) in 1416, ''Klagende Maria'' (Mourning Mary) in 1419, ''Christus an der Geißelsäule'' (
Christ at the Column) in 1419, and a bust which is possibly a self-portrait, but more likely the portrait of one of the donors.
[Georg Dehio, Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Sachsen-Anhalt II, Deutscher Kunstverlag 1999, p. 265.] The late-Gothic high altar dates from 1511. The Renaissance
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
was created by Master Zacharias Bogenkrantz in 1592, with a ''Schalldeckel'' added by Valentin Silbermann in 1604. The present was built by
Sauer Orgelbau in 1925 and inaugurated by
Thomaskantor
(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...
Günther Ramin.
Literature
* : ''Die Moritzkirche zu Halle.'' Berlin: Union 1959 (Das christliche Denkmal 43), 2nd ed. 1965
* Achim Todenhöfer: ''Steinernes Gotteslob. Die mittelalterlichen Kirchen der Stadt Halle.'' In: ''Geschichte der Stadt Halle, vol. 1, Halle im Mittelalter und der Frühen Neuzeit.'' Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 2006, pp 207–226, .
*
*
References
External links
*
Baugeschichtemauritius-elisabeth.de
Moritzkirche – Geschichte und Architekturkirche-in-halle.de
dbu.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halle, Moritz
Gothic hall churches in Germany
Churches completed in 1557