St Thomas' Church (, ) is a historic building in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the main

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 ...

church of the city since its cathedral became

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

again after the annexation of the town by France in 1681. It is nicknamed the "Protestant Cathedral" (''la cathédrale du Protestantisme alsacien'', ''Kathedrale der Protestanten'') or the Old Lady (''Die alte Dame''), and the only example 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

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

region. The building is located on the '' Route Romane d'Alsace''. It is classified as a ''

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

since 1862. Its congregation forms part of the

Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine The Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (, EPCAAL; , ''Kirche A.B. von Elsass und Lothringen''; ) is a Lutheran church of public-law corporation status (établissement public du culte) in France. The ambit of the ...

History

The site on which the current church stands was used as a place of worship under the patronage of

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

as early as the sixth century. In the ninth century, Bishop Adelochus established a magnificent church with adjoining school, however both burned down in 1007, and again in 1144. In 1196, construction began on the façade of a new, fortress-like building with an imposing steeple, built in the Romanesque style. Interrupted several times, the building work was completed in 1521, in the style of the late Gothic. Around 1450, the church commissioned a set of

oil on panel A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not pain ...

paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...

dedicated to the

Passion of Jesus The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, amo ...

. Most of the surviving panels of this once scattered set are now kept in the Staatliche Kunsthalle in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, which is why the anonymous master who painted them earned the

notname In art history, a (, "name of necessity" or "contingency name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled or generically titled works a ...

of ″ Master of the Karlsruhe Passion″. It is assumed that he is identical with the painter Hans Hirtz, recorded in Strasbourg before 1460. The upper right angle of the '' Christ Carrying the Cross'' shows the St. Thomas Church as it still looks today. In 1524, the church, which had been a pillar of local Catholic faith thanks notably to the efforts of the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and poet Gottfried von Hagenau, converted to the Protestant faith (

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

served there as a

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

), a status which it maintained despite annexation of Alsace to the Catholic France. It still administers the primary and secondary schools ''École Saint-Thomas'' and ''Foyer Jean Sturm'', as well as the ''Séminaire Protestant'', a seminary located in the adjacent

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

building. The church played a crucial part in the liturgical revival as the place where, from 1888, Friedrich Spitta tested new forms of church service, and where the ''Akademische Kirchenchor'' () was brought into being. Julius Smend came to preach regularly from 1893, and between 1894 and 1899, the ''Gesangbuch für Elsaß-Lothringen'' () was developed there. On May 7, 2006, the church was the place of the official celebration for the creation of the ''Union des églises protestantes d'Alsace et de Lorraine'' (Union of the Protestant Churches of Alsace and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

), or UEPAL.

Architecture

The church is a five-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

d hall church, the oldest on the territory of former south-west Germany. Inside it is approximately 65 metres long and 30 metres wide, with a height of 22m (30m under the late-Gothic

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

). There is a gallery on the left outer aisle, and chapels to the left and right of the apse.

Features

Organs

The church is internationally renowned for its historic and musically-significant organs: the 1741 Silbermann organ, played by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

in 1778 and faithfully restored in 1979 by Alfred Kern; the French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Louis Thiry recorded the Art of Fugue by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

on this organ. The other organ is a 1905 organ in the Neo-Baroque style (installed in 1906) built by Fritz Haerpfer, following a design by the organist then,

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

Tombs

Monuments at the church date from between 1130 and 1850. Most famous are the richly decorated

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of Bishop Adelochus (ca. 1130) by the

Master of Eschau The Master of Eschau () is the notname given to an Alsatian Romanesque sculptor and his workshop, active in the first half of the 12th century. The Master's name derives from the sculptures (capitals, baptismal font) from the cloister and the ch ...

and the grand late-Baroque mausoleum of Marshal

Maurice de Saxe Maurice, Count of Saxony (, ; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania ...

(1777), created by

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (; 26 January 1714 – 20 August 1785) was a French sculptor whose work was influenced by both baroque and neo-classical trends. Life Pigalle was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to ob ...

. Among the many other remarkable monuments, the Renaissance tombstone of Nikolaus Roeder von Tiersberg (1510) is notable for its realistic depiction of his decaying corpse. Roeder had been the donor of the life-size Mount of Olives group of sculptures (1498) now to be seen inside

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

. Neoclassical sculptor Landolin Ohmacht is represented by two works, one of them dedicated to Jean-Frédéric Oberlin.

Frescos

A late-Gothic representation of Saint Michael, probably a work by Jost Haller, is, after the Saint Christopher in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Wissembourg, the largest of its kind in France.

Stained-glass windows

Of the medieval leaded windows, only the rose at the front of the church remains intact. In the nave, the upper parts of the windows are lavishly decorated with architectural and botanical motifs. The representations of saints that were originally found below were destroyed in the 16th century by Protestant iconoclasts. The choir windows are of a contemporary style.

Gallery

Strasbourg StThomas82.JPG, Main organ, by Johann Andreas Silbermann, 1741 Eglise St Thomas - Orgue de Choeur.JPG, Choir organ built to the plans of

, 1905 Sarcophage d'Adeloch.JPG,

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of bishop Adeloch StThomas 07.JPG,

Fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

of Saint Michael StThomas 05.jpg, Mausoleum of Marshal

References

External links

* *
History and description of the organs

Website of the church community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas' Church, Strasbourg

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Romanesque architecture in France Religious buildings and structures completed in 1521 16th-century Lutheran churches Monuments historiques of Strasbourg Gothic architecture in Strasbourg Hall churches 16th-century churches in France