Stadtkirche St. Marien Parish Church Herzberg

Address

Kirchstraße 14
04916 Herzberg

This provider is located in the region Elbe-Elster-Land

Stadtkirche St. Marien Parish Church Herzberg

Churches

0 Ratings of 5 (0)

The Stadtkirche St. Marien Church was constructed in the 14th century as a Gothic hall-type church. The three aisles of the church are spanned by a richly divided vaulted roof, resembling St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The Marienkirche Church is a reminder that the town of Herzberg pledged itself to the Reformation at an early date. The parish included several surrounding villages. Herzberg once had an early monastery of Augustinian hermits, which was dissolved in 1522, hardly any traces of which can be found today. Martin Luther belonged to the order. Andreas Wagner held Protestant church services in German here in 1522. It is assumed that the reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon were involved with the church and school visitations, which were conducted in Herzberg in 1522 and 1533. Martin Luther also accompanied the dissolution of the Augustine-Eremite Monastery in his role as District Vicar. Pastor Andreas Wagner was also the confessor of Frederick the Wise (1463–1525), the Elector of Saxony, who protected Martin Luther. It was he who gave his master communion in both forms on his death bed. Wagner served as a pastor until his death in Herzberg in 1561. Two large-format paintings with the portraits of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon are held in the Marienkirche Church.

The start of construction of the red-brick church is unclear. Originally it was dedicated to the patron of merchants, St. Nicholas, whose veneration had spread to Dutch settlers. The construction period of the church is dated to around 1370 to 1450.

According to the ceiling painting style, the eastern half of the church was vaulted around 1410, the western half some time after 1430. The tower was built on a rectangular floor plan and transitioned into an octagon. Severely damaged by the town fire in 1483, it collapsed in 1495 and was not repaired until 1562. The second finial, the smaller octagon, the dome and the lantern were built at the beginning of the 17th century. The hollow tower ball contains an extensive collection of documents and a coin collection dating back many centuries.

The north side adjoins the third eastern side aisle, originally a single-storey hexagonal chapel. The remains of the original windows from the 14th century are extraordinarily significant and remarkable in terms of art history. The tower apartment was still inhabited by a “tower” family right up until 1955.

The art-historical significance of the Herzberg Pfarrkirche Church is explained first and foremost by its almost totally preserved collection of medieval vaulted paintings. In the older part of the building, style-critical considerations believe that the painting is likely to have been done around 1415. The paintings decorate an exceptionally beautiful parallel rib-vaulted roof above the central aisle and star-vaulted ceiling above the side aisles.

Guided tours can be arranged in advance by telephone.

Address

Stadtkirche St. Marien Parish Church Herzberg

Opening hours

01.03. to 31.10.

01.11. to 29.02.

Contact

Address

Contact

Arrival planner

Weather Today, 25. 4.

Brochures

Tourist information

Weather Today, 25. 4.

Thank you for visiting www.brandenburg-tourism.com

Address

Stadtkirche St. Marien Parish Church Herzberg

Opening hours

01.03. to 31.10.

01.11. to 29.02.

Contact

Address

Contact

Arrival planner

Weather Today, 25. 4.

Brochures

Tourist information

Weather Today, 25. 4.

Thank you for your enquiry!

Your request was not successful!

Thank you for visiting www.brandenburg-tourism.com