Church of John the Baptist

Lüneburg, Germany

The Church of John the Baptist (Johanniskirche) is the oldest Lutheran church in Lüneburg, Germany. The church is considered an important example of northern German Brick Gothic architecture. The five-naved hall church was erected between 1300 and 1370 and repaired in 1420. In the early 15th century Conrad of Soltau, as Conrad III Prince-Bishop of Verden, failed to make St. John's the new cathedral of his see, since the city council and the Prince of Lüneburg resisted that fearing the political interference of another power. The outer structure was marked by rebuilding in 1765. Particularly striking is the lightly sloping steeple, which at a height of 108 meters is the highest church steeple in Lower Saxony. The stained-glass in the Elisabeth Chapel was made by Charles Crodel in 1969.

The church's organ was finished in 1553 by Hendrik Niehoff and Jasper Johansen and rebuilt in 1714 by Arp Schnitger student, Matthias Dropa and in the latter 20th century by Rudolf von Beckerath.

The 108-meter-high spire of the church looks as though it is sloping from each side: the truss on the upper part is twisted into a corkscrew shape. A legend states that when the master builder noticed the mistake, he fell from an upper window in the church tower; however, he landed on a passing haywagon, so he lived. Feeling that he had been vindicated by God, the master went into a local tavern to celebrate. After a few too many drinks he leaned back in his chair and fell over. As he fell he hit his head on the stone hearth of the fireplace and was killed.

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Address

Bei der St.Johanniskirche, Lüneburg, Germany
See all sites in Lüneburg

Details

Founded: 1300-1370
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Annika Täubler (2 years ago)
Ein großes altes Stück Geschichte. Wer als Besucher genau hin sieht merkt das sie schief ist. Dahinter steht eine Geschichte. Man sollte die Kirche am besten morgens besuchen,dann hört man aus dem Kirchturm unseren Stadt bekannten Musiker der jeden morgen (bis auf Sonntag) mit seiner Musik die Anwohner begrüßt
Alex (2 years ago)
Quintessential German town
Indranil Sinha (2 years ago)
পরেরদিন আকাশ পরিষ্কার থাকায় আমরা গেলাম কাছাকাছি একটা পুরোনো শহর Lüneburg এ। এই শহরটি ১০০০ বছরেরও বেশী পুরোনো, নুন তৈরীর জন্য বিখ্যাত ও উত্তর জার্মানীর সুন্দরতম শহরগুলির মধ্যে একটি। দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধেও কোনো ক্ষতি না হবার ফলে Lüneburg তার কমনীয় মধ্যযুগীয় চরিত্রটি বজায় রেখেছে। Ilmenau নদীর ধারে অবস্থিত এই শহরটি। নদীর ধারে গাড়ী পার্ক করে আমরা শহরে হাঁটতে বেরোলাম। পুরোনো বাড়ী, পাথরের রাস্তা, সুন্দর সব বাড়ীর ডিজাইন, প্রচুর ট্যুরিস্ট, শহরের মধ্যিখানে গাড়ী চলা বারণ, খালি পাবলিক বাস চলে, প্রচুর ওপেন এয়ার রেস্তোরাঁ, সেখানে লোকজন বসে পানাহার করছে, ঝকঝকে নীল আকাশ, সব মিলিয়ে একটা দারুন পরিবেশ। আমরা দেখলাম St. Johanniskirche (st. Johannis church), টাউন হল, ওয়াটার টাওয়ার এবং St. Nicolai church. Lüneburg এর চেয়ে ভালো জায়গা দিয়ে বোধহয় আমাদের জার্মানী ভ্রমণ সম্পন্ন হতে পারতো না। অথচ এখানে আসার কোনো পরিকল্পনাই আমাদের ছিল না। আমাদের হোস্ট এই জায়গাটার উল্লেখ করে বলেছিলেন : "this is a must see ".
Aidin Azimi (3 years ago)
Nice and calm. Old style and beautiful.
Thoralf Bock (8 years ago)
Wow!
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Quimper Cathedral

From 1239, Raynaud, the Bishop of Quimper, decided on the building of a new chancel destined to replace that of the Romanesque era. He therefore started, in the far west, the construction of a great Gothic cathedral which would inspire cathedral reconstructions in the Ile de France and would in turn become a place of experimentation from where would later appear ideas adopted by the whole of lower Brittany. The date of 1239 marks the Bishop’s decision and does not imply an immediate start to construction. Observation of the pillar profiles, their bases, the canopies, the fitting of the ribbed vaults of the ambulatory or the alignment of the bays leads us to believe, however, that the construction was spread out over time.

The four circular pillars mark the start of the building site, but the four following adopt a lozenge-shaped layout which could indicate a change of project manager. The clumsiness of the vaulted archways of the north ambulatory, the start of the ribbed vaults at the height of the south ambulatory or the choice of the vaults descending in spoke-form from the semi-circle which allows the connection of the axis chapel to the choir – despite the manifest problems of alignment – conveys the hesitancy and diverse influences in the first phase of works which spread out until the start of the 14th century.

At the same time as this facade was built (to which were added the north and south gates) the building of the nave started in the east and would finish by 1460. The nave is made up of six bays with one at the level of the facade towers and flanked by double aisles – one wide and one narrow (split into side chapels) – in an extension of the choir arrangements.

The choir presents four right-hand bays with ambulatory and side chapels. It is extended towards the east of 3-sided chevet which opens onto a semi-circle composed of five chapels and an apsidal chapel of two bays and a flat chevet consecrated to Our Lady.

The three-level elevation with arches, triforium and galleries seems more uniform and expresses anglo-Norman influence in the thickness of the walls (Norman passageway at the gallery level) or the decorative style (heavy mouldings, decorative frieze under the triforium). This building site would have to have been overseen in one shot. Undoubtedly interrupted by the war of Succession (1341-1364) it draws to a close with the building of the lierne vaults (1410) and the fitting of stained-glass windows. Bishop Bertrand de Rosmadec and Duke Jean V, whose coat of arms would decorate these vaults, finished the chancel before starting on the building of the facade and the nave.

Isolated from its environment in the 19th century, the cathedral was – on the contrary – originally very linked to its surroundings. Its site and the orientation of the facade determined traffic flow in the town. Its positioning close to the south walls resulted in particuliarities such as the transfer of the side gates on to the north and south facades of the towers: the southern portal of Saint Catherine served the bishop’s gate and the hospital located on the left bank (the current Préfecture) and the north gate was the baptismal porch – a true parish porch with its benches and alcoves for the Apostles’ statues turned towards the town, completed by an ossuary (1514).

The west porch finds its natural place between the two towers. The entire aesthetic of these three gates springs from the Flamboyant era: trefoil, curly kale, finials, large gables which cut into the mouldings and balustrades. Pinnacles and recesses embellish the buttresses whilst an entire bestiary appears: monsters, dogs, mysterious figures, gargoyles, and with them a whole imaginary world promoting a religious and political programme. Even though most of the saints statues have disappeared an armorial survives which makes the doors of the cathedral one of the most beautiful heraldic pages imaginable: ducal ermine, the Montfort lion, Duchess Jeanne of France’s coat of arms side by side with the arms of the Cornouaille barons with their helmets and crests. One can imagine the impact of this sculpted decor with the colour and gilding which originally completed it.

At the start of the 16th century the construction of the spires was being prepared when building was interrupted, undoubtedly for financial reasons. Small conical roofs were therefore placed on top of the towers. The following centuries were essentially devoted to putting furnishings in place (funeral monuments, altars, statues, organs, pulpit). Note the fire which destroyed the spire of the transept cross in 1620 as well as the ransacking of the cathedral in 1793 when nearly all the furnishings disappeared in a « bonfire of the saints ».

The 19th century would therefore inherit an almost finished but mutilated building and would devote itself to its renovation according to the tastes and theories of the day.

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