The Elisabethenkirche, or ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen'', is a 19th-century church building in the centre of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

, next to the

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

, in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is a well detailed example of Swiss

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

churches. It has a tall

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

and spire. The tower has internal stairs.

History

The church construction begun in 1857 and was completed in 1864. Its architect was Ferdinand Stadler and it was the first new church erected in Basel following the

reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Its construction was sponsored by the wealthy businessman

Christoph Merian Christoph Merian (22 January 1800 – 22 August 1858) was a banker and businessman. He was the owner of a large estate, agriculturist and rentier. He was one of the richest Swiss men of that time. He was an honorary citizen of Münchenstein (1854 ...

and his wife Margarethe Burckhardt-Merian, which were both laid to rest in the church in black marble sarcophagi in the crypt below the church's main floor. Christoph Merian did not oversee the completion of the church as he died in 1858. The Merians also founded the Christoph-Merian-Stiftung. Today's congregation forms part of the

Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Stadt The Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche Basel-Stadt (literally: Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Stadt) is a Reformed denomination in the canton of Basel-Stadt. In 2004 it had 51,000 members in six German parishes with 3 German speaking c ...

Present day

Today the church is home of the first Swiss "OpenChurch" or ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen]''. The Offene Kirche Elisabethen caters to the spiritual, cultural and social needs of urban people of all backgrounds. It is also known for their support of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

community. The ''Offene Kirche Elisabethen'' is well known throughout the region for their ''Fasnachtsgottesdienst'', a service in honor of the

Carnival of Basel The Carnival of Basel (german: Basler Fasnacht) is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe. Since 2017, the Carnival ...

. The Church has also served as the venue for punk concerts and at times it was converted into a club. Schöpfungsfeier (service with blessing of the human-animal relation), Heilungsfeiern (weekly and trimesterly healing-/blessing services for people in need and sorrow) and their gender aware spiritual practice. Nearly 50'000 people visit the church per year.

References

External links

* Churches completed in 1864 Reformed churches in Basel Tourist attractions in Basel Gothic Revival church buildings in Switzerland {{Switzerland-church-stub

History

Present day

See also

References

External links