St. Anne's Church (german: St. Anna-Kirche) in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, Germany, is a medieval church building that was originally part of a monastery built in 1321. It is notable for its elaborate interior decoration.

History

St. Anne's was built in 1321 by

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

friars. In 1518

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

stayed there with the Carmelite friars when he was in Augsburg to meet the papal legate, Cardinal Cajetan, who wanted Luther to submit to the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. The church converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

in 1545. On October 31, 1999, representatives of the Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran churches signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in the Church of St. Anna. This is considered one of the most important events for the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

. After a long period of closure, the ''Lutherstiege'' museum was reopened in 2012. A comprehensive renovation was completed in 2016/17.

List of preachers from 1545

* 1545: M. Johann Heinrich Held * 1551: Johann Mattsperger(Interim) * 1551: Kaspar Huberinus * 1552: M. Johann Meckhardt * 1559: M. Georg Eckhard * 1568: M. Martin Rieger * 1579: Dr. Georg Müller(Mylius) * 1584: Matthäus Herbst * 1586: Stephan Engelbronner * 1586: Johannes Baier * 1589: Johann Rosslin * 1592: M. Georg Riederer * 1593: M. Kaspar Sauter

The building

The church ceiling is decorated with

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

stuccowork, with frescoes by Johann Georg Bergmüller. The Goldsmiths' Chapel (''Goldschmiedekapelle'') was donated in 1420 by Conrad and Afra Hirn. The Fugger chapel, which is the burial chapel of the Fuggers, is the earliest example of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

in Germany. It was endowed in 1509 by Ulrich and Jakob Fugger (the latter of which was buried in the chapel). Among the features are a marble pavement, an organ with painted shutters, stained glass, choir stalls, a sculptural group of the

Lamentation of Christ The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by m ...

, and memorial relief tablets in the style of Dürer. The spire was added in 1607 by Elias Holl.

References

* St. Anna (Augsburg) on German Wikipedia
St. Anne's church
* Geschichte der St. Anna-Kirche in Augsburg By Julius Hans * Stammbaum der Familie Lotter in Schwaben By Carl Lotter Augsburg Anne Churches in Augsburg Augsburg Anne Augsburg Anne Buildings and structures in Augsburg Buildings and structures associated with the Fugger family {{Germany-church-stub