The Church of St. Martin in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also ...

is a medieval church in Bavaria. St. Martin's Church, along with Trausnitz Castle and the celebration of the

Landshuter Hochzeit The Landshut Wedding (german: Landshuter Hochzeit) is one of the largest historical pageants in Europe. Countless visitors from all over the world have taken part, or have been spectators of the "Landshuter Hochzeit 1475", a pageant held in the ci ...

(wedding), are the most important landmarks and historical events of Landshut. The

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

building features Bavaria's tallest church tower, and this steeple is also the 2nd tallest brick structure in the world (after

Anaconda Smelter Stack The Anaconda Smelter Stack is the tallest surviving masonry structure in the world, with an overall height of about , including a brick chimney tall and the downhill side of a concrete foundation tall. Provides precise dimensions via two drawi ...

) made without steel supports. St. Martin's church's bell tower has a height of .

History

In the year 1204, the town of Landshut was founded by Duke

Louis I, Duke of Bavaria Louis I (german: Ludwig; 23 December 1173 – 15 September 1231), called the Kelheimer or of Kelheim, since he was born and died at Kelheim, was the Duke of Bavaria from 1183 and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1214. He was a son of Otto I ...

the Kelheimer. He established Castle Trausnitz and built a small church on the site of the present-day St. Martin's Church. That structure was superseded by building the existing church, which began in 1389. It took about 110 years to finish the church. During this period, five architects managed the building site. It took 55 years just to build the tower. The church was finally dedicated in 1500.

Features

The choir elbow cross of 1495 has an overall length of 8 m (22 feet). The

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...

is one of the largest of the late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

period. The body was carved from a lime tree trunk and has a length of 5.80 m (16 feet) and an arm width of 5.40 m (15 feet). Sculpted by

Michel Erhart Michel Erhart ( 1440 to 1445 – after 1522, Ulm) was a German late Gothic sculptor who lived and worked in Ulm. Life Erhart spent his journeyman years in various regions including Konstanz and the Netherlands before finally settling in Ulm ...

, it was installed in 1495. Other important works of art in the church include the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

, the hexagonal

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

carved from a single stone, and the "rose wreath/ring Madonna" (about 1520), created by Hans Leinberger and considered one of his most important works of art.

Construction and renovations

Construction of the church began around 1389, under the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Hans von Burghausen. The exact date for the beginning of construction of the church is not well known, but its construction was first noted in the city chronicle in 1392. The building was completed in 1500. The church was built from

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

. Five thousand wooden stakes were used for the foundation. The stakes are located completely in the

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

, in order to delay rot caused by

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

. With a height of 130.6 m (428 feet), the church tower is considered to be the tallest brick building in the world, surpassing the Church of Our Lady, Bruges, in Belgium by 8.6 meters. In the year 2001, St. Martin's Church received the title of

basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

from 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 is built in Gothic style, demonstrated by the pointed shape of its windows and arches.

Gallery

References & notes

* The

SkyscraperPage SkyscraperPage is a website for skyscraper hobbyists and enthusiasts that tracks existing and proposed skyscrapers around the world. The site is owned by Skyscraper Source Media, a supplier of skyscraper diagrams for the publication, marketing, a ...

'
source
showed that St. Martin's Church is tall, and construction began in 1385 and finished in 1507.

External links

* *

St. Martin's Church
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Landshut Martin Basilica churches in Germany Roman Catholic churches in Bavaria Landshut, St. Martin Buildings and structures in Landshut