St. Sebaldus Church (''St. Sebald'', ''Sebalduskirche'') is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Along with Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) and St. Lorenz, it is one of the most important churches of the city, and also one of the oldest. It is located at the Albrecht-Dürer-Platz, in front of the old city hall. It takes its name from

Sebaldus Sebaldus (or Sebald) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germany in the 9th or 10th century. He settled down as a hermit in the ''Reichswald'' near Nuremberg, of which city he is the patron saint. According to legend, Sebaldus was a hermit and a mis ...

, an 8th-century

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Nuremberg. It has been a

Lutheran 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 ...

parish church since 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 ...

History

The construction of the building began in 1225. the church achieved parish church status in 1255 and was completed by 1273–75. It was originally built as a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

with two

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s. During the 14th century several important changes to the construction were made: first the side

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s were widened and the

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

s made higher (1309–1345), then the late gothic hall

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

was built (1358–1379). The two towers were added in the 15th century. In the middle 17th century galleries were added and the interior was remodelled in the Baroque fashion. The church suffered serious damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was subsequently restored. Some of the old interior undamaged includes the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, works by

Veit Stoss Veit Stoss (also: ''Veit Stoß'' and ''Stuoss''; pl, Wit Stwosz; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaiss ...

and the stained glass windows. In the church the famous epitaph of the Tucher family can be found. Image:Monument of St Sebaldus.jpg, Monument of St. Sebaldus, a work of

Peter Vischer the Elder Peter Vischer the Elder (c. 1455January 7, 1529) was a German sculptor, the son of Hermann Vischer, and the most notable member of the Vischer Family of Nuremberg. Biography Peter was born in Nuremberg, where he also died. He became "master" in 1 ...

and his sons. Begun 1508, completed 1519 Image:sebald cyark 1.jpg, 3D historical restoration of the Romanesque-period form of the St. Sebald Church Image:sebald cyark 3.jpg, 3D historical restoration of the early Gothic-period Saint Sebald Church Image:sebald cyark 4.jpg, 3D historical restoration showing Saint Sebald's late Gothic East Choir addition superimposed on the early Gothic church Image:sebald cyark 2.jpg, 3D historical restoration showing the Romanesque-period Saint Sebald Church superimposed on the current Church File:Epitaffio di lorenz tucher di hans süss von kulmbach 03.JPG, Tucher Epitaph

Organ

The church had an organ by the 14th century, and another by the 15th. The main organ had been built in 1440–41 by

Heinrich Traxdorf Heinrich Traxdorf (''Drassdorf'', ''Drossdorf'') (dates of birth and death unknown) was an early German organ builder. He was born in Mainz, probably in the beginning of the 15th century. During the 1440s he built three organs in Nuremberg (the la ...

, who also built two small organs for Nuremberg's Frauenkirche. The Traxdorf organ was rebuilt in 1691. The modified case was destroyed by the Allied forces during a bombing raid on 2 January 1945. The new 4 manual, 122 rank, 84 stop organ by ''Peter'' of Cologne was installed in 1975. * ''Couplers:'' II/I, III/I, III/II, IV/I, IV/II, IV/III, I/P, II/P, II 4'/P, III/P, IV/P

Organists

The position of organist of St. Sebaldus was the most important one of this kind in Nuremberg, and several important composers occupied this post. Organists who worked at St. Sebaldus include the following (almost all held the post until their death, except where stated otherwise): * 1446–1450:

Conrad Paumann Conrad Paumann (c. 1410January 24, 1473) was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the early Renaissance. A blind musician, he was one of the most talented musicians of the 15th century, and his performances created a sensation wherever h ...

, secretly left for

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

* 1522–1524: Hans Seber * 1564-1561: Sebald Heyden * 1567–1571: Hans Haiden * 1596–1616: Hans Christoph Haiden, dismissed for

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

* 1616–1618: Kasper Hassler * 1618–1634:

Johann Staden Johann Staden (baptized 2 July 1581 – 15 November 1634) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is best known for establishing the so-called ''Nuremberg School''. Life He was the son of Hans Staden and Elisabeth Löbelle. The exact ...

* 1634–1658: Valentin Dretzel * 1658–1686: Paul Hainlein * 1686–1695:

Georg Caspar Wecker Georg Caspar Wecker (baptized 2 April 1632 – 20 April 1695) was a German Baroque organist and composer. A minor composer of the Nuremberg school, Wecker is now best remembered as one of Johann Pachelbel's first teachers. Wecker was born an ...

* 1695–1706: Johann Pachelbel * 1706–1719: Johann Siegmund Richter * 1719–1764: Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (Johann's son) * 1764–1775: Cornelius Heinrich Dretzel * 1783–1810: Egidius Bauer * 1969–1991: Werner Jacob (left)

Judensau

The church features a

Judensau A ''Judensau'' (German for "Jews' sow") is a folk art image of Jews in obscene contact with a large sow (female pig), which in Judaism is an unclean animal, that appeared during the 13th century in Germany and some other European countries; i ...

, an antisemitic sculpture depicting Jews engaged in obscene activities with pigs. The Judensau depicts a large sow, with two Jews hanging on the teats. A third Jew is feeding the sow on the left side, while a fourth is collecting the excrement on the right. The sculpture was made in the 1380s and is placed at a height of about 7 meters on the church.

Burials

References

* Christoph Wolff. "Paumann, Conrad", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). * Harold E. Samuel, Susan Gattuso. "Nuremberg", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).

External links

St. Sebald Official Site
Includes a brief description in English
St. Sebaldus church at Archiseek.com
Includes brief descriptions and photographs
Saint Sebald Church digital media archive
( creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas), data from a Christofori und Partner/

CyArk CyArk (from "cyber archive") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Oakland, California, United States founded in 2003. CyArk's mission is to "digitally record, archive and share the world's most significant cultural heritage and ensure ...

/Bavarian State Department of Monuments and Sites research partnership {{Authority control Antisemitism in Germany Churches completed in 1275 Churches completed in 1379 Judensau

Nuremberg Sebaldus