The Deutsche Evangelische Christuskirche is a church on Montpelier Place in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, London.'Montpelier Square Area: Deutsche Evangelische Christuskirche, Montpelier Place', in Survey of London: Volume 45, Knightsbridge, ed. John Greenacombe (London, 2000), pp. 124–127 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol45/pp124-127 ccessed 7 June 2015 German Christian theologian Julius Rieger has described it as the most significant German church in London.

History

The church is an offshoot of a congregation, known as the German Chapel Royal, which met at the

Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy (called The Queen's Chapel during much of modern history in the reigns of Victoria and Elizabeth II), is a church in the City of ...

and

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. An earlier German Lutheran congregation had met on the site of

Holy Trinity the Less Holy Trinity the Less was a parish church in Knightrider Street in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London. Following the fire the site was used for a Lutheran church, which was eventually demolished in 1871 to make way for Man ...

until the 1860s, and latterly at the Hamburg Lutheran Church, alongside the German Hospital in

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

. From 1901, the Lord Chamberlain's department no longer supported German services at the Chapel Royal, and the congregation relocated to the Eccleston Hall in Victoria. A dedicated church was funded by

Sir John Schroder, 1st Baronet Sir John Henry William Schroder, 1st Baronet and Baron von Schröder (13 February 1825 – 20 April 1910) was an Anglo-German merchant banker, his firm being Schroders PLC. He was known as ''Baron Sir John Henry Schroder.'' Schroder was born ''B ...

in honour of his late wife, Evelina.Dr Inge Weber-Newth, Johannes-Dieter Steinert, ''German Migrants in Post-War Britain: An Enemy Embrace'', New York City: Routledge, 2006, p. 10

/ref> In parallel a Deed of Trust was established on 20 December 1904 to ensure the maintenance and the uphold of the building. The building was designed by the architects Edward Boehmer and Charles G. F. Rees. It was built by Dove Brothers from 1904 to 1905. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

was designed by

Franz Xaver Zettler Franz Xaver Zettler (1841-1916) was a German stained glass artist. Early life Zettler was born on 21 August in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, his father, Franz Xaver Zettler, was 27 and his mother, Ursula Oppenrieder, was 28. Career image:Oberndorf S ...

, Ostermann & Hartwein, and Schneiders & Schmolz. Its dedication on 27 November 1904 was attended by Count

Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff Johann Heinrich Graf von Bernstorff (14 November 1862 – 6 October 1939) was a German politician and German Ambassador to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 1908 to 1917. Early life Born in 1862 in London, he was the so ...

Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (Frederick Christian Charles Augustus; 22 January 1831 – 28 October 1917) was a German prince who became a member of the British royal family through his marriage to Princess Helena of the United King ...

Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena; 12 August 1872 – 8 December 1956) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Early life Princess Marie Louise was born at Cumberland Lodge in Wi ...

Prince Louis of Battenberg Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British royal family. Although ...

, and

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, then Princess Louis of Battenberg, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (5 April 1863 – 24 September 1950), was the eldest daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, ...

. In May 1946, the German Christian theologian Julius Rieger wrote in a report that this was the most significant German church in London. He added that its congregants were refugees from Nazi Germany for the most part.

The church today

In 2012 the overall structure of the Trust has been changed to separate the responsibility for the building and the running of the affairs of the congregations. As a result of this restructuring process two charities do now take responsibility for the congregation as well as for the building. * THE CONGREGATION AT GERMAN CHRIST CHURCH LONDON Registered as a charity in England and Wales No. 1149991 * THE GERMAN CHRIST CHURCH LONDON CHARITY Registered as a charity in England and Wales No. 251120 The congregation is part of a network called "Synod of German-Speaking Lutheran, Reformed and United Congregations in Great-Britain": as well as Christuskirche, it includes congregations in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Petersham, Farnborough and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsche Evangelische Christuskirche Knightsbridge Churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Churches completed in 1905 1905 establishments in England