The Frauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady") is a church in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of

brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

architecture, it was built on the initiative of

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored. Numerous works of art from the

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

are kept in the church, such as the so-called Tucher Altar (c. 1440, originally the high altar of the Augustinian church of St. Vitus), and two monuments by Adam Kraft (c. 1498). It has been a parish church of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

since 1810.

History

Following an outbreak of the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

in 1349, a Christian

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

against the Jewish inhabitants of Nuremberg took place, and they were expelled from the city. Emperor Charles IV ordered the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

of Nuremberg to be destroyed to make way for the development of the grand market (''Hauptmarkt''), at which also a church was to be built on the rubble. This became the Frauenkirche. The architect was probably Peter Parler. Emperor Charles IV wanted to use the Frauenkirche for imperial ceremonies, which is reflected in the porch with the balcony, and in the fact that the church is relatively unadorned except for the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, the seven Electors, the town of Nuremberg, and the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

s were crowned. Construction of the church continued until the 1360s. Charles IV's son Wenceslas was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

in the church in 1361, on which occasion the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, C ...

, including the imperial

reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported or actual physic ...

, were displayed to the people. References to Wenceslaus can be found throughout the sculptural program of the church. Beginning in 1423, the Imperial Regalia were kept permanently in Nuremberg and displayed to the people once a year on a special wooden platform constructed for that purpose. In 1442 and 1443 Heinrich Traxdorf from Mainz built a "medium and a small organ". In 1487 the sacristy burned down. It was rebuilt in 1496. The church was surrounded by market stalls and medieval buildings, later removed. The current west gable of the church dates from 1506-8 and was designed by Adam Kraft. Historic images show that this gable was once richly decorated with sculptures which were presumably destroyed in the Reformation. In 1525 the church became Lutheran and galleries were added in the aisles. In 1810, the church was acquired by a Catholic parish which removed the galleries and restored the church in 1816 under the direction of Lorenz Rotermundt. This restoration involved replacing and repairing surviving sculptures and gathering Medieval art to adorn the church. The church was almost completely destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the bombing of Nuremberg with only the nave walls and facade remaining. This damage was repaired by 1953. There was a more extensive restoration between 1989-1991. Since 1948, the balcony of the church, below the Männleinlaufen, has been used for the opening ceremony of the Christkindlesmarkt. The church parish and the neighboring Parish of St. Elizabeth are known collectively as the "Katholische Innenstadtkirche Nürnberg" (Catholic Downtown churches of Nuremberg).

Architecture and furnishing

The west facade of the Frauenkirche is richly decorated with a central porch creating a narthex and an elaborate projection above flanked by two engaged stair towers. The portals on the porch are decorated on the west with sculptures of Adam, Eve, the Virgin, and prophets. On the left, the porch is decorated with male saints, while on the right are female saints. At the corners are sculptures of royal benefactors. The porch encloses a narthex that is richly polychromed (a later restoration). All four sides of the narthex have portals, the jambs and archivolts of which are decorated with sculptures. The second stage of the porch features a complex tracery balustrade with heraldic shields and blind round arches framing the pointed arched windows. Within the narthex, the ribs are completely decorated with sculptures and the main entry to the church features a tympanum showing the Nativity. The stepped gable of the west facade features a series of arcades that once contained sculpture. Each step is topped with a quatrefoil and is demarcated by pinnacles. In the center is a narrow octagonal tower with a copper dome. The other facades of the church, by contrast, are very plain. The Frauenkirche is a

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

with two aisles and a

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

for the emperor. The church contains nine bays supported by four

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. The

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

, named the Imperial Loft or St. Michael's Loft, opens on to the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

by means of an arcade, the

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es of which are filled with floating

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

, consisting of three rosettes supported by a segmental arch. Inside the Frauenkirche, numerous works of art from the Middle Ages are displayed, but they often only came to the church in the early 19th century, when it was re-established for Catholic worship after centuries of Protestant use. For example, the so-called "Cloth altar" (around 1440/1450) comes from the demolished Augustinian church, the Perringdorf sandstone epitaph by Adam Kraft (around 1498) was also from the Augustinian monastery. However, many of the original medieval furnishings of the Frauenkirche have been preserved, albeit in museums rather than in the church itself. Surviving remnants include: a stone sculpture cycle from around 1360 in the choir (including adoration of the kings and St. Wenceslas; an Annunciation angel and candlestick angel from the school of

Veit Stoss Veit Stoss (, also spelled Stoß and Stuoss; ; ; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German language, German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic art, Gothic and the North ...

(early 16th century); remains of the first high altar table around 1400 (the painted panels are today in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg and in Frankfurt's Städel Museum); and several terracotta sculptures, some of which are in the Prague National Gallery. The successor on the high altar, the so-called "Catfish" retable from the early 16th century, is only preserved in fragments today (in the Germanic National Museum). The famous “Nuremberg Tonapostel” from around 1400 was originally in the Frauenkirche and is divided between the German National Museum and St. James Church. A rosary tablet from the area around Veit Stoss is also in the Germanic National Museum today. The stained glass in the choir dates from 1519 and depicts saints and crests.

Männleinlaufen

One of the most notable features of the church is the ''Männleinlaufen'', a mechanical clock that commemorates the

Golden Bull of 1356 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...

. The clock was installed in the church between 1506 and 1509. The

is shown seated with the

prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

s surrounding him. The clock mechanism is activated at midday, when a bell is rung to start the sequence and is followed by the trumpeters and drummer. Then there is a procession of the electors around the figure of the Holy Roman Emperor.

Organ

The earliest reference of a church organ dates from 1442. The current organ was built in 1988 by Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, re-using 20 ranks from the previous instrument. * ''Couplers:'' II/I, III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P, III 4'/P (Nr. 12, 37, 38, 48-51) * ''Registration aids:'' Two free combinations, 32-bit electronic combination settings

Trivia

The church building appears in the background of a scene in

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...

's 1935

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' () is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his name appears in the opening ...

'' in which

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

receives salutes from

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

troops as they march through the center of Nuremberg.

Gallery

Image:Nürnberg Frauenkirche 1696.jpg, Print showing the interior of the church in 1696 Image:Hitler 1928.jpg,

with the Nuremberg Frauenkirche in the background, 1928 Nürnberg 1945 - Hauptmarkt - 001.jpg, Frauenkirche following the Bombing of Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt prolog 2009.jpg, Christkindlesmarkt opening speech Nuremberg, Hauptmarkt and Frauenkirche 4685.jpg, Western facade with the main market

References

Bibliography

;Note This article is based on the article on German Wikipedia. *

External links

Parish Official Website
{{Authority control Peter Parler buildings

Nuremberg Frauenkirche Churches in Nuremberg Nuremberg Frauenkirche