Tragheim Church, 1930 Tragheim Church () was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in the

Tragheim Tragheim was a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheim was first documented in 1299, but probably already existed as an Old Prussians, Old Prussian f ...

quarter of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

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 ...

History

At the beginning of the 17th century the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

residents of Tragheim attended Löbenicht Church and were buried in Steindamm's cemetery.Gause I, p. 411 Because Löbenicht Church was too small for the growing community, Duke George William sold to Tragheim a square containing an old brick or tile manufactory on 23 May 1624. The Tragheimers moved their cemetery to their new square and constructed a small chapel from 1626 to 1632. The new church was dedicated in 1632 and received its own pastor in 1636.Albinus, p. 318 The first five pastors of the church were non-Prussians: Johann Benedikt Reinhardi was from

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, Mauritius Karoli was from

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, Wolfgang Springer was from

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, Daniel Erasmi was from

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

, and Thomas Masecovius was from Königsberg in der Neumark. In 1696 Jacob Heinrich Ohlius (1650-1725) became the first native of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

to be pastor in Tragheim. Because the original church collapsed in 1707, a new church was constructed from 1708 to 1710 according to designs by architect Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt (1678-1753), with patronage from Friedrich Kupner. Its

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

steeple was completed in 1723. When Tragheim Church burned down after a lightning strike in 1783, it was rebuilt the following year according to Schultheiss von Unfriedt's original design, under the direction of Johann Samuel Lilienthal (1724-1799) and Johann Ernst Jester. Its tented roof steeple was incomplete at that time, however. Ehregott Andreas Christoph Wasianski (July 3, 1755 - April 17, 1831) - a secretary (amanuensis), confidante, and biographer of the great German philosopher

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

(1724-1804) - became the pastor of Tragheim Church in 1808.

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

married Minna Planer (Christine Wilhelmine Planer) in Tragheim Church on 26 November 1836. The church was heavily damaged in the Bombing of Königsberg (1944) and in the

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet Union, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3 ...

(April 6–9, 1945). The last pastors of the Tragheim Church were Schwandt, Friedrich Werner, Eduard Korallus (pastor from 1900 to 1933), and Paul KnappPaul Knapp (1880 - April 1946) - for additional details see: :de: Paul Knapp (Königsberg) (pastor from 1933 to 1944). The remnants of the church were demolished by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

administration in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

during the 1950s.

Sights

The church contained a

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

chancellery and pulpit with beautiful carvings made in 1784 by tischlermeister (master carpenter) Carl Johann Grabowski of Königsberg. The neoclassical altarpiece was created by the wood-carver Christian Benjamin Schultz from Heilsberg, and donated to the church by the apothecary Johann Sigismund Tiepolt and his wife Susanne (née Bulle), who both died in 1800. The organ was designed in 1793/1794 by orgelbaumeister (master organ-builder) Christoph Wilhelm Braveleit (1751-1796). The church also contained an oil painting of E. A. C. Wasianski by Johann Friedrich Andreas Knorre (1763 - May 11, 1841), a distinguished portrait painter who was Director of the Provinzial-Kunst-und Zeichenschule (Provincial Art and Drawing School) in Königsberg from 1800 to 1841. Knorre also held the position of Professor of Drawing at the School.

Gallery

image:ID003845 B275 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Tragheim Church, ca. 1908 image:ID003844 B274 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Tragheim Church, ca. 1908 image:ID003843 B273 TragheimerKirche.jpg, Exterior and interior

Notes

References

* * * * {{Coord, 54, 43, 04, N, 20, 30, 29, E, region:RU-KGD_type:city_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Former churches in Königsberg Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Destroyed churches in Germany Lutheran churches in Königsberg 1624 establishments in Europe 1944 disestablishments in Germany 17th-century Lutheran churches in Germany Religious organizations established in the 1620s Baroque church buildings in Germany 1950s disestablishments in Russia