Saint John's Church, Leipzig

Saint John's Church
German: Johanniskirche
Saint John's Church in Leipzig, around 1900
51°20′16.02″N12°23′11.19″E / 51.3377833°N 12.3864417°E / 51.3377833; 12.3864417
Address	Johannisplatz, 04103 Leipzig
Country	Germany
Previous denomination	Lutheran
History
Status	Church (former)
Dedication	John the Baptist
Events	Leipzig bombings
Architecture
Functional status	Demolished
Architect(s)	Tower: Georg Werner [1] ; Church: Hugo Licht [2]
Style	Tower: Baroque architecture; Church: Baroque Revival architecture
Years built	Tower: 1746-1749; Church: 1894-1897
Demolished	Church: 19 February 1949; Tower: 9 May 1963

St. John's Church (German : Johanniskirche) was a Lutheran church building in Leipzig on the Johannisplatz, several hundred meters east of Augustusplatz. During the Second World War, it was severely affected by the bombing of Leipzig. In 1949, the ruins of the nave were cleared, and in 1963, the tower was blown up.

History

As a church, St. John's was built in the 14th century. In 1547 the building was partially destroyed in the Schmalkaldic War, then demolished and rebuilt in the years 1582-1584. ^[2] The St. John's Church was only given a tower in the Baroque style in the years 1746-1749.

During and after the Battle of Nations in 1813, the church served as a military hospital. The entire church was demolished in the years 1894-1897 except for the tower and rebuilt in Neo-Baroque style according to a design by Hugo Licht. ^[2] Since 1904, the remains of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and the remains of the poet Christian Fürchtegott Gellert found during the demolition have been interred in sarcophagi in front of the altar area. ^[3]

After the destruction of the church in the Second World War, the ruins of the nave were cleared on 19 February 1949. ^[4] Despite restorations already carried out and objections from the population and churches, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) ordered the demolition of the tower in April 1963. The protests were unsuccessful and on 9 May 1963, the tower was also blown up. ^[5] Bach's remains were interred in the St. Thomas Church, and the bones of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert were given a place in the Paulinerkirche. The ecclesiastical community of the St. John's Church was added to the St. Nicholas Church. ^[3]

Images

• 
  St. John's Church before 1894
• 
  Bach-Gellert crypt (around 1930)
• 
  The destroyed church
• 
  The interior
• 
  Tower ruin
• 
  The pulpit of the former St. John's Church (now in the Leipzig City History Museum)

References

1. Hocquél, Wolfgang (2023). Architekturführer Leipzig. Von der Romanik bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Leipzig: Passage-Verlag. p. 380. ISBN   978-3-95415-128-8.
2. Menting, Annette (2022). Leipzig. Architektur und Kunst (in German). Ditzingen: Reclam. p. 120. ISBN   978-3-15-014310-0.
3. "Johanniskirche". leipzig-lexikon.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-23.
4. Ulrich von Hehl, ed. (2019). Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig. Band 4. Vom Ersten Weltkrieg bis zur Gegenwart (in German). Leipzig: Leipziger Universitätsverlag. p. 614. ISBN   978-3-86583-804-9.
5. Ringel, Sebastian (2015). Leipzig! One Thousand Years of History. Leipzig: Edition Leipzig in the Seemann Henschel GmbH & Co. KG. p. 186. ISBN   978-3-361-00710-9.

External links

• "Johanniskirche". jsbach.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-23.