Gedächtniskirche

About

The Gedächtniskirche der Protestation (English: The Memorial Church of the Protestation) is a United Protestant church of both Lutheran and Reformed confessions in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, that commemorates the Protestation at Speyer in defense of the evangelical faith, specifically Lutheranism. Built between 1893 and 1904, the church was constructed in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer by the Protestant rulers of the Holy Roman Empire in 1529. The tower is the tallest bell tower in the whole Palatinate at 100 metres (330 ft).

In the latter part of the nineteenth century during the time of the Kulturkampf, relations between Protestants and Catholics were strained. The Gedächtniskirche was intended as a mother church for Protestant Christianity, although debates among the Protestants led to a delay of about 35 years between the original idea and the laying of the foundations.

The building of the memorial church was a reaction to Johann von Schraudolph 's structural renewal and painting of Speyer Cathedral in the years 1846 to 1856. Originally the intention was to renovate the Baroque Trinity Church, situated near the cathedral, but it was decided that a new building should be built instead.

In the decorative rose window, the protest is tied historically to events from the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible.

At first, the reformation church was planned to be built on the site of the "Retscher", a ruin of an old manor house belonging to the family Retschelin, near the Trinity church. It was believed that this was the site of the 1529 Diet. In order to build the so-called Retscher Church, a building union was founded. With the permission of the Bavarian King Maximilian II the union launched a public fundraising drive in 1857. Because the Protestants were also financing the Luther Monument in Worms, the donations were quite meagre. The Luther monument was unveiled in 1868, in the presence of the Prussian king and the crown prince, who would later become Emperor Wilhelm I. The parish in Speyer used this event to make contact with the Prussian royal house, which would later become very valuable.

After it was revealed that the Diet of 1529 had not taken place in the so-called Retscher, the project broke ties to the Old Town. In 1883, the "Association for building the Memorial church of the 1529 Protestation" decided on the current location of the church. The announcement of the dogma of papal infallibility gave new life to the project in 1870, along with the foundation of the German Empire under a Lutheran emperor in 1871.

The builders were determined that the Protestant church should not be eclipsed by the cathedral, which required that its design had to be completely different from that of the Romanesque Cathedral. Forty-five architects from throughout the German empire applied for the call to tender. The five finalist architects all favoured the neo-Gothic style of architecture. The decision was made in 1884 in favour of the architectural partnership of Julius Flügge and Carl Nordmann from Essen.

As the funds for the building were not yet ready in 1890, the building association turned to the Protestant Emperor Wilhelm II, who promised to ensure the completion of the church. Another main benefactor of the church was Henry Villard. On 24 August 1893 the laying of the foundation stone took place. After eleven years of building, the memorial church was finally consecrated on 31 August 1904.

The church represents the doctrinary neo-Gothic style, and uses relatively pure historical forms. It was mostly modelled on the churches of the Viennese neo-Gothic style, particularly the Vienna Votivkirche, built between 1856 and 1879.

- Overall length of church and tower: 72 metres (236 ft)

- Overall length of the church inside: 51 metres (167 ft)

- Width in the transverse house: 45 metres (148 ft)

- Inside surface area: 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft)

- Height of the arch in the central nave: 22 metres (72 ft), in the intersection: 24 metres (79 ft), in the aisles: 20 metres (66 ft)

The church is located to the southwest of the city of Speyer, outside the old city walls, in front of the former Landau Gate, where in the 19th century a new suburb with houses in the Wilhelminian style developed.

The building stones were very carefully chosen. Several quarries were researched. The red sandstone from Weidenthal that was used for the foundations could not be used for further building as it was riddled with pebble stones and therefore not suitable for statuary work. It was also feared that the red sandstone would get darker through weathering, whereas the whitish-grey sandstone from Vogesen would retain its pale colour. The quarry in Lauterecken could not be used because the strata were too low and it was impossible to cut large slabs. A total of 6,622 cubic metres (233,900 cu ft) quarry stone and 1,935 cubic metres (68,300 cu ft) wallstones were delivered.

The idea of a slated roof was abandoned, because this would have required frequent repairs. Instead, the roof was laid with glazed tiles, fixed with copper wire.

The church consists of an arched vault with 3 naves over the outline of a Latin cross. Because of their lighter weight, the arches are built of artificial tuff stones. The 100 metres (330 ft) high bell tower stands in front of the short nave, with the Memorial Hall in its ground floor.

The facades have no steady contours. In the spirit of the Gothic style, it is dominated by the split form, which doesn't leave any larger surfaces, but instead surrounds the whole structure with alternating with abutments and window hinges. The roofs are covered with different coloured glazed tiles that build small diamond patterns.

The Memorial Hall is situated in the ground floor of the tower. Like the tower, this has a hexagonal layout. It was a deliberate choice to situate the Memorial Hall in front of the main entrance, as that was the only place where visitors to the church can see the witnesses of the Protest, as their statues were not allowed to be situated in the interior of the church.