© Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn © Peter Heinrich Jahn


Name of Monument:

Lutheran Parish Church Holy Cross

Also known as:

Evangelische Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche

Location:

Augsburg, Bavarian Swabia, Germany

Contact DetailsLutheran Parish Church Holy Cross
Heilig-Kreuz-Straße 7
86152 Augsburg
T : +49 (0)82 15 18 55 3
F : +49 (0)82 15 18 55 8
E : pfarramt.heiligkreuz.a@elkb.de
Evangelical Lutheran Holy Cross Parish / Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria (Responsible Institution)

Date:

1652/53: construction; 1730: decoration of the choir; 1748: renovation of the gallery of the organ; 1762/67: renovation of pulpit and altar

Artists:

Architecture: Johann Jakob Kraus (1611–1672); paintings (beside the pulpit): Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609–1684); choir fresco: Johann Georg Bergmüller (1688–1762); designs for pulpit and altar: Johann Esaias Nilson (active 1721–1728); execution of pulpit and altar: Ignaz Wilhelm Verhelst (1729–1792)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Ecclesiastical architecture (parish church)

Patron(s):

Magister Thomas Hopfer (gov. 1649–61), Magister Andreas Degmair (gov. 1729–35), Magister Jakob Brucker (gov. 1744–57), Matthäus Friedrich Degmair (gov. 1757–65), each pastor of the Parish Church

History:

Augsburg is one of the most important places of the Reformation. The Lutheran denomination especially was established early in the affluent, bourgeois city. At the Diet of 1530 in Augsburg the Lutheran confession, the Confessio Augustana, was handed over to the emperor by the Lutheran nobles. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg established the equality of Confessio Augustana and the Catholic Church in the empire – but only in the city of Augsburg did both denominations exist in an inimitable coexistence. Only here was it possible to erect a Protestant church such as the Church of the Holy Cross in the immediate vicinity of the Catholic Church. Today's building was built by the master-builder Johann Jakob Kraus in 1652–3 to replace the Ottmars chapel, which was demolished in 1630.

Description:

The Church of the Holy-Cross is situated in the immediate vicinity of the older and larger Catholic Church of the Holy Cross. The outer appearance of both buildings is felicitously harmonised – especially due to the respective onion domes – which may be seen as another symbol of the peaceful coexistence of both denominations. Overall the façade is sparsely decorated, although crowned by a large scrolled gable whose plasticity is increased by the protruding hexagonal onion dome. The façade doesn’t lie axial to the interior; a necessary admission to the floor-plan of the site, which is almost triangular. The interior is illuminated through high windows that are typical of Protestant churches. Inside, the architecture of the hall is very chaste. In the west there is a wooden gallery, which again, is typical of Protestant church architecture. Exceptional for a Protestant church, however, is the rich collection of paintings, donations by wealthy parishioners, which is displayed on the west wall. This gallery may be seen as a reaction to the rich decoration of Catholic churches, because in the battle for believers on the free market of denominations, each party had to be capable of competing.

View Short Description

The form of this small church – a hall with high windows – is typical of Protestant religious architecture. In contrast to the exterior, the interior is exceptionally rich. Most impressive is a large collection of paintings, but also the superb choir decorated in the Rococo style. The pulpit is flanked by two monumental Baroque canvasses by one of Augsburg’s most famous painters, Johann Heinrich Schönfeld.

How Monument was dated:

Archival documents, paintings, and signed pulpit: “1665”.

Special features

Pulpit

Wall on the right-hand side, Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Cross

1660: crucifix; 1660: paintings; 1762: pulpit

Johann Esaias Nilson (1721–1728); Ignaz Wilhelm Verhelst (1729–1792); Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609–1684)

The pulpit, decorated in slender rocailles, is positioned prominently within the church vis-à-vis the gallery according to its role in the Lutheran rite. A life-size wooden crucifix above the pulpit and two paintings of Christ’s Passion by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld at either side complete the Christological ensemble.

Altar and choir

Choir

c. 1653: retable; 1673/74: paintings; 1730: organ and decoration of the vault; 1748: renovation of the gallery and organ; 1767: altar

Johann Heiss (1640–1704), Johann Ulrich Mayr (1630–1704), Johannes Spillenberger (1628–1679), Josef Werner (1637–1710); Johann Georg Bergmüller (1688–1762); Johann Esaias Nilson (active 1721–1728); Ignaz Wilhelm Verhelst (1729–1792)

The choir, oriented to the west, was renewed in 1730 in the contemporary Rococo style. On the occasion of the centennial of the Peace of 1648 a new gallery for the organ was installed. The slightly curved stucco is captivating in its simple elegance, its colour highlighting the choir. Although the gallery continues in the choir, the coloured Regency and Rococo stucco establishes a discrete, almost scenographic quality. The fresco on the ceiling shows the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. Around the altar, as at the pulpit, paintings depict scenes from the Life of Christ: the Baptism, Resurrection, Pentecost and Last Supper. The two most important ritualistic elements in the church – altar and pulpit – together harmonise in form and content, dedicated fully to the teachings of Christ.

Selected bibliography:

Hagen, B. Von,Wegener-Hüssen, A., Stadt Augsburg (Denkmäler in Bayern VII.83), Munich 1994, pp. 226–30.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Pfarramt Heilig-Kreuz, Augsburg (Hg.), Die evangelische Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Augsburg. Eine Lutherstätte, Augsburg 1981.
Pèe, H., Johann Heinrich Schönfeld. Die Gemälde (Jahresgabe 1969 des Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft), Berlin 1971, pp. 51–2, 164–6.

Citation of this web page:

Hans Christian Hönes "Lutheran Parish Church Holy Cross" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;de;Mon12;27;en

Prepared by: Hans Christian Hönes
Translation by: Hans Christian Hönes
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: DE3 27

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