Sophienkirche
Encyclopedia
The Sophienkirche Dresden
stood on the northeast corner of the Postplatz, (post office square) in Dresden's old town, before its destruction in 1962 on resolution of the party and government of the GDR. It was the only Gothic
Church in the city.
, Franciscans, built a monastery and small church at the location of the future Sophienkirche — this was known as the Franziskanerkloster
. Starting in 1331 the original structure was demolished and a larger church started construction with two identical choir areas included. At the southeast corner of the new church, a private chapel
was built by the patrician Busmann family around 1400 to which the Dresden Mayor, at the time, Lorenz Busmann was a member and also later buried there.
. The Sophienkirche stood empty for decades before for it was revived in 1610 and reopened by Sophie von Brandenburg
as a Lutheran
church. Starting in 1737 it served as an Evangelist
Church; around the same time, the Sophienkirche also became Dresden (Evangelical) court church.
Between the years 1718 to 1720 famed pipe organ
maker Gottfried Silbermann
installed one of only 50 manufactured Silbermann pipe organs, known for their clear meantone temperament
, into the Sophienkirche.
Bach
's Kyrie and Gloria were composed in 1733, the former as a lament for the death of Elector Augustus the Strong (who had died on 1 Feb 1733) and the latter to celebrate the accession of his successor the Saxon
Elector and later Polish
King Augustus III of Poland
, who converted to Catholicism
in order to ascend the throne of Poland. Bach presented these as a Missa
with a set of parts (Kyrie plus Gloria, BWV 232a) to Augustus
with a note dates 27 July 1733, in the hope of obtaining the title, "Electoral Saxon Court Composer", complaining that he had "innocently suffered one injury or another" in Leipzig
. They were performed in 1733, most likely at the Sophienkirche in Dresden
, where Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
, Johann Sebastian Bach
's son, had been organist since June, though not in the presence of their dedicatees. However in 1734, Bach performed a secular cantata dramma per musica
in honour of Augustus in the presence of the King and Queen, the first movement which was the same music as the Osanna
.
The Sophienkirche was redesigned in the mid-19th century, and took its final shape with its twin neogothic spires
(replacing the old Baroque tower), aisles and a new façade, between 1864–1868. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Sophienkirche ceased to serve as a court church, and seven years later, was made seat of the bishop of the regional Lutheran church.
In 1933 the towers were simplified (gothic elements were removed and copper
-covered spires were added) because they were quite sensitive regarding the weather, and there was the risk of things falling down from the spires. This was said to be a temporary solution, and that the neogothic spires would have been restored later.
by the British Royal Air Force
(RAF) and United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945, 12 weeks before the surrender of the German Wehrmacht
, remains one of the most controversial Allied actions of orld War II]. The raids saw 1,300 heavy bombers drop over 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices in under 15 hours, destroying 13 square miles (33.7 km²) of the city, the baroque
capital of the German state of Saxony
, and causing a firestorm
that consumed the city centre. Estimates of civilian casualties vary greatly, but recent publications place the figure between 24,000 and 40,000. Destroyed in the bombing were the Sophienkirche, along with many other historical buildings. The Sophienkirche was gutted by the fire that resulted from the bombing, including the Silbermann pipe organ. However, the ceiling and walls remained intact until 1946, when the weight of the vaulted ceiling, without the reinforcement of the internal support columns, which were destroyed by the fire, collapsed leaving only the south spires standing until their intentional destruction in 1950.
Gradually the ruins around the destroyed church were cleared. A reconstruction would have been quite possible, however the SED
, which was in charge of the reconstruction of Dresden starting in 1950, doomed the church with a comment by Walter Ulbricht
, the party chief of the SED, "... a socialist city does not need Gothic churches".
Despite large protests by Dresden monument conservators, architects and citizens, the remains of the church were destroyed in 1962 on resolution of the party and government of the GDR, German Democratic Republic. Before that, the Nosseni and Sacristy altars had been salvaged, they can be seen now in the Loschwitz
er Kirche (also in Dresden) and the Friedenskirche in Löbtau, respectively.
On May 1, 1963 the last parts of the oldest Dresden town church disappeared — up to a partial destroyed sandstone framework of church windows, which were stored in the catacombs
under Brühl's Terrace
.
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
stood on the northeast corner of the Postplatz, (post office square) in Dresden's old town, before its destruction in 1962 on resolution of the party and government of the GDR. It was the only Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Church in the city.
History
In 1250 The Order of Friars MinorFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, Franciscans, built a monastery and small church at the location of the future Sophienkirche — this was known as the Franziskanerkloster
Franziskanerkloster (Dresden)
The Franziskanerkloster or Barfüßerkloster was a Franciscan monastery in Dresden, founded in 1272. Its church later became the Sophienkirche....
. Starting in 1331 the original structure was demolished and a larger church started construction with two identical choir areas included. At the southeast corner of the new church, a private chapel
Busmannkapelle
The Busmannkapelle was a side chapel of the Sophienkirche in Dresden. The chapel was built in 1400 when the Sophienkirche was still part of the city's Franciscan monastery. It was funded by the patrician Busmann family, who used it as a family and funerary chapel and after whom it was named...
was built by the patrician Busmann family around 1400 to which the Dresden Mayor, at the time, Lorenz Busmann was a member and also later buried there.
As an Evangelical Lutheran church
The Franciscan monastery was abolished during the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. The Sophienkirche stood empty for decades before for it was revived in 1610 and reopened by Sophie von Brandenburg
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
as a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
church. Starting in 1737 it served as an Evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Church; around the same time, the Sophienkirche also became Dresden (Evangelical) court church.
Silbermann pipe organ and Bach
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
maker Gottfried Silbermann
Gottfried Silbermann
Gottfried Silbermann was an influential German constructor of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two.-Life:...
installed one of only 50 manufactured Silbermann pipe organs, known for their clear meantone temperament
Meantone temperament
Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a stack of perfect fifths, but in meantone, each fifth is narrow compared to the ratio 27/12:1 in 12 equal temperament, the opposite of...
, into the Sophienkirche.
Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
's Kyrie and Gloria were composed in 1733, the former as a lament for the death of Elector Augustus the Strong (who had died on 1 Feb 1733) and the latter to celebrate the accession of his successor the Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
Elector and later Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
King Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
, who converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in order to ascend the throne of Poland. Bach presented these as a Missa
MISSA
Missa is an EP by Dir En Grey. It was released on July 25, 1997 and marks the band's debut. The song "Byou 「」 Shin" was later re-recorded for the 2002 EP, Six Ugly.-Track listing:...
with a set of parts (Kyrie plus Gloria, BWV 232a) to Augustus
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
with a note dates 27 July 1733, in the hope of obtaining the title, "Electoral Saxon Court Composer", complaining that he had "innocently suffered one injury or another" in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. They were performed in 1733, most likely at the Sophienkirche in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, where Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach , the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer...
, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's son, had been organist since June, though not in the presence of their dedicatees. However in 1734, Bach performed a secular cantata dramma per musica
Dramma per musica
Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries...
in honour of Augustus in the presence of the King and Queen, the first movement which was the same music as the Osanna
Osanna
Osanna are an Italian psychedelic rock/progressive rock band.The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti , Danilo Rustici , Massimo Guarino , Lello Brandi , from the first line-up of the band Città Frontale, and Elio D'Anna , former member of the Showmen...
.
The Sophienkirche was redesigned in the mid-19th century, and took its final shape with its twin neogothic spires
Spires
Spires may refer to:* SPIRES, a database for publications in High-Energy Physics* Speyer , a city in Germany* The Spires, a commercial conference centre, operated out of Church House, Belfast by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland...
(replacing the old Baroque tower), aisles and a new façade, between 1864–1868. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Sophienkirche ceased to serve as a court church, and seven years later, was made seat of the bishop of the regional Lutheran church.
In 1933 the towers were simplified (gothic elements were removed and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-covered spires were added) because they were quite sensitive regarding the weather, and there was the risk of things falling down from the spires. This was said to be a temporary solution, and that the neogothic spires would have been restored later.
February 13, 1945 and aftermath
The bombing of DresdenBombing of Dresden in World War II
The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
by the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) and United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945, 12 weeks before the surrender of the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, remains one of the most controversial Allied actions of orld War II]. The raids saw 1,300 heavy bombers drop over 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices in under 15 hours, destroying 13 square miles (33.7 km²) of the city, the baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
capital of the German state of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, and causing a firestorm
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires...
that consumed the city centre. Estimates of civilian casualties vary greatly, but recent publications place the figure between 24,000 and 40,000. Destroyed in the bombing were the Sophienkirche, along with many other historical buildings. The Sophienkirche was gutted by the fire that resulted from the bombing, including the Silbermann pipe organ. However, the ceiling and walls remained intact until 1946, when the weight of the vaulted ceiling, without the reinforcement of the internal support columns, which were destroyed by the fire, collapsed leaving only the south spires standing until their intentional destruction in 1950.
Gradually the ruins around the destroyed church were cleared. A reconstruction would have been quite possible, however the SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
, which was in charge of the reconstruction of Dresden starting in 1950, doomed the church with a comment by Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
, the party chief of the SED, "... a socialist city does not need Gothic churches".
Despite large protests by Dresden monument conservators, architects and citizens, the remains of the church were destroyed in 1962 on resolution of the party and government of the GDR, German Democratic Republic. Before that, the Nosseni and Sacristy altars had been salvaged, they can be seen now in the Loschwitz
Loschwitz
Loschwitz is a borough of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters :Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river...
er Kirche (also in Dresden) and the Friedenskirche in Löbtau, respectively.
On May 1, 1963 the last parts of the oldest Dresden town church disappeared — up to a partial destroyed sandstone framework of church windows, which were stored in the catacombs
Catacombs
Catacombs, human-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place can be described as a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman empire...
under Brühl's Terrace
Brühl's Terrace
Brühl's Terrace is a historic architectural ensemble in Dresden, Germany. Nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe", the terrace stretches high above the shore of the river Elbe in a city which is quite large as measured by area relative to its half a million inhabitants...
.