St. John's Church, Lüneburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Johannis' Church with its slighly sloping steeple

St. Johannis' Church is the oldest lutheran church in Lüneburg and located in the city center.

1 History
2 Organ
3 Legend
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

St. Johannis is considered an important example of North German Brick Gothic architecture. The five-naved hall church was erected between 1300 and 1370 and repaired in 1420. The outer structure was marked by rebuilding in 1765. Particularly striking is the lightly sloping steeple, which at a height of 108 meters is the highest church steeple in Lower Saxony. The stained-glass in the Elisabeth Chapel was made by Charles Crodel in 1969.

[edit] Organ

St. Johannis' steeple dominates the Lüneburg skyline

The church organ was finished in 1553 by Hendrik Niehoff and Jasper Johannsenand rebuilt by Matthias Dropa and later Rudolf von Beckerath. It was played by Georg Böhm, the famous St. Johannis cantor.

[edit] Legend

The 108 m high spire of St. Johannis looks like it is sloping from each side: the truss on the upper part is twisted into a corkscrew shape. A legend states that when the master builder noticed the mistake, he fell from an upper window in the church tower; however, he landed on a passing haywagon, so he lived.