Wednesday August 20, 2008

 

 

Brethren Heritage Tour

Wednesday, July 30

 

Featuring

Leipzig

 

 

John and Arlene Heisey, me and Cerwin enjoying lunch at the train station, prior to our tour of Leipzig.

 

 

A local guide took us on an interesting walking tour toward St. Thomas Church.

 

 

Some beautiful architecture along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) is a Lutheran church.

 

 

It is most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor.  After the destruction of the Leipzig Johanneskirche in World War II, the remains of Johann Sebastian Bach were moved to the Thomaskirche in 1950.

 

 

 

There has been a church at the current site of the Thomaskirche since the 12th century.  The roof above the vaulted ceiling is one of the steepest in Germany, with a roof pitch of 63 degrees. 

 

 

The current church was consecrated on April 10, 1496 by the Bishop of Merseburg.  Martin Luther preached here in 1539. 

 

 

 

The church houses some beautiful, old instruments.

 

 

We saw this beautiful building on the way to St. Nicholas Church. 

 

 

 

 

  

St. Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) has long been one of the most famous in Leipzig, and rose to national fame during the “peaceful revolution” of 1989 when it became a gathering place for the citizens of Leipzig to pray and protest against the communist government.

 

 

The church was built around 1165 when Leipzig (St. Nicholas’ City)  was founded. It is named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint of merchants and wholesalers and is situated in the very heart of the city on the corner of two historically important trade roads. 

 

 

I found this church particularly pretty, as the ornate interior was designed in light colors – as opposed to most of the others we had seen with dark interiors.