St. Lorenz St Lawrence
West facade of the St Lorenz
Religion
Affiliation	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Parish Church
Location
Location	Nuremberg, Germany
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Gothic
Groundbreaking	1250
Completed	1477
Specifications
Direction of façade	W
Length	91.2m
Width	30.0m
Width (nave)	10.4m
Height (max)	80.0m

St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) is a medieval church of the former free imperial city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War and later restored. It is one of the most prominent churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.

Architecture

The nave of the church was completed by around 1400. In 1439, work began on the choir in the form of a hall church in the late German Sondergotik style of Gothic architecture. The choir was largely completed by 1477 by Konrad Roriczer,^[1] although Jakob Grimm completed the intricate vaults.

In the choir one can find the carving of the Angelic Salutation by Veit Stoss, and the monumental tabernacle by Adam Kraft. The latter includes a prominent figure of the sculptor himself.

The building and furnishing of the church was cared of by the city council and by wealthy citizens. This is probably the reason why the art treasures of St. Lawrence were spared during the iconoclasm during the Reformation period. Despite St. Lawrence being one of the first churches in Germany to be Lutheran (1525), the wealthy citizens of Nuremberg wanted to preserve the memory of their ancestors and refused the removal of the donated works of art.

The west facade is richly articulated, reflecting the wealth of the Nuremberg citizens. The facade is dominated by the two towers, mirroring St. Sebald and indirectly Bamberg Cathedral with a sharp towering West portal doorway, and an indented rose window 9 metres in diameter.

Organs

The hall choir including the sacrament house by Adam Kraft

The church has three organs.

• Main organ. Steinmeyer, Oettingen, 1937 rebuilt by Klais Orgelbau, Bonn, 2003. 5 manuals
• Stephans Organ. Steinmeyer op. 34 from 1862 formerly in the Evangelical Lutherin Church, Hersbruck, Restored in 2002 by Klais Orgelbau, Bonn. 2 manual
• Laurentius Organ. Klais Orgelbau, Bonn 2005. 3 manual.

49°27′04″N 11°04′41″E / 49.451°N 11.0780555556°E / 49.451; 11.0780555556

Gallery

• 
  Reproduction (from 1770) of a print (from 1730) by Johann Adam Delsenbach
• 
  View (from 1852) by Georg Christoph Wilder
• 
  Photographs from 1860 and 1890
• 
  Interior view, Franz Stegmann, 1871
• 
  Postcard, ca. 1914
• 
  Photograph from 1959
• 
  Aerial from North

• Angelic Salutation (Stoss)

References

<Trinks, Stefan, "St. Lorenz Nürnberg mit Einbau : Mit dem Aufzug durch die Spätgotik". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11th February, 2021 (Feuilleton). https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/kunst/gotisches-gesamtkunstwerk-st-lorenz-nuernberg-durch-einbauten-in-gefahr-17189488.html />

<Voigt, Hartmut, "Heftige Kritik an Umbauplänen für Nürnberger Lorenzkirche. Stadtheimatpflegerin reagiert entsetzt: "Der Raumeindruck wird zerstört", in: Nordbayern, - 22.01.2021.(Nürnberger Nachrichten). https://www.nordbayern.de/region/nuernberg/heftige-kritik-an-umbauplanen-fur-nurnberger-lorenzkirche-1.10748538 />

<Reiner, Michael, "Stadtheimatpflegerin kritisiert geplanten Umbau der Lorenzkirche", in: Bayrischer Rundfunk (eds.), BR-24Newsletter, 22. January,2021. https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/stadtheimatpflegerin-kritisiert-geplanten-umbau-der-lorenzkirche,SMptdT1 />

Sources

• Frankl, Paul (1960). The Gothic: Literary Sources and Interpretations through Eight Centuries. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 916. LCCN 57005471.

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