Statues - Hither & Thither

 

Description

Lutheran baroque-style church. The church and the surrounding Ludwigsplatz were designed as a 'complete work of art', in the sense of a baroque place royale, by Friedrich Joachim Stengel on the commission of William Henry Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken. Construction was begun in 1762. After the death of William Henry in 1768, work on it was stopped due to lack of funds. The church was finally completed in 1775 by his son, Prince Louis, and it was also named after him. During the Second World War, the church was almost completely destroyed. After a bombing on 5 October 1944, only the surrounding walls remained. Rebuilding began in 1949.

The ground plan is shaped somewhat like a Greek cross; the arms are 38.5 m and 34.2 m long and are each 17 m wide.

The sculpture programm by Franciscus Binck consists of:

• I-IV: The four Evangelists.
• 1-28: 28 statues on the balustrades; those on the east and west wing depict the Twelve Apostles (1-6 and 15-20), the east side of the north and south wing six prophets (7-9 and 26-28), and further the virtues (10-14 and 21-25).
• A-C: Three amortissements honoring Wilhelm Heinrich von Nassau-Saarbrücken.
• A-C: Two reliefs and a text on the faces of the cross arms.

With the earlier restauration of 1906 fourteen of the 28 statues are replaced with copies. Three of the original are still visible. Faith and Love are in the hall of the castle (see here), the one of St. Paul is used for a fountain on Schloßplatz (see here). At this moment, only 13 statues are present, of these only the prophet Daniel (no. 9) is an original 18th-century statue.

Balustrade statues:

EAST St. James the Greater St. Andrew St. Peter St. Paul St. Thomas St. Bartholomew

NORTH Abraham King David Prophet Daniel Fides (Faith) Caritas (Charity) Prophet Isaiah Pax (Peace) Veritas (Truth)

WEST St. John the Apostle St. Matthew St. Judas Thaddaeus St. Philip St. Simon Zelotes St. James the Lesser

SOUTH Prudentia (Prudence) Justitia (Justice) Prophet Jeremiah Misericordia (Mercy) Spes (Hope) Prophet Ezekiel Moses Aaron

Others

EVANGELISTS St. Matthew St. Mark St. John the Evangelist St. Luke

AMORTISSEMENTS Wilhelm Heinrich von Nassau-Saarbrücken Coat of Arms Portrait Monogram

RELIEFS Text. The Wheel of Ezekiel Three men in the furnace

Niche statues

I. St. Matthäus / St. Matthew one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists. His attribute is an angel. As patron saint of book-keepers, tax collectors and security forces, he is also depicted with writing utensils (Wikipedia).

II. St. Markus / St. Mark one the four Evangelists. His attribute is a lion (Wikipedia).

III. St. Johannes / St. John the Evangelist conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John - considered to be the same person as John the Apostle (Wikipedia).

IV. St. Lukas / St. Luke one of the four Evangelists. His attribute is an ox or bull, usually having wings (Wikipedia).

Balustrade statues

2. St. Andreas / St. Andrew apostle and the brother of Saint Peter; founder and the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium. Protector of fishermen, in particular. He is shown with a saltire cross, in accordance with the way in which he died (Wikipedia).

3. St. Petrus / St. Peter (possibly died AD 67), apostle, first pope; patron saint of locksmiths and confessors. Usually holding the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven in his hand (Wikipedia)

4. St. Paulus / St. Paul the Apostle, (c. 5 - c. 67 ), persecuted the early followers of Jesus before switching sides and seeking to join them. He was instrumental in creating the Christian Church. He is the protector of tent-makers, theologians and the ecclesiastical press and is depicted with a sword. (Wikipedia).

5. St. Thomas one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Patron saint of architects, builders and land surveyors, usually holding a right-angle (Wikipedia).

8. König David / King David

9. Prophet Daniel

10. Fides (Glaube) / Faith

11. Caritas (Nüchstenliebe) / Charity

13. Pax (Frieden) / Peace

25. Spes (Hoffnung) / Hope

26. Ezechiel / Ezekiel

27. Moses

28. Aaron

Amortissements

A. Coat of arms of Nassau-Saarbrücken

B. Portrait Wilhelm Heinrich

Reliefs

A. Text cartouches (see below)

B. The Wheel of Ezekiel / Das Rad Ezechiels Ezekiel's encounter with God and four 'living creatures' with four wheels that stayed beside the creatures (Ezekiel 1)

C. Three men in the furnace / Drei Mánner im Feuerofen Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are burned in the furnace because they didn't serve the statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)

Inscription(s)

Sculptor

• Franziskus Binck, Austrian sculptor from Vienna.

Sources & Information

• Wikipedia, Ludwigskirche (Saarbrücken).
• Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Ev. Ludwigskirche.

Tags

Locatie (N 49°13'57" - E 6°59'11") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

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