Stiftskirche Stuttgart, Germany

1. Orgile

The first organ in the Stiftskirche dates back to 1381. In 1534 Konrad Oettinger held the first evangelical reformed sermon here. In the 17th century the church acquired more organs and covered 15 registers. In the 19th century, King Friedrich I gave the Stiftskirche an instrument of great value: a 64-register organ, built by the famous organ builder F. Walcker, which in time reached 80 registers. During World War II the church burned down and the famous organ was destroyed. When the church was rebuilt, it was planned to convert the church into a sermon hall, and the Walcker firm built an 86-register organ for the church for 160,000 DM. The medieval columns and many Gothic and art works could not be restored. Therefore the church no longer has a unified building style. Around the year 2000 the organ was considered obsolete and the specialized Muehleisen workshops installed the new organ in the Stiftskirche over the next 4 years. It has 81 registers and 5366 pipes with 4 manuals and pedal. Costs amounted to 1.7 million Euro, of which 1 million was covered by donations.

The realization of the new organ is based on two styles: the organ music of J. S. Bach and the Romantic German organ music literature represented by F. M. Bartholdy, J. Brahms or M. Reger. The organ components are distributed in different locations throughout the church. 70 cubic meters of wood and 5 tons of organ metal were used to build the new organ.

CDs of organ music by church cantor Kay Johannson, whom I saw on the church floor on duty, can be purchased from the specialty market and the church booth.

2. The power of belief

When you walk through the entrance under the large west tower, your eyes are instantly drawn forward to the altar, pulpit and windows. It's a natural invitation to step into the church's wide, bright nave. The chapel invites to prayer. On the altar is an open Bible to which the faithful have access. People can sit and recline civilized on the wooden pews in the church and listen the heavenly sounds of organ music.

The angel on the pulpit column, the representation of Jesus crucified in the choir arch are impressive. If we look to the right (the south windows) we meet the biblical motif of Jesus - the light of the world. Looking to the left (the north windows) we see the side chapels which take a foray into the history of the faith by presenting the prophets of Israel and other saints. These are immortalized in the keystones that have survived from the old church. We are in the center of a mighty field surrounded by the bible, the light of Jesus and the history of faith. It's a special place!

3. Inside the Stiftskirche

If you can spare the time for the details it is worth it. The interior tour of the church starts on the left, in the first north side chapel and continues clockwise. Without pretending to describe everything, I will point out a few things.

We admire the sculpture of St. Elisabeth von Thueringen. She was married to Duke Ludwig IV von Thueringen, was widowed at a young age, built hospitals and helped the poor. Also in the side chapels we meet St. Mary with her child, St. Otilia, born blind, who regained her sight in the monastery. In the stained-glass windows are represented the four great prophets as well as the other "lesser" prophets. Beneath the pulpit lie the remains of the reformer J. Brenz (16th century), who was a promoter of Martin Luther's theories. He is the initiator of the new "great church order", which laid the foundations for the development of the state to the present day, by creating church structures for education and teaching, crafts, economics and social affairs. Reformer Brenz is depicted in an oil painting.

The baptismal chapel (Taufkapelle) presents John the Baptist in a neo-Gothic sculpture. The stained-glass windows are brightly colored. There are several frescoed representations of Jesus, popes, cardinals, emperors, nobles, peasants and saints.

The church is filled with stone carvings representing the Christmas cycle. On the left, behind the pulpit, we have the annunciation of the birth of Jesus and the meeting of the two pregnant women Mary, mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer. To the right on the south tower are the birth of Jesus, the circumcision of Jesus.

The choir is also impressive. It was vaulted when the church was rebuilt, stained-glass windows were painted and Moses and Eremia were represented as well as the four evangelical symbols: the bull, the angel, the eagle, the lion.

On the north wall are the sculptures of several dukes starting with Ulrich I the founder (13th century). On the left of the altar is the work entitled "The Beggar Beggar".

In the choir altar we find the bronze cross. On the right side of the choir are lined up several large, sculpted and impressive Romanesque tombs. They belong to dukes and duchesses, the one with the state flag belongs to Friedrich vom Wuerttemberg (16th century).

Stifterkapelle is located at the base of the south tower. In this chapel there are tombstones, but also some monuments from the period of the Renaissance. The tomb of Dean Hartsesser (16th century) is made of red marble.

Spiritual center of the church is formed by the unity given by the altar - pulpit - the angel of justice - the great crucifix. The services are held in this perimeter.

The south side chapel in the west tower is a place of prayer. The "Great Window of Hope" brings together several symbols of faith: a tree growing from a seed or the figure of a mother. There are several tombs here too.

Main organ of the Stiftskirche is undoubtedly the church's piece de resistance.

The heavenly sounds that it emits are due to the collaboration between the organ specialist, architect, builder, and the talent of the organ player. It was he who, the evening before, when I turned the church wheel, was in the church playing or practicing, the sounds of his work and of the organs resonating so pleasantly and warmly outside the church.

The organ is intended "in honor of God and for the recreation of the mind," said the famous J. S. Bach.