Chemnitz towers: The castle church
Location: Schloßchemnitz, Schloßberg 12
Construction period: 12th century (choir and side choirs), 1499-1527 (hall church), 1895-1897 (tower)
Architects: Andreas Günther (Komotau/Chomutov), Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel (Doberan), Georg Laudeley (Chemnitz)
The history of the town began a good eight centuries ago on a spur of land above the river called "Chemnitz". Emperor Lothar von Süpplingenburg founded the Benedictine monastery of St Mary's in 1136 as a base for the development of the mountains. Parts of the Romanesque monastery church have been preserved to this day. The site experienced the peak of its economic and cultural development in the early 16th century: Under the abbots Heinrich von Schleinitz and Hilarius von Rehburg, the monastery was extensively remodelled and rebuilt. The monastery church, now known as the castle church, was completed in 1527. It is one of the largest late Gothic hall churches in Saxony. Leading artists such as the Wittenberg Cranach workshop or the sculptors HW (Hans Witten?) and Franz Maidburg were brought in to decorate the church. The so-called "Flagellation Column" is a unique work of art in Europe.
Following the introduction of the Reformation, monastic life ceased in 1541. The buildings stood empty for a while before the Dresden court had them converted into a hunting lodge. The former monastery church became the castle church. During the Thirty Years' War in 1632, there was severe looting and devastation. Since then, the complex has only been partially used and gradually fell into disrepair. In the 18th and 19th centuries, large parts were demolished, leaving only the church and two wings of the cloister buildings. The neglected church was only used sporadically for religious services.
This only changed when a separate castle church parish was founded in 1864, after which the church underwent two extensive restoration phases. The last, completed in 1897, also saw the construction of the mighty neo-Gothic tower, which dominated the townscape with its height of 87 metres. It was damaged in 1945 and then rebuilt in its current form with a low hipped roof. The church underwent extensive restoration between 1975 and 1990, during which the late Gothic knotwork portal was moved from the north side to the interior.
Today, the castle church and Schloßberg Museum form a historical and structural unit that is not only the oldest, but also the most valuable architectural monument in the city of Chemnitz.