Torgau Castle Chapel

Description

The Torgau Castle Chapel is an outstanding prototype of the Protestant church building tradition. Integrated into Hartenfels Castle, it is located on the northern rim of the old town of Torgau (Saxony) on the banks of the Elbe River. The Saxon Elector Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, counterpart to Emperor Charles V in the early years of the German Reformation, commissioned the chapel to be the first newly erected Protestant church building. Built in 1543/44 and the only church dedicated by the reformer Martin Luther himself, it was designed and furnished in accordance with Luther's theological considerations and his requirements for church services in an architectural setting. The construction works were supervised by master builder Nickel Gromann.

Extending on a rectangular floor plan over all three storeys of the castle’s northern wing, the floor area of the chapel totals approx. 270 m² and has maximum internal dimensions of approx. 12.8 m height, 10.5 m width and 27.5 m length. A ribbed vault surmounts the space, which is free of columns that could obstruct the view. Surrounding galleries on two levels span between three wall pillars on each side and open up to the interior in wide segmental arches. The interior design combines elements of late Gothic Saxon hall churches and stylistic features of the Renaissance in an exemplary manner. The color scheme with plain and light whitewashed surfaces and dividing architectural structures of sandstone corresponds to the initial state of the building. The furnishings from the construction time include the wall-mounted pulpit, which is integrated into the first gallery at a pillar of the northern wall. It depicts scenes from the life of Jesus in the imagery of the Reformation, designed by Lucas Cranach. Because of the gallery-system, the pulpit is linked horizontally to the altar and organ on the western wall, which in turn form a vertical axis. The eastern wall, beneath the Elector’s gallery, displays the so-called dedication plaque from 1545. In the words of Luther, the Torgau Castle Chapel surpassed the beauty of the Temple of Solomon and the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Historical Overview: The Torgau residence represented the political center of the Reformation in the first half of the 16^th century. The location of the chapel in the former electoral residence and the stately galleries reveal the sovereign's ecclesiastical regime in the early modern period: Being sovereign and head of the church, the Elector implemented the Reformation in his territory according to the principle of "eius regio cuius religio", thereby making a significant contribution to the establishment of the Lutheran faith. The spatial connection of the Electoral chambers to the chapel attests to the symbiosis of secular and ecclesiastical power in Torgau.

Luther dedicated the castle chapel on October 5^th, 1544. In the programmatic sermon he proclaimed the principles of Protestant worship. The "Torgau Formula” on the importance of preaching, prayer, and music as a dialogue between the congregation and God is still adhered to worldwide to this day. The dedication plaque commemorates the important event of Luther's inauguration and authorization of the chapel. The plaque has been in the chapel since 1545 and is considered one of the earliest monuments of Protestant commemorative culture. Also preserved is the motet, which the first cantor in the world, the so-called “Urkantor” – original cantor – Johann Walter of Torgau, composed and performed with the choir on the occasion of the inauguration.

The Torgau Castle Chapel immediately set an example. It served as a prototype within the territories of the allied dynasties in the motherland of the Reformation, ultimately becoming a model for subsequent Protestant church buildings across Europe.

In 1547, the electoral dignity turned from the Wittenberg-Torgau-based Ernestines to the Dresden-Meissen-based Albertine branch of the Wettin family by imperial order. The Albertines used Hartenfels Castle for state assemblies and weddings such as that of Alexej, son of Czar Peter, in 1711. The memory of the importance of the Torgau Castle Chapel was maintained even when Torgau and Hartenfels Castle became part of the Saxon-Napoleonic Fortress (1812/13), was turned into a Prussian barracks (after 1815-1913) or became a symbolic place marking the end of World War 2 when the allied armies met near the banks of the Elbe River (1945). The chapel has been preserved in its original structure and, apart from a few years, been used constantly as a church from the day of inauguration to present times.

Justification de la Valeur Universelle Exceptionnelle

The Torgau Castle Chapel in Hartenfels Castle, Saxony/Germany, is a prototype of Protestant church architecture, an authentic testimony to the Reformation and of outstanding art-historical, historical, and religious significance. Commissioned and built in 1543-44 by Duke Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony, it is the first house of worship constructed to embody the distinct and foundational religious concepts of Protestant church architecture and tradition.

The chapel´s design and in-situ intact accoutrements are highly significant in art history and form characteristic attributes of Protestant parish churches worldwide. There are two galleries, arcaded tribunes, and a central unified sacred space that is remarkable in its simplicity, with notable renunciation of the depictions of saints, relics, and elaborate decorations characteristic of its predecessors. There is no separate east-facing chancel or apse, and no columns, pillars, or pilasters to interrupt the view of the congregation, who were provided with seating. The combination of the prominently suspended pulpit from where Luther delivered the first sermon, together with emphasis on one simple freestanding stone table altar with the organ placed above, emphasizes the longitudinal axis of the church and the importance of the auditory dimension, especially music and song. The dedication plaque commemorates the important event of Luther's inauguration and authorization of the chapel. The plaque has been in the chapel since 1545 and is considered one of the earliest monuments of Protestant commemorative culture.

The architecture and furnishings of the chapel symbolize the principles of Lutheran doctrine and the importance of the sovereigns for its establishment in the early modern period. The design concept of the chapel illustrates in an exceptional manner the importance of sermon, prayer and congregational singing accompanied by the organ in Protestant worship, as emphasized by Luther. The principles of interior design implemented here in exemplary form in accordance with the Lutheran principles of faith and the requirements of Protestant worship were initially copied in contemporary castle chapels of Reformed sovereigns elsewhere in Central and Northern Europe. They remain characteristic features of Protestant parish churches worldwide to this day. Due to the work of the original cantor Johann Walter, the Torgau castle chapel is moreover considered as the cradle of the institutionalized church chantry.

Criterion (ii): The Torgau Castle Chapel stands in the tradition of medieval castle and palace chapels and their representation of spiritual and secular power. At the same time, it broke with the principles of church interior design established before the Reformation and served as both a direct and indirect model for subsequent Protestant sacred buildings. Among the influential innovations were the abolition of the separation of the areas for clergy and congregation, for whom seating was introduced, the prominent position of the principal liturgical elements of the Protestant service - altar, organ, and pulpit - as well as the lack of an east-facing chancel and the renunciation of depictions of saints, relics, and elaborate decoration.

Criterion (iv): The Torgau Castle Chapel is an outstanding example of early modern castle chapels in the heartland of the Reformation and a prototype of Protestant church buildings. Built as a new chapel and the only church dedicated by Martin Luther himself, it was the most important model of liturgical design in the early years of the German Reformation. As a prototype, it illustrates both the principles of Lutheran doctrine and the importance of the sovereigns for its establishment in the early modern period. The associated basic principles of interior design, which were implemented for the first time in this church, served as a direct role model for subsequent Protestant church buildings and still characterize Protestant parish churches worldwide today. The exposure of the so-called liturgical principal elements (altar, pulpit, organ) in the transverse and longitudinal axes of a unified church space in particular was paradigmatic for subsequent Protestant church buildings. The chapel is the earliest and most representative example of Lutheran ecclesiastical architecture, copied not only for castle chapels but also ordinary parish churches.

Criterion (vi): The Torgau Castle Chapel is directly associated with ideas, beliefs, and the profoundly influential events of the Evangelical Lutheran faith. As the first and only church built directly according to the demands of the reformer Martin Luther and dedicated by him on October 5^th, 1544, the still functional church building bears outstanding witness to Luther’s ideas and the importance of sermon, prayer, and congregational singing in Protestant worship ("Torgau Formula”). The dedication plaque commemorates the important event of Luther's inauguration and authorization of the chapel. The plaque has been in the chapel since 1545 and is one of the earliest monuments of Protestant commemorative culture. The motet, which the first cantor in the world, the so-called “Urkantor” – original cantor – Johann Walter of Torgau, composed and performed with the choir on the event of the inauguration, is also preserved.

Déclarations d’authenticité et/ou d’intégrité

The Torgau Castle Chapel meets the conditions of authenticity to a high degree. This applies to the interior and exterior form and design of the chapel, the material and substance of most of the building’s components and furnishings, the use and function of the space, including use and management by the local Protestant parish, as well as to its location and setting within Hartenfels Castle and the old town of Torgau. It extends to atmospheric and spiritual aspects, including the chapel’s outstanding religious and commemorative significance.

Over the centuries since its construction and inauguration, the chapel and its interior architecture have undergone only minor changes. Both the exterior and interior of the building retain a high degree of functional and structural integrity and are protected from negative influences. Legal protection is provided by the designation as a listed monument under the Saxon Monument Protection Act. The property includes all attributes necessary to convey its proposed OUV.  

The entire heritage-protected architectural ensemble of the former Torgau residence, along with neighboring elements of the old town, which have close historical links to the castle chapel, are proposed as a buffer zone.

Comparaison avec d’autres biens similaires

The comparative examples were selected according to thematic, typological, chronological, and geo-cultural frameworks. Sacred buildings dating from the early Middle Ages to the present day and Reformation sites and Christian Protestant churches from all over the world are compared. The focus is on Protestant palace chapels and church buildings of the early modern period in the heartland of the Reformation as well as in the first areas of distribution in the former Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and dynastically connected territories in the Baltic Sea region.

For European cultural history, the process of the Reformation at the beginning of the early modern period was important for the development of denominations and value systems shaped by humanism, which live on in many societies today. A systematic evaluation of the Christian World Heritage sites shows that pre-Reformation, Roman Catholic and Byzantine or Orthodox sites are disproportionately represented on the World Heritage List. The development of Protestant denominations and the architectural history associated with them are barely represented. Despite some church buildings, such as Neuburg on the Danube (1542) and the remodeled church of St. Joachim in Joachimstal (1534-40), claiming to be the first Protestant church, none of these churches were dedicated by Martin Luther, to which witness is borne by the dedication plaque, nor do they set a corresponding example for other churches. Torgau Castle Chapel is scientifically and academically recognized as the mother of Protestant church architecture and as such would fill that significant gap.

Castle chapels modelled on the Torgau model were built in Dresden (1551-53, destroyed, under reconstruction), Augustusburg Castle (around 1670), Stettin (1575-77), Koldinghhus (1598-1603) and Frederiksborg (1606-17). The travelogue of the surveyor Tileman Stella, who was commissioned by the Duke of Mecklenburg with documenting typological features of the Torgau chapel, served as a basis for the replication in Schwerin Castle (1560-63). In Schmalkalden (1590), the three liturgical principal elements (altar, pulpit, and organ), which were presented in a central position in Torgau, were joined together for the first time to form the pulpit altar, to be inserted into the gallery system on the narrow side of the chapel. This principle has itself been cited many times. The principle of the pulpit altar in the Baroque era was ultimately perfected in the Dresden Frauenkirche.

There are a number of American Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches built in the 19^th century that can be traced back to the tradition originating in Torgau, for example, the Lutheran Church of St. Paul in St. Serbin, Texas (late 19^th century) and the Church of Our Savior in Houston. The basic principles of church interior design and use first implemented in Torgau, authorized by Luther there and explained in his church dedication sermon, can also be found in contemporary Protestant churches around the world.

The Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica (criteria (iii), (iv) and (vi)), which were built in the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), symbolize the consequences of confessionalization as manifested architecturally in Torgau and the influence of Torgau here is more indirect.

The Luther Memorials in Eisleben und Wittenberg (criteria (iv) and (vi)) are a unique testimony to the Protestant Reformation and exceptional examples of 19^th century historicism. The historical links between Reformation sites in Wittenberg and Torgau have been close since the 16^th century. However, the proposed Outstanding Universal Value of Torgau Castle Chapel is fundamentally different and complementary to the World Heritage Site. In contrast to both churches in Wittenberg, the original intention of Torgau Castle Chapel was to create a new type of church interior that reflected the new doctrine of Protestantism (“Torgau Formula” on the importance of preaching, prayer, and music).

Due to its significance as a prototype of Christian church architecture, the comparison with the Palatine Chapel at Aachen Cathedral (criteria (ii) and (iv)) should be mentioned with regard to the typology and symbolism of both sites. Torgau Castle Chapel takes up the typology of the Palace Chapel and its representation of secular and spiritual power but bears both structural and symbolic witness to the formation of denominations and the loss of unity within the Western Christian Church.

Wartburg Castle (criteria (iii) and (vi)) near Eisenach was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. It is an outstanding monument of the feudal era in Central Europe as well as having significance as a place where Luther worked and lived. Luther spent 11 months at Wartburg Castle, where he translated the Bible into German. There is evidence that he visited Torgau a total of 60 times before, after and during the construction of the chapel. Alongside the Luther Memorials in Wittenberg and Eisleben, both Wartburg Castle and Torgau Castle Chapel have significant biographical links to Luther. They are important places of the Reformation. However, their recognized or proposed Outstanding Universal Values differ fundamentally from one another.

As a result, it can be stated that Torgau Castle Chapel, as a prototype of Protestant sacred buildings and authentic testimony to the Reformation, is able to fill a significant gap on the World Heritage List.