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large compound piers. The extension of the side aisles by one bay each enables the inclusion of the western tower in the interior architecture. On the eastern side, the nearly-quadratic hall is appended by the polygon-shaped basilican chancel. Attached to the chancel on the north side is the quadratic sacristy, covering four bays. This has four arches, all buttressed by one central compound pier. The Gothic hall is overlaid by ribbed vaults. The nave is 20.56 metres long in total, which represents only a slight difference from the length and width measurements (roughly 25.5 and 24.5 metres respectively). This gives the nave an almost-cubical shape. The central nave is only slightly wider than the side aisles. This results in merely a weak accentuation of the longitudinal axis of the church. The bays of the side aisles counteract this slight longitudinal alignment by opening up their broadsides to the central nave, thus emphasising the lateral alignment. This gives the impression of undirected space. St. Marien is thus characterised by the overall appearance of its nave.
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The carved central section of the main altar portrays the
Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth, the Adoration, the Circumcision and the presentation in the Temple on six small alcoves. In three discourses the Passion of Jesus is thereby presented: the bearing of the cross, the crucifixion and the Descent from the Cross. These sorts of altars from Antwerp were very widespread across northern Germany during the late 16th century. The predella of the main altar's retable, destroyed in 1945 during the war, was created around 1390 as a self-standing, two-pronged altar retable by the Master of the Berswordt retable, a painter associated with French art during the 1380s whose workshop was assumed to be in Cologne.
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characterised by the visible side of the church, featuring four gables crested with tracery and narrow elevated lancet windows. Sandstone figures are positioned on the gables. The buttresses – typical elements of Gothic architecture - help divide the visible side of the church into four vertical zones. The buttresses run in pinnacles with waterspouts between the four gables. There are two portals on this side. One side portal and the
Brautportal, the main entrance to the Marienkirche. Buttresses (along with flying buttresses) and balustrades characterise the image of the chancel. The exterior of the chancel underlies a bisection emerging from the ambulatory and the clerestory.
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assumed that the initial purpose of the building was for it to be a market church for the city of Osnabrück. The single-nave long building, without a transept but with an almost semicircular apsis, was positioned before an open, two-storied vestibule to the west. A salient feature is the robust stonework of the roofed hall with a width of 2.3 m, suggesting it functioned as part of a fortified church. The form of the ground plan along with the highly retracted interior of the chancel point to late
Carolingian or early Saxon-era designs.
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ambulatory gives the room arrangement and vision guidance a particular dynamic. Simultaneously the low apertures to the ambulatory emphasise the smallness of the hall. The chancel vault is adorned with the crest of Bishop Erich von Hoya and other heraldic panels. The continuation of the breadth of the nave into the chancel along with the clerestory over the arches – only separated by a narrow triforium – give the impression of a spacious and bright hall.
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The organ of St. Marien was built in 1967 by Dutch organ builders
Flentrop and underwent extensive renovation in 1998. The slider chest instrument has 47 registers across four manual stops and pedals. The stop and key actions are operated manually. The Brustwerk is fitted with a threshold mechanism.
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The main altar was produced in
Antwerp in 1520 and is composed of a shrine with painted wings. On a total of 12 painted panels on the front and reverse sides of the retable, the viewer is presented with the story of Christ through to his resurrection and the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Whitsun.
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The triumphal rood from the late 13th century is one of the oldest decorative features in the church. It is suspended from the chancel vault. It portrays the body of Christ as crowned with thorns in the Gothic “Dreinageltypus” style – portrayed also with a nail through the feet to increase the sense
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St. Marien is a three-aisled hall church without a transept. The main aisle is three bays long. The bays in the central nave are slightly rectangular. Both side aisles are four bays deep, these having a slight oblong shape. The central nave is separated from the side aisles by archways consisting of
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Before reconstruction of the
Marienkirche started from 1950 onwards following severe damage caused by incendiary bombs during World War II, a series of excavations took place to investigate the building's earlier architectural history. With the modernisation of the building's heating systems in 1958
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church was mentioned in records as early as 1177. However, the history of the church's construction began some time before it was first mentioned in writing. Archaeological traces suggest the existence of a predecessor building in the 10th century. Construction of the Gothic hall church which exists
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St. Marien contains several significant decorative features from various workshops and periods of history: the colourful
Madonna on the south side of the ambulatory dating from the early 16th century, epitaphs featuring testimonies and locally made Renaissance and Baroque sculptures dating from the
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The damage caused during World War II was repaired concurrently alongside the archaeological excavations; the repair work was finished by 1950. The reconstruction work, led by local architect Max H. Berling, also led to changes in the features of the church as well as the colouration, most of which
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The most recent of the three predecessor churches was built during the 12th century. The single-nave roofed hall was expanded to include two narrow side aisles. A three-aisled basilica with three semicircular altar apses and no transept was built. The core masonry of the western tower and the tower
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The second predecessor building of Osnabrück's
Marienkirche was constructed on the foundations of the first church in the 11th century. Once again there featured a single-nave roofed hall with a semicircular apsis. However, this time a 14-metre-high (46 ft) tower with a vaulted upper floor and
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The St. Marien church has a complex architectural history. Over time, extensive restorations have enabled archaeological excavations which have contributed considerably to a reconstruction of the building's history. The existence of at least three predecessor buildings has thereby been established.
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During the 13th and 14th centuries the three-aisled basilica was transformed into a Gothic hall church. Four more stories were added to the western tower and the chancel took on a rectangular shape. The subsequent conversion of the rectangular chancel into a basilica chancel around 1430-40 brought
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The oldest predecessor church was a hall building, constructed on a sandy island-like knoll during the 10th century. This is the oldest predecessor building of St. Marien and is regarded as its architectural origin. As the construction project was linked to the establishment of a market, it can be
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The interior of St. Marien can be accessed via the four portals. The Gothic hall has a compact, undirected appearance. This consistent spatial impression causes misleading diagonal perspectives. The lack of a transept intensifies the feeling of closeness, as well as the effect of uniformity. The
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ornamentation on the wimperg and an open-work tracery balustrade frame this work. The
Coronation of the Virgin, along with the allegory of the Clever and Foolish Virgins, are replicas from the second half of the 19th century. The originals from the early 14th century are at Osnabrück's
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The excavations were carried out by the federal curator of Lower Saxony under the scientific supervision of the then-curators Dr. Roswitha Poppe and Dr. –Ing (Doctor of
Engineering) Hans Roggenkamp. The research work received support from the municipal office for the preservation of historical
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Inside the church, the chancel is characterised by a tripartite division. Along with the low-lying ambulatory the area follows on to a small triforium gallery. The clerestory with tripartite tracery windows stands at the end. The contrast between the high-reaching clerestory and the low-lying
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signify the Brautportal's status as the main entrance to the Marienkirche. The figures around its frame represent the Clever and the Foolish Virgins. On the left-hand side are the figures of the five Clever Virgins, led by the “Ecclesia”, and on the right are the four Foolish ones, led by the
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The western tower stands imposingly over the roof of St. Marien, representing the old market church. The design of the north and south sides of the Marienkirche is symmetrical. A total of four portals enable entry into St. Marien, two each on the north and south sides. The market place is
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The buttress of the Marienkirche in Osnabrück is given a very vivid design by the pinnacles as well as the neo-Gothic balustrades. This dynamic image contrasts with the sober forms of nearby St. Peter's Cathedral as well as the more austere neighbouring market houses.
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for more information.) The leaders of the groups standing on the columns represent the New and the Old Covenants. The biblical allegory of the Clever and the Foolish Virgins is often to be found on sacred buildings in Germany. On the arch of the Brautportal – the
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of suffering. His knees are lightly tightened and the arms are stretched out almost horizontally. Mary and John – the secondary figures who are normally installed to the right and left of the crucifix – are merely shown as stone consoles on the pillars.
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ribbed vaults of the three naves – all of equal height – are supported by sturdy compound piers. The tops of the vaults reach heights of 21 metres. The tall compound piers are based on those in the cathedrals of
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As Osnabrück's oldest town church, it has a central location in the city. The Marienkirche is located directly on the market place, next to the Stadtwaage (city weighing house) and the town hall. Along with the
251:. The naturalistic capital ornamentation of the compound piers in the Marienkirche bears a resemblance to the foliated capitals at the Elisabethkirche in Marburg and at Minden Cathedral.
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There is a set of five bells in the tower (gis° (Hosianna) –h° (Gloria) –dis' (Amen) –fis' (Kyrieleis) –gis' (Halleluja)), which were recast in 1959 by the Rincker bell and art foundry.
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16th and 18th centuries, the winged altar from Antwerp also dating from the early 16th century, the triumphal rood from the late 13th century and the 16th century baptismal font.
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as well as internal and external renovation work from 1987 to 1992, there arose further opportunities to conduct research into the architectural history of St. Marien.
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basement was also constructed on the west side of the church. Materials from the previous church were used to construct the rectangular western tower.
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Kaster, K. (ed.), Die Marienkirche in Osnabrück. Ergebnisse archäologischer, bau- und kunsthistorischer Untersuchungen (Bramsche, 2001)
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Götz J. Pfeiffer, Die Malerei am Niederrhein und in Westfalen um 1400. Der Meister des Berswordt-Retabels und der Stilwandel der Zeit
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Dehio, G., Weiß, G., Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Bremen, Niedersachsen (2nd revised and expanded edition) (Munich, 1992)
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47:. It is one of the most artistically and historically significant buildings in the North German city. A previous
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Partial peal of bells gis°–dis'–fis'–gis', Saturday 22 December 2007, 6:00 pm (marking 4th Sunday of Advent)
1034:(= Studien zur internationalen Architektur- und Kunstgeschichte, 73), Petersberg (Imhof-Verlag), 2009;
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The extensive excavations managed to establish the existence of at least three predecessor buildings.
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Schlüter, H., Festschrift zur Wiedereinweihung der St. Marienkirche zu Osnabrück (Osnabruck, 1990)
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94:) of the Evangelical Church in Osnabrück, and ultimately from master sculptor Werner Paetzke.
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Warnecke, E. F., Alte Kirchen und Klöster im Land zwischen Weser und Ems (Osnabruck, 1990)
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St. Marien (St. Mary's Church) in Osnabrück, viewed from the Marktplatz (market place).
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is located on the south side of St. Marien. The opulent decorations and the high
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Detailed information on the Marienkirche in Osnabrück at baufachinformation.de
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today started in the 13th century and was completed between 1430 and 1440.
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Full peal of bells on 25 December 2008, 9:45 am (marking Christmas Day)
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Building research and restoration at the Marienkirche in Osnabrück
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building are the only parts of this building which remain today.
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Stop-motion device for the main body with the couplers
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From the predecessor buildings to today’s Marienkirche
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92:office for the maintenance of art and buildings
957:Poppe, R., Die Marien-Kirche (Osnabruck, 1969)
118:work on the Marienkirche to a temporary end.
90:monuments, the Amt für Bau- und Kunstpflege (
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151:Eastern side of St. Marien in Osnabrück
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28:Church clock of St. Marien in Osnabrück
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985:Article on the church at osnabrueck.de
122:was done during a renovation in 1901.
980:Images of St. Marien on bildindex.de
238:Interior, view of the Flentrop organ
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1136:Lutheran churches in Lower Saxony
1055:at the parish website (in German)
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1141:Tourist attractions in Osnabrück
1131:15th-century churches in Germany
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134:Ground plan of the Marienkirche
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218:(Museum of Cultural History).
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215:Kulturgeschichtliches Museum
72:(city centre) of Osnabrück.
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836:Superoctave
512:Superoctave
358:Superoctave
187:Brautportal
179:Brautportal
169:Brautportal
139:Ground plan
81:Excavations
1120:Categories
1090:52°16′40″N
1001:References
990:H. Karge:
946:Literature
757:Vox Humana
738:Zimbel II
671:Tremulant
653:Mixtur IV
601:Spitzflöte
369:Flachflöte
70:Innenstadt
49:Romanesque
33:St. Marien
1093:8°02′30″E
925:Couplers:
858:Nachthorn
847:Rohrflöte
792:Prinzipal
768:Tremulant
716:Prinzipal
627:Waldflöte
590:Prinzipal
579:Quintatön
568:Rohrflöte
475:Prinzipal
440:Tremulant
429:Krummhorn
347:Rohrflöte
325:Hohlflöte
314:Prinzipal
249:Paderborn
62:cathedral
41:Osnabrück
1016:Archived
910:Trompete
727:Sifflöte
661:Trompete
542:Trompete
531:Trompete
464:Prästant
259:Features
222:Interior
201:tympanum
156:Exterior
66:medieval
37:Lutheran
899:Posaune
888:Dulcian
877:Posaune
825:Gedackt
803:Subbass
694:Gedackt
418:Dulcian
209:Tracery
191:wimperg
45:Germany
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814:Octave
497:Quinte
486:Octave
380:Quinte
336:Octave
245:Minden
203:– the
1053:organ
968:Links
938:Bells
781:Pedal
746:Regal
612:Nasat
286:Organ
1036:ISBN
891:16′
880:16′
806:16′
795:16′
783:C–f
749:16′
685:C–g
638:Terz
559:C–g
534:16′
467:16′
455:C–g
421:16′
304:C–g
247:and
185:The
177:The
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571:8′
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545:8′
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520:17.
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478:8′
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432:8′
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372:2′
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328:8′
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1122::
645:′
641:1/
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504:′
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407:9.
402:′
398:2/
392:8.
387:′
383:1/
377:7.
366:6.
355:5.
344:4.
333:3.
322:2.
311:1.
43:,
1078:.
1042:.
643:5
617:3
502:3
400:3
385:3
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