St. Thomas Church, Leipzig

The current property was the site of a church at least since the 12th century. Foundations of a Romanesque building were discovered in the choir and crossing of the current church. In 1355, the Romanesque choir was changed to Gothic style. Following an inflow of wealth into Leipzig from the discovery of silver in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge), the Romanesque nave was demolished and replaced between 1482 and 1496 by the current late-Gothic hall church. In 1806, the church served as a munitions depot for the French army. During the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, it was used as a military hospital. In 1828, he studied piano and counterpoint with the then Thomaskantor, Christian Th. Weinlig. On 4 December 1943, the tower was damaged in an Allied bombing raid on Leipzig, requiring repair. In 1949 the authorities demolished the St. John Church, also damaged by bombs in 1943, and in 1950 the remains of Johann Sebastian Bach were moved from there to the St. Thomas church. In the 20th century, sulfur emitted from nearby coal mines, and other pollutants in the atmosphere caused the deterioration of exterior stonework and statuary, and even of interior Gothic paintings. In addition, the roof structure suffered from damage due to insects and moisture. For these reasons, the church was listed in the 2000 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. Repairs were swiftly undertaken with financial support from the Fund and from American Express. Repairs on the church from 1961 to 1964 also attempted to emphasize the Gothic hall church character of the building. Another renovation followed in 1991. A statue of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who lived in Leipzig from 1835 until his death in 1847, was dedicated on 18 October 2008, when it was re-erected opposite the St. Thomas Church on the occasion of the year of his 200th birthday. The statue depicts the former Gewandhaus Orchestra director and composer in bronze. Celebratory speeches were given by Kurt Masur, also a former Gewandhaus Orchestra director, and Burkhard Jung, mayor of Leipzig. The original statue designed by Werner Stein was first dedicated on 26 May 1892. It had been located on the east side of the Gewandhaus until 9 November 1936, when it was taken down by the Nazis because of the composer's Jewish background. ==Description==

The church measures in length, of which the nave accounts for . The nave is wide and its walls reach a maximum height of . The church's roof is unusually steep, with a roof pitch of 63 degrees. It rises to a crown that is high. The tower is in height. Works of art The church features a number of works of art, including a baptismal font (1614–1615) made by Franz Döteber and Portraits show the Stadtsuperintendent of Leipzig, the oldest dating from 1614. A crucifix made by Caspar Friedrich Löbelt is one of the few remaining pieces from the times of Bach. The church also contains a number of notable epitaphs, such as the one for the knight Harras (d. 1451) and for councilor Daniel Leicher (1612). The colored windows in the choir were added after 1889. They show a number of historic motifs: a memorial to the fallen of World War I, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Johann Sebastian Bach, Martin Luther with Elector Friedrich der Weise and Philip Melanchthon as well as Emperor Wilhelm I. Between 1934 and 1940, in the working time from Günther Ramin, 16 romantic stops were changed against neo-baroque stops. The German organ builder Christian Scheffler reconstructed and repaired the Sauer-organ in two phases: 1988 to 1993 and in the years to 2005. He restored the organ in the situation in 1908. Alexander-Schuke-organ (1967 to 1999) Since the Sauer-Organ was considered unsuitable for Bach's music, a second organ with three manuals, 47 stops, a neo-baroque stoplist and mechanical key and stop action was built in 1966–1967 (by the Schuke company later named Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau). It was dismantled in May 1999 for the new Woehl-Organ. 42 stops and other parts from the Schuke-organ in St. Thomas was reused in the 68 stop-Schuke-organ, built in 2000 to 2005 in Fürstenwalde Cathedral. Woehl-organ (since 2000) The Schuke-organ was later replaced by a new organ, built by Gerald Woehl's organ-building company from 1999 to 2000. This "Bach organ" was designed to look similar to the Johann-Scheibe-organ, on which Bach had played in the Paulinerkirche, the stoplist is inspired by the Stertzing-organ, designed by Johann Christoph Bach in St. Georg's Church in Eisenach during J. S. Bach's childhood. Church bells The two bell chambers of the tower hold eight bells with a total weight of . The largest and most precious bell is the Gloriosa, made in 1477 by Theodericus Reinhard; it is rung only on solemnities. Their weight is , the tone an a0. Its famous incised drawings were created by Nikolaus Eisenberg. The second bell, Mittelglocke (midbell), was cast in 1574 by Wolf Hilliger, and the so-called Mönchs- oder Beichtglocke (monk's or confessional bell) founded in 1634 by Jakob König, which also strikes the hours. The smallest of the historical bells is the Gebetsglocke (prayer's bell), a work by the master Christophorus Gros from 1585. A clock bell in the lantern of the tower strikes the quarters. In 2020/21 the aforementioned bells were refurbished. Also four new bells were created in the Bachert bell foundry with inscriptions that reflect words from the motets by Johann Sebastian Bach. On Reformation Day 2021, all eight bells rang out together for the first time. ==Choir==

The Thomanerchor, the choir of the Thomaskirche, was founded in 1212 and is one of the oldest and most famous boys' choirs in Germany. It is headed by the Thomaskantor, an office that has been held by many well-known composers and musicians, including Johann Sebastian Bach from 1723 until his death in 1750. ==Gallery==

File:Leipzig-ChurchStThomas-Sauer-Organ.jpg|The Sauer organ File:Leipzig-ChurchStThomas-Woehl-Organ.jpg|The Woehl organ File:Leipzig Paulinerkirche Scheibe-Orgel um 1720.jpg|The Scheibe-organ from 1717 in Pauliner-/University-Church, certificated by Bach, was the inspiration for Woehl's organ case. File:Vxla-thomaskirsche-exerior.jpg|Exterior of Thomaskirche from north-east File:Thomaskirche Leipzig - 2014 12 30.webm|(video) Exterior of Church with people, 2014 File:StThomas Leipzig hb.JPG|Altar and Bach's tomb File:Exterior of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, with Bach statue.jpg|Exterior with Bach monument File:Bach Window Thomaskirche.jpg|Stained-glass Bach church window (detail) File:Vxla-thomaskirsche.jpg|Interior of Thomaskirche, view to west ==See also==