St. Sebaldus Church

St. Sebaldus Church ("St. Sebald", "Sebalduskirche") is a medieval church in Nuremberg, Germany. Along with Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) and St. Lorenz, it is one of the most important churches of the city, and also one of the oldest. It is locaded at the Albrecht-Dürer-Platz, in front of the old city hall. It takes its name from Sebaldus, an 8th century hermit and missionary and patron saint of Nuremberg.

History

The construction of the building began in 1230s. the church achieved parish church status in 1255 and was completed by 1273-75. It was originally built as a Romanesque basilica with two choirs. During the 14th century several important changes to the construction were made: first the side aisles were widened and the steeples made higher (1309–1345), then the late gothic hall chancel was built (1358–1379). The two towers were added in the 15th century. In the middle 17th century galleries were added and the interior was remodelled in the Baroque fashion. The church suffered serious damage during World War II and was subsequently reconstructed. Some of the old interior did survive, including the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, works by Veit Stoss and the stained glass windows.

Organ

The church had an organ by the 14th century, and another by the 15th. The main organ had been built in 1440–41 by Heinrich Traxdorf, who also built two small organs for Nuremberg's Frauenkirche. Until its destruction in the 20th century it was one of the oldest playable organs in the world, and all the more notable because Traxdorf was one of the first organ builders to depart from the gothic Blockwerk organ by dividing the windchests and separating the front stops into Flute (Principal) and Octave (see pipe organ). The Traxdorf organ was rebuilt in 1691. The modified case was destroyed by the by the Allied forces during a bombing raid on 2 January, 1945. The new 4 manual, 122 rank, 84 stop organ by "Peter", Köln, was installed in 1975.

The position of organist of St. Sebaldus was the most important one of this kind in Nuremberg, and several important composers occupied this post. Organists who worked at St. Sebaldus include the following (almost all held the post until their death, except where stated otherwise):

* 1446-1450: Conrad Paumann, secretly left for Munich
* 1567-1571: Hans Haiden
* 1596-1616: Hans Christoph Haiden, dismissed for adultery
* 1616-1618: Kaspar Hassler
* 1618-1634: Johann Staden
* 1634-1658: Valentin Dretzel
* 1658-1686: Paul Hainlein
* 1686-1695: Georg Caspar Wecker
* 1695-1706: Johann Pachelbel
* 1706-1719: J.S. Richter
* 1719-1764: Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (Johann's son)
* 1764-1775: Cornelius Heinrich Dretzel
* 1969-1991: Werner Jacob (left)

References

* Christoph Wolff. "Paumann, Conrad", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy, [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
* Harold E. Samuel, Susan Gattuso. "Nuremberg", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy, [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).

External links

*de icon [http://www.sebalduskirche.de/ St. Sebald Official Site]
* [http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/portal_e/reiseziel/ctz_504.html St. Sebald at the official site of Nuremberg] Includes a brief description in English
* [http://germany.archiseek.com/bavaria/nuremberg/st_sebaldus.html St. Sebaldus church at Archiseek.com] Includes brief descriptions and photographs
* [http://archive.cyark.org/saint-sebald-church-info Saint Sebald Church digital media archive] (creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas), data from a Christofori und Partner/CyArk/Bavarian State Department of Monuments and Sites research partnership