Juditten Church

Juditten Church is an originally Roman Catholic, later Protestant, and currently Russian Orthodox church in the Mendeleyevo district of Kaliningrad. Juditten was the name of Mendeleyevo when it was a quarter of Königsberg, Germany. One of the oldest churches of Sambia, the fortified church of was built in the Catholic state of the Teutonic Order between 1276 and 1294-1298 or c. 1287-1288. In 1402 it was mentioned in the treasurer's book as Judynkirchen. Frescoes by the painter Peter were located in the chancel by 1394. It received a free-standing tower ca. 1400, a crucifix c. 1520, and a weather vane in 1577. The clock tower and nave were connected by a barrel-vaulted vestibule in 1820.

Juditten became a shrine to the Virgin Mary and a medieval Christian pilgrimage site for visitors from throughout the Holy Roman Empire, especially during the era of Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen. The church's frescoes depicted coats of arms (such as those of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, the lives of Jesus and Mary, the Twelve Apostles, chivalric stories, and legendary creatures. Its large Madonna and Child above a crescent moon was made out of colored wood by an unknown master before 1454. According to Friedrich Lahrs, the Madonna had previously been located in Königsberg Cathedral's chapel. Its pearls were stolen from its crown by Königsberg rebels in 1454 during the Thirteen Years' War, with the Teutonic Knights replacing them in 1504 and moving the art to the pilgrimage site Juditten in 1504. The church was converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism in 1526 following the establishment of the Duchy of Prussia the previous year; pilgrimages were allowed to continue despite the Protestant Reformation. It also contained a cathedra from 1686, a Baroque altar, and an organ from 1840.

The church included epitaphs and portraits of field marshals Erhard Ernst von Röder and Hans von Lehwaldt by the Königsberg artist E. A. Knopke; both Röder and Lehwaldt were successively married to a daughter of Wilhelm Dietrich von Buddenbrock. Johann Christoph Gottsched was born in the church's rectory in 1700. Stanislaus Cauer was buried in the church's cemetery.

Although the church was largely undamaged by fighting during World War II, it was plundered in April 1945, when it passed from German to Russian control. Services continued until 1948. It was neglected until the 1970s, with the roof and part of the walls collapsing in the 1960s. It was reconsecrated in October 1985 as a Russian Orthodox church and was eventually restored to serve as the main church of St. Nicholas Orthodox Convent.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

ulitsa Tenistaya Alleya 39А, Kaliningrad, Russia

Details

Founded: 1276-1298
Category: Religious sites in Russia