Church with eventful history Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is Johanniskirche in the Old Town of Magdeburg on banks of Elbe river. My photo was taken from one of the bridges there.

A first church on this place was built from 936 to 940 and it first was mentioned in 941. It was heavily damaged in 1188 by a great fire and in 1207 it was totally destroyed by another devasting fire.

The reconstruction already began in 1207 and the then basilica was completed in 1238. Already in 1239 a new great fire caused damages and in 1451 a lightning stroke with a fire destroyed one third of the nave.

After this in 1452/53 a new three-nave hall church was built. In 1524 Martin Luther preached a sermon in this church and the citizenship of Magdeburg thereupon became Protestant.
In 1630 one of the steeples because of a hurricane tumbled down and crashed the nave. On the same day the aggression on Magdeburg was decided by the imperial generalissimo Tilly in the ThirtyYear's War. In 1631 the city was taken by assault after a long siege and the protestant clergymen and the members of the parish were killed. The church was burnt down.

Not before 1669 the church was rebuilt - after many years of makeshift arrangement. In 1806 the church was turned into a horse stable by French troops and on one of the steeples flew the French tricoloure.

In 1944 and 1945 the church was heavily damaged by allied air attacks. Please see HERE.

In 1961 the Protestant church gave the ruin to the city and by and by - especially after the German reunification - the church was rebuilt. Today it's the festival room and concert hall of the city of Magdeburg.

I think this is a really interesting and eventful history ...

In workshop you can see the westwork of St. Johannis.

pauloog, snunney, saxo042, PixelTerror, Didi, npecanhuk, eska, Budapestman, leo61, AiresSantos, asajernigan, ellelloo, pablominto, holmertz, denisn72, vasilpro, dareco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

amaryllis (17349) 2009-06-06 23:42

Bonjour Frank
j'ai lu ta note avec attention et qui nous donne les moindres détails sur cette reconstruction d'église; en effet cette église était persécutée, c'est à croire pour avoir subi autant de dommages
Un beau cadrage de celle-ci, une belle architecture, et les deux clochers différents
Elle a maintenant sa place
merci de ce partage
bon dimanche et amitiés
juliette

pauloog (6374) 2009-06-07 0:43

Hello Frank,
A fine view in bright clear colours of this church, made very interesting thanks to your note. Remarkable to see the architectural and decorational differences of the two towers.
Regards,
Paul

snunney (34610) 2009-06-07 0:50

Hello Frank,
A good capture of this impressive church. The point of view is well chosen to emphasise the mass; whilst the foreground greenery helps mask at least some of the car park. The red roof stands out perfectly against the cloudy sky. Very good natural looking colours and excellent clarity. Greetings from a sunny Charente-Maritime, but more rain on the way!

saxo042 (15482) 2009-06-07 1:58

Hi Frank,
A very interesting note and very good to include that linked photo from 1954. Excellent composition and the red roof is very good for the picture. I suppose the left spire will eventually be covered with verdigris and the two spires will become equal.
Kind regards from a cold and grey Gothenburg
Gunnar

PixelTerror (86038) 2009-06-07 2:01

Hallo Frank
Good pov to get a comprehensive view of the building, the light reflects well on the structures and the reds in particular are shining
Have a nice day JY

Didi (35998) 2009-06-07 2:04

Hallo Frank
Un bon point de vue dominant sur cette église, on apprécie le volume de l'architecture aux tuiles rouges.
Le ciel est identique à Orléans ce matin.
Amitiés.

npecanhuk (13623) 2009-06-07 5:16

Hello Frank!
Quite interesting history and superb architecture!
The high pov (from the bridge) was a very good idea and you really succeeded in this attractive and truly beautiful image! Great, thogh simple, composition! Excellent sharpness and exposure! Wonderful colors!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

Silvio1953 (41438) 2009-06-07 5:56

Ciao Frank, great view of fantastic architecture, beautiful composition with splendid sky, wonderful light and colors, very well done, have a good Sunday, greetings from grey and raining Italy, Silvio

Budapestman (41576) 2009-06-07 7:07

Hi Frank,
You took a beautiful photo of this imposing churh with attractive composition. The colours and light are excellent, the picturesque clouds adds a lot to the mood. Have a nice Sunday!
George

Nicou (44491) 2009-06-07 7:35

Hello Frank,

mangigieu église, quelle est immense, que se beau toit ressort à merveille, ici on a pas de tois de couleurs sur les églises, vraiment un superbe cadrage, mangigique.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

mesutilgim (36615) 2009-06-07 10:33

Hallo Frank,
Wieder ein tolles Beitrag aus Magdeburg sowohl photographisch wie auch von den Begleitnotizen her perfektes TE Arbeit !
Eigenartig wie sich die beiden Tuerme unterscheiden und fuer mich voellig neu, was die Franzosen vor 200 Jahren gemacht haben; In Anatolien war es gang und gebe dass viele griechisch orthodoxe Kirchen nach dem Freiheitskrieg von 1923 entweder als Lager oder aber auch vielerorts als Cafe's oder Restaurants gebraucht wurden; aber Pferdestall !
Danke schoen und mfg
MESUT ILGIM

darek1978 (11165) 2009-06-07 12:50

Hi Frank,
Great photo of this church! I like your POV, which makes the church more impressive. The sky looks great, with perfect blue for my eye. Nice work!
Cheers,
Darek

leo61 (43219) 2009-06-07 12:59

Guten Abend Frank!
Ein schönes Bild dieser mächtigen Kirche,hat ja schon Dom ähnliche Ausmaße.Gute Perspektive,toller POV und schöne kräftige Farben.
Gruß,Leo

Uhu (7356) 2009-06-07 14:49

Very good photo of this church from this town - I read a bit about it's history, in particular about Sack of Magdeburg - it seems that this church seen it, too.
Great work! Cars at the front shows a real size of the building.
Greetings from Russia - cold weather last days, + 10 or + 15 C at most, and quite windy.

aadilj (17950) 2009-06-07 22:40

I love the way you have compsoed this shot frank. its so upfront and so wholesome. I like the lights and the colours and like the way you have balanced it on the full

COSTANTINO (22529) 2009-06-07 23:56

Good morning
Another interesting historical church from you..
Thanks for your useful notes because a photo needs all those details..Very nice the green trees in the foreground,excellent perspective,original version,well captured shot
Costantino

jasmis (50142) 2009-06-08 1:18

Superb panoramic view. Amazing presentation with detailed note.
Regards my dear frend.

AiresSantos (41866) 2009-06-09 1:30

Hello Frank
Wonderful view of this Church
Great colours and fine light management
Very good sharpness and details
TFS and have a nice day
Aires

asajernigan (14080) 2009-06-09 6:18

Frank,
This is a great shot of this church. The angle of the shot is great giving the scene depth and direction. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. The difference between the two towers is interesting.
TFS,
Asa

ellelloo (4733) 2009-06-09 11:26

Hallo Frank,
Indeed, a very eventful history of this church. You have shot the church from a good POV from the bridge and the framing is good as well. Good natural colours and excellent sharpness. Interestingly the two towers look so different. TFS!
Greetings from rainy and chilly Finland,
Lasse

MarcT (21093) 2009-06-09 22:01

Salut Frank,
Très belle Papagolfade sous un superbe ciel.
Beau cadrage, couleurs et netteté.
Amitiés
Marc

pablominto (40402) 2009-06-10 1:37

Hello Frank,

If I understand you correctly the former church no longer serves as such, but is converted to more common use...
Anyway it is a fine building, and it seems to me like the reconstruction has been successful as the original features are well taken care of...
Good point of view and sharp fine details, outstanding colours in the fine light!

Greetings,
Pablo -

ghilain (1714) 2009-06-10 9:33

Bonjour Frank,

Voici une photo particulièrement réussie!
La toiture rouge prend de la place, sans gêner! C'est rare et bien réussi!
Le ciel est travaillé et les nuages donnent une belle atmosphère.
La photo est claire et malgré le temps lumineuse.

C'est étonnant; je suis allée récemment à Dusseldorf et, là aussi, il y a une "Johanniskirche" qui , aujourd'hui sert à des concert!

Le devenir des anciens lieux religieux!

Bonne soirée

brigitte

holmertz (9528) 2009-06-13 7:13

Hello Frank,
Amazing, all those fires that have burnt down so many churches over and over again. In Stockholm, one of the finest churches was totally destroyed only about 18 years ago.
That is an interesting background to this incredibly sharp and well saturated picture, taken from a well chosen POV embedding the church among the trees.
Greetings from a rainy Stockholm,
Gert

denisn72 (6969) 2009-06-15 6:22

HI Frank
This church is bigger than I thought by comparing with the cars beside and with the thumbnail. I like the different colours of that church and its architecture. This old church has an very special history. Many thanks for sharing.
Best regards
Denis!

vasilpro (8468) 2009-06-16 12:57

Hello Frank,
This is a very beautiful composition with the interesting old architecture church. Interesting history, useful notes.
Greetings, Vasilis.

dareco (17104) 2009-07-23 7:24

I always enjoy visiting your gallery and I think this picture is spectacular. Fantastic colors and detail, good lighting and beautiful architecture!!! Very nice pov. TFS