The foundation stone was laid on June 8, 1807 and the church was consecrated at Pentecost 1816. Weinbrenner designed the church in the style of a Greek temple. A bell tower is not really appropriate for a temple, but it had to be at the Grand Duke's request. So Weinbrenner moved it as far away from the façade as possible. The gable of the vestibule is supported by six tall Corinthian columns. A gilded angel of peace adorns the spire.
The predecessor of the town church was the Konkordienkirche ("Church of Concord") on the market square, built in 1721, where the town founder Karl Wilhelm (1709 - 1738) was buried. Weinbrenner erected the pyramid over his tomb in 1825.
The church was destroyed in air raids in 1944. During the reconstruction in 1958, the interior of the church was redesigned: lighter, wider, opening of the end wall where the altar now stands, no pictures and statues, light pillars instead of the original Corinthian columns. A band of light along the long walls draws the eye upwards. The ceiling is vaulted instead of the original coffered ceiling. In the style of the 1950s, the materials are shown: stone, concrete, wood, steel, leather.
Under the central nave of the church is the former crypt of the Grand Ducal family. Weinbrenner's sarcophagus is located there.
The rebuilt town church seats 1320. The altar and pulpit, like the floor, are made of black marble. The annual motto greets you on the pulpit. The baptismal font and altar cross are by the sculptor Otto Herbert Hajek, the windows in the front by Georg Meistermann, both artists later held professorships at the art academy.
Until 1944, the town church housed an organ by the great organ builder Silbermann from Alsace. The new instrument is an organ made by Steinmeyer, Oettingen. It has 73 stops on four manuals and pedal with approx. 4500 pipes. In 2005, the organ was completely renovated and fitted with an electronic stoplist system (system for selecting and storing stop combinations). In January 2005, the Alsatian Rémy Mahler organ was also inaugurated as a choir organ in the front part of the church. It has 24 stops on 3 manuals and pedal and is close in sound to the old Silbermann organ.
Tip
It's worth taking a look in the crypt. There are almost always interesting exhibitions on display there. And Weinbrenner's sarcophagus stands in a niche directly under the church entrance.
And the music at the Ev. Stadtkirche offers events for young and old throughout the year.
