St. Martini Church

"Beautiful old church in the center of Braunschweig. Placed on a lovely old square and surrounded by other pretty old buildings, it’s close to other sites and definitely worth a stop by when in the area…"

Alex Bransby

"The Martinikirche is a parish church in Brunswick. It was built from the 12th century as the main and parish church of the Weichbild Old Town. Construction began around 1190/1195. The initiator is Heinrich the Lion. It is the only medieval twin-towered church in Brunswick with a finished west building (see also: Saxon West Bar). It is located west of the Altstadtmarkt and is surrounded on three sides by the street An der Martinikirche.The construction of the original St. Martini Church lasted until about 1225/1230. It was built like the Brunswick Cathedral as a Romanesque pillar basilica with a cross-shaped plan, which was expanded between 1250 and 1400 to a Gothic hall church. Characteristic of the gothic extensions are in particular the many outer gable gables, which are considered typical for the region.
1400 was then the cultivation of the choir end and 1434 the cultivation of Annenkapelle, which had donated the Brunswick Wasmod of Kemme and was long covered by a tower with pointed, later with dome-shaped roof. Inside, it holds six large statues (c. 1440): Mary, the Three Magi, Joachim and Anna. Above the keel arches there are apostles and saints, in the middle the coronation of the Virgin Mary. The other figures, recognizable only from below, show, among other things, musical figures and heads of Braunschweig's citizens and monks of the time.
On the southern gable of the former transept are several sandstone sculptures from the 14th century. Above the entrances on the north side hang tympana representing the Lamb of God and the Entombment of Mary. These are the only preserved original tympanas in Braunschweig.
In 1441, the bronze font was cast by Barthold Sprangken. It shows seven scenes from the life of Jesus. In 1528 the church became Protestant. 1616 received the baptismal font a wooden, three-story canopy, on which also biblical stories are presented, 1675 was followed by a wrought iron grid. In 1899, the baptismal font was moved to its present location in the Annenkapelle. The workshop of Jürgen Röttger, in which the canopy was created 1617 to 1621 also created the richly decorated pulpit, which also contains numerous biblical motifs, such as figures of the five wise and five foolish virgins. Around 1700, the gables of the choir were equipped with gothic blinds, as it already possessed the neighboring Altstadtrathaus.4 Between 1722 and 1725 was created by Anton Detlev Jenner marble and alabaster, completely preserved Baroque high altar, which shows, among other things, a sacrament scene.
In the 19th century, a tower was removed, which stood between the two high towers. In the years 1897 to 1899 Max Osterloh carried out extensive renovations. Among other things, the gallery on the south wall was scaled down and re-decorated. During the Second World War, the roof truss and the westwork burned down completely. The interior of the church, however, was largely spared by the fire. In 1956, the church was re-consecrated, from 1979 to 1987 they were restored from the outside. Only in 1980, the two equal towers were restored. The Annenkapelle received again a pointed, but flatter tower. A Gothic ridge turret, in which the tuning bells were hung, was not rebuilt."

Paulo Mendes

"Beautiful old church in the historic city of Brunswick (Braunschweig)"

Joerg Schulze