2025-06-09

The Huguenots in Franconia

 Huguenots were french Protestants, mainly followers of Calvinism, who were persecuted in France in the 16th and 17th centuries because of their faith. In 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of mob violence directed against the Huguenots.

  Louis XIV instituted the dragonnades to forcibly convert Protestants, and revoked all Protestant rights in his Edict of Fontainebleau of 1685. In 1686, the Protestant population sat from 10% down to 1% of the french population.

Many fled from France, mainly to Germany, where they were accepted in various territories.

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 The Huguenot Fountain, created in 1706 by the Bayreuth court sculptor Elias Räntz, depicts a cone-shaped rocky mountain in an oval fountain basin (29 × 19.5 metres), which is divided into three levels. Noble Huguenot families are depicted on the lowest level, ancient deities above and Margrave Christian Ernst at the very top. The cartouches pointing in the four cardinal directions contain texts praising the margrave that have since disappeared. 

 


 The Neustädter Kirche (new town church) is one of three large downtown churches of the Baroque old town of Erlangen. Germany. The church is Lutheran. It dominates the town, together with the Reformed Hugenottenkirche (church of the Huguenots) and the Lutheran Altstädter Kirche (old town church). During World War II the church was severely damaged by bombs and rebuilt in 1955. 

Inside it's striking by baroque architecture which is quite uncommon for lutheran churches

The ceiling with a view to the organ. The present organ was created in 2004 and 2005 by the organ builder Goll (Lucerne / Switzerland), re-using existing historical structures from the 18th c.

The baptismal font and altar with huge paintings of Martin Luther (1483-1546) on the left and Philipp Melanchton (1497-1560) on the right wall.

 

side entrance with copies of Albrecht Dürers "Apostles" (Original:1526, on display at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München)

 


 

 

 

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