St.-Gertraud-Kirche Frankfurt (Oder)

The St. Gertraud Church sets a distinctive accent in the district Gubener Vorstadt. A small predecessor building had been located since the middle of the 14th century in the park to the north, the southern suburbs' former cemetery. The first St. Gertraud's was located outside Frankfurt's city walls and had been donated by the tailors' guild. In 1820, already dilapidated and in fact too small for the growing community, its ownership was transferred to the city. The last renovation took place in 1823. In 1874-1878 it was finally replaced by a new building, one that followed the specifications of the Eisenach Regulatory for Protestant Church Construction of 1861: bricks were used as a durable material without a deceptive surface or paint coat.

For the new design, Gothic elements were used. Since 1943, the St. Gertraud Church has housed the treasures rescued from the St. Mary Church, which was largely in shambles in 1945. They are thus considered to be the most valuable mediaeval works of art in the town. Among them are the altar of the Virgin Mary from 1489, the bronze baptism fond from 1376 with 41 reliefs, and the impressive seven-flamed bronze chandelier from the second half of the fourteenth century, which is carried by four eagles. A painted wooden relief in the choir of the church shows Jesus amongst his disciples, including the unbelieving Thomas. Here the visitor may be surprised to learn that the main figures have movable wooden hands that can be touched and moved (however only under supervision and very carefully)! St. Gertraud's underwent a major remodelling from 1978 to 1980. A ground floor was spanned mid hight to create a ground floor with offices for the parish and cutting the actual church space to the rather short hall that was left on the upper level, which has to be reached via a staircase on the north side.