Skip navigation: Go to contents, Go to search, Go to navigation

Town Church of St Peter and Paul

The Late Gothic Town Church of St Peter and Paul was built as a three-nave hall church between 1498 and 1500. The first church was built on this site in 1245-49. The foundations of the west tower are among the oldest building sections in the town. Of the Late Gothic church fittings, there remain the christening font, the steps to the pulpit - which was converted to Baroque style - and parts of a wall painting of Saint Ursula under the organ gallery. The main attraction is the winged altar which was begun in 1552 by Lucas Cranach the Elder and completed by his son. Of interest is also the Luther Shrine, a triptych dating from 1572, which shows Martin Luther as a monk, as Squire George and as a teacher. Martin Luther often preached in this church, Johann Sebastian Bach often played here and two of his sons were christened here. Between 1776-1803, Johann Gottfried Herder was the senior court preacher, senior consistorial counsellor, general superintendent and vicar at the Town Church and the people of Weimar also call the church the "Herder Church" after him. Since 1998, the church and the Herder House have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the "Classicist Weimar" ensemble of monuments.