St. Gertraud Church Frankfurt (Oder)

The St. Gertraud Church sets a striking accent in the Guben suburb. A small predecessor building had been located in the park to the north since the middle of the 14th century, the former cemetery of the Guben suburb. The first Gertraudenkirche, located outside the Frankfurt city walls, was donated by the tailors' guild. In 1820, already dilapidated and actually too small for the growing congregation, it was transferred to the city. A final repair took place in 1823. It was finally replaced by a new building between 1874 and 1878. It followed the specifications of the Eisenach regulations of 1861 for Protestant church construction: brick was used as a durable material without deceptive plaster or paint. The style included Gothic elements, among others.

Since 1943, St. Gertraud's Church has housed the treasures saved from St. Mary's Church, which was largely destroyed in 1945. These are the most valuable medieval works of art in the city. Here you can find the Mary altar from 1489, the bronze baptismal font from 1376 with 41 figure reliefs and the impressive seven-flame bronze chandelier from the second half of the 2th century, which is carried by four eagles. A painted wooden relief in the choir of the church shows Jesus surrounded by his disciples, including the doubting Thomas. Here the visitor is surprised: the main figures have movable wooden hands that can be touched and moved (please only under supervision and very carefully)! St. Gertraud was rebuilt between 14 and 1978.

A ground floor with offices for the parish was created. Since then, the actual church space has been lower and is located on the first floor, which can be reached via a staircase on the north side or via an elevator.