Reformed church with annexes, Protestant church building in Meiringen, Switzerland.
The Sankt Michaelskirche in Meiringen is a Baroque hall church built in 1683–84 under Bernese city architect Abraham Dünz I. Its roof frame, designed by local ship's carpenter Melcher Gehren, resembles an inverted ship's hull; twelve large wooden columns divide the interior into three aisles, and the windowless upper nave makes it a pseudobasilica. The complex also includes a bell tower, the Zeughauskapelle, a tithe barn and a parsonage.
Meiringen's church is first documented on 18 August 1234, when King Henry of Hohenstaufen gave it and its benefice to the Lazarite order; by 1272 the Lazarites had passed it to the Augustinian monastery of Interlaken, which held it until the Reformation of 1528. Floods buried the building repeatedly, and the present Baroque hall church was built in 1683–84 under Bernese city architect Abraham Dünz the Elder, with a roof truss by local ship's carpenter Melcher Gehren.
This church has long been the focal point of community life in Meiringen and continues to shape the village's identity. It demonstrates how Protestant believers designed their places of worship and the importance these buildings held for their communities.
The complex is centrally located and accessible during regular Protestant services. It is worth checking ahead if you wish to see the interior, so you can plan your visit at a convenient time.
The 1684 pulpit survives largely in its original state, and the church door lock was fitted after the 1762 flood. Its costly metal was affordable because iron was mined in the Hasli valley and smelted at the Mühletal ironworks.
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