St. Thomas Church, Lutheran church in Zentrum, Leipzig, Germany.
St. Thomas Church is a late Gothic place of worship in Zentrum, Leipzig, with a tower reaching 68 meters (223 feet), a nave extending 76 meters (249 feet), and a width of 25 meters (82 feet). Inside, high vaulted ceilings, narrow pointed windows, and a simple altar area reflect its Protestant use.
A Romanesque church from around 1160 stood on this site; between 1212 and 1222 it became the collegiate church of an Augustinian monastery. The nave was demolished in 1482 and rebuilt as a late-Gothic hall church, consecrated on 10 April 1496 by Thilo von Trotha, Bishop of Merseburg. The tower's lower storey predates 1355, its octagonal top was rebuilt in 1537, and the west facade was redesigned in Neo-Gothic style in 1884–1889.
The choir that gives this place its sound was founded in 1212 and still sings every week during services and concerts. Visitors who attend a Friday or Saturday motet can experience the living vocal tradition that has shaped worship here for centuries.
The tower is climbed by 232 steps and can be visited on guided tours; its lower storey predates 1355. The church stands at the western edge of the inner city ring road in the Zentrum district, with the Bach statue by Carl Seffner beside it and the Mendelssohn statue opposite.
Johann Sebastian Bach directed music here from 1723 until 1750, and his remains now rest beneath the choir area. His compositions are still performed regularly in the same space where he once conducted them himself.
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