Alte reformierte Kirche Elberfeld, Protestant church in Elberfeld district, Wuppertal, Germany
The Alte reformierte Kirche Elberfeld is a Protestant church located in Wuppertal's Elberfeld district, distinguished by its baroque onion dome. The interior layout was designed specifically to accommodate evangelical worship traditions.
A first church dedicated to Saint Lawrence stood here by at least 955, as tree-coffin graves excavated in the 1950s showed. Fires destroyed the building around 1050, after 1230 and on 18 April 1536, when only the choir survived. The present church was begun on 6 April 1688, its nave consecrated on 22 December 1690, the roof finished in 1707 and the tower lantern in 1717.
Since 2005 the church has served as Citykirche Elberfeld, the main Protestant church of the Wuppertal church district. The name Laurentiuskirche fell out of use after the Reformation. From 1610 until the French occupation, Elberfeld's mayors were elected in the church every 1 May.
The church sits in the heart of Elberfeld district and is easily reached by public transportation. Visitors should plan to arrive during service times when the building is open for entry.
During excavations in 1953, workers discovered foundations of earlier church buildings reaching back to medieval times. These findings reveal that religious structures stood on this location for more than a thousand years.
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