Stadtkirche St. Wenzel, Gothic church in Naumburg, Germany.
St. Wenzel Church is a Gothic church with a long single-nave choir and a short three-aisled nave. A tower rises approximately 72 meters (236 feet) and dominates Naumburg's skyline.
A predecessor church, first mentioned in 1228, stood for about 200 years until the city decided in 1426 to build a large new church. It was consecrated in 1511 but only completed in spring 1517; months later, on St. Ursula's Day 1517, a catastrophic town fire gutted it. The west portal dates from 1510/1520, and the interior received its Baroque furnishings in 1724.
The name Wenzel refers to Saint Wenceslaus of Bohemia, to whom the church is dedicated. The high altar of 1680 fills the choir with its steep, theatre-like structure, and paintings from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder hang inside. The organ, built by Zacharias Hildebrandt in 1746, was examined and approved by Johann Sebastian Bach and Gottfried Silbermann, not played by Bach.
The church is open to visitors daily with varying hours depending on the season. Check current opening times before your visit, as they change throughout the year.
The tower belongs not to the parish but to the city of Naumburg, which employed a watchman until 1892. His five-room flat at 45 metres, reached by the tower, was lived in until 1997; 33 men and three women held the post from 1527 onward. The viewing platform stands eight metres above it.
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