St.-Bartholomaei-Kirche, Gothic Revival church in Demmin, Germany.
St.-Bartholomaei-Kirche is a three-aisled Brick Gothic hall church with five bays and a six-bay central nave, covered by cross-ribbed vaults. The oldest parts, the tower's lower storey and the western bay, date from the 13th century. Its neo-Gothic east gable with blind windows and openwork pinnacles was designed by Friedrich August Stüler. The tower is crowned by a cross at 93 metres, giving the building a total height of 96.3 metres.
A wooden church is thought to have stood here after Bishop Otto of Bamberg's mission in the first half of the 12th century; it burned with the town after the Battle of Verchen in 1164. The stone church is documented in 1269. After the Thirty Years' War, Swedish commander Heinrich von Vincken had the lead roofs melted into musket balls in 1659. In 1676 fire destroyed the church; a collection in 1684–1685 funded its reconsecration in 1689.
The church is named after the apostle Bartholomew, but its most telling interior detail is the pulpit, carved with five statuettes: Bishop Otto of Bamberg, Duke Wartislaw III of Pomerania, Alwinius the first priest, Martin Luther and Johannes Bugenhagen. A permanent exhibition in the north part of the church covers the life of Otto, the "Apostle of the Pomeranians". Concerts are held here alongside services.
The church is used for services and regular concerts, and the north part holds a permanent exhibition on Bishop Otto von Bamberg. The tower rises to 96.3 metres, with a cross at 93 metres. The organ, with 52 registers, was restored between 1998 and 2003.
The organ dates from 1818–1819 and was built by Johann Simon Buchholz of Berlin, then enlarged in 1866–1867 by Barnim Grüneberg of Stettin to 52 stops. It was restored between 1998 and 2003, and an organ festival is held in the church every September.
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