Waldkirche, Lutheran church in Planegg, Germany.
Waldkirche is a Lutheran parish church in Planegg, built in 1925–26 to a design by Theodor Fischer. It consists of an octagonal central space with a steep tiled tent roof and eight dormers, a low community hall attached to one side, and a squat square tower with a pyramid spire housing the sacristy on its ground floor. Inside, pews rise in steps on seven sides around the central altar, with six steps leading down to it.
The first Protestant service in Planegg was held at Christmas 1919 in the school building, and the Evangelical Association Planegg-Krailling was founded soon after. A congregation of 800 members formed in 1921, and the Freiherren von Hirsch provided the building plot. Theodor Fischer, whose most important late work this is, designed the church; the first sod was cut in early October 1925 and Oberkirchenrat Baum consecrated it on 26 December 1926.
The church's name refers to the forest setting of its site, and the interior follows a central plan: the altar stands in the middle of the octagonal room, with pews rising on seven sides like an amphitheatre. The carved pulpit shows the Apostle Paul and the places of his activity, made by sculptor Hans Wimmer.
The octagonal layout makes it easy to orient yourself, as the central altar is visible from all areas of the church. Seating is straightforward and unobstructed, with pews arranged evenly around the eight-sided space.
The pulpit carvings by sculptor Hans Wimmer show the Apostle Paul and the places where he worked. Above the pulpit, four Evangelists frame the crucified Christ in a Trinity painting by Ernst Penzoldt, removed during the Nazi era as "degenerate art" and replaced by a crucifix until 1977.
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