Schlosskirche, Protestant church in Bad Dürkheim, Germany
Schlosskirche Bad Dürkheim is a three-aisled early Gothic church with a 70-metre west tower topped by a slender, multi-sided spire with clock faces. The nave has a steep brown tiled roof and pointed-arch windows; the choir ends in a single bay with apses. Inside, five free-standing round pillars on each side carry the arcades.
A parish church of St John the Baptist, first mentioned in 946, was replaced around 1200 by a three-aisled basilica. Around 1300 a Gothic successor reused the Romanesque tower's foundations and lower storeys; an indulgence issued in Rome in 1300 funded the work, completed in 1335. The upper storeys of the 70-metre west tower were renewed in 1865/1866, and the interior was restored in 1977–1980.
The church is the Protestant main church of Bad Dürkheim, formerly St. Johannis. Its name refers to the castle, and the Leiningen counts used the late-Gothic burial chapel added to the south-east aisle from 1504 to 1508; the east part, the ruler's lodge, is visible from outside by its small pointed window and separate door.
The church is centrally located and easily reached on foot without special equipment or preparation. Opening hours and visiting information are available locally or through the town's visitor centers.
The 70-metre west tower owes its present upper storeys and window tracery to an 1865/1866 renewal, in late Gothic forms that do not match the early Gothic church of the 14th century. The five bells were cast by Bachert of Karlsruhe in 1953; the largest weighs 1,460 kilograms.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,603 contributors worldwide.