Pauluskirche, Lutheran church in Bielefeld, Germany.
The Pauluskirche is a neo-Gothic, cross-shaped Lutheran parish church at Paulusstraße and August-Bebel-Straße in Bielefeld's northeastern inner city. It was built from 1880 to plans by Rudolph Eberhard Hillebrand of Hanover and consecrated in 1883. Its tower rises 72 metres and carries four clock faces about 1.5 metres across above the balconies.
The Pauluskirche was built in neo-Gothic cross form to designs by Rudolph Eberhard Hillebrand of Hanover; construction began in August 1880 and the church was consecrated on 28 October 1883. It arose from a separate parish established in 1871 for Bielefeld's fast-growing textile workers' district, with Friedrich Simon as its first pastor. In 1933 cracks in the side chapel forced closure and thorough renovation until October 1934.
The church is named after the Apostle Paul. Its three bells carry the names Paulusglocke, Lutherglocke and Melanchthonglocke, with inscriptions such as "Allein durch den Glauben" on the Luther bell. The 1883 tower clock by J. F. Weule of Bockenem still strikes the quarter-hours, hours and a noon and 6 pm call to prayer.
The church stands at the corner of Paulusstraße and August-Bebel-Straße in the northeastern city centre, its 72-metre tower serving as a landmark. The four clock faces above the balconies are about 1.50 metres across. The building is a listed monument; the surrounding streets are named after the church and the politician August Bebel.
The tower clock, installed in 1883 by J. F. Weule of Bockenem, still runs on its original movement: one going train and three striking trains. The quarter-hours strike on the small Melanchthon bell, the hours on the Luther bell, and at 12:00 and 18:00 the large Paul bell sounds ten times. It is one of the last of its kind in Bielefeld.
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