Friedenskirche, Lutheran church in Stuttgart, Germany

Friedenskirche is a Lutheran church in Stuttgart whose first building, designed by Conrad Dollinger in neo-Romanesque style, was consecrated in 1892. After bombing on 19 October 1944 left only the tower standing, a new church by Eberhard Hübner was built in concrete and consecrated in 1966, with a flat roof and a tower topped by a metal helmet. Inside, dark wood ceilings with recessed round lights, a pale paneled wall, a raised platform with a dark altar table bearing a purple cloth and gold emblem, a pipe organ with silver pipes above wooden paneling, and rows of reddish-brown wooden pews facing the platform across a stone floor.

The first Friedenskirche, designed by Conrad Dollinger in neo-Romanesque style with a double choir and a tower in the middle of the nave, was consecrated on 11 December 1892. Bombing on 19 October 1944 left only the tower and enclosing walls standing. After the parish decided in 1959 to rebuild, Eberhard Hübner won the 1960 competition; the remaining sandstone walls were dynamited in 1962 and construction in concrete began in 1964. The new church was consecrated in 1966.

The church also hosts a Korean parish and a Nambu parish alongside the Evangelische Friedensgemeinde. A gospel choir gives concerts here every month, and the building doubles as a concert venue. The pipe organ is by Richard Rensch; in 2020 Volker Lutz published a book about it.

The church stands in the centre of Stuttgart, and the flat-roofed 1966 building seats 700 worshippers. The tower, the only part left from the 1892 church, is topped with a metal helmet. Services are held by the Lutheran parish and by the Korean and Nambu congregations, so check which congregation meets when before you go.

The tower that survived the 19 October 1944 bombing once stood in the middle of the nave and carried sculptures of the apostles and of Christ blessing. It was kept when the rest was rebuilt, and the new tower is topped with a metal helmet.