Kreuzkirche, Modern Lutheran church in St. Jürgen, Lübeck, Germany
Kreuzkirche is an Evangelical Lutheran church at Billrothstraße in the St. Jürgen district of Lübeck, built from 1969 to 1971 to designs by Hamburg architect Friedhelm Grundmann. The interior is plain, with the congregation seated in a semicircle facing the pulpit and altar. In 1983 the tower was topped with a sculptural aluminium cross designed by sculptor Hans Kock.
The Kreuzkirche grew out of the Kreuzkapelle, from which the Kreuzkirchengemeinde emerged in 1956. Because the chapel could no longer meet demand, the present church with community centre, parish house and sexton's flat was built on Billrothstraße between 1969 and 1971 to plans by Hamburg architect Friedhelm Grundmann, and inaugurated on 16 May 1971. In 2005 the congregation merged with St. Martin, and in 2022 the parish council decided to deconsecrate and sell the building; the last service is set for 6 September 2026.
The Kreuzkirche grew out of the Kreuzkapelle, from which the Kreuzkirchengemeinde emerged in 1956. The congregation sits in a semicircle facing pulpit and altar, and the community centre was built barrier-free from the start for work with young and old. The last service is planned for 6 September 2026, after which the church is to be sold for demolition.
The church stands at Billrothstraße in St. Jürgen, south of the old town, not on elevated old-town ground. The community centre was built barrier-free from the start, so the building is accessible for visitors with limited mobility. The last service is planned for 6 September 2026 before the site is sold for demolition.
The concrete tower holds a single bell cast by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling of Heidelberg. In 1983 the Hamburg sculptor Hans Kock designed the aluminium cross that crowns the tower, a detail easily missed from street level.
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