Lutheran Church, Lutheran church in Sopron, Hungary.
The Lutheran Church stands mid-way along Templom Street in Sopron's Belváros, its 52-metre tower with octagonal lantern added in 1862–63, about eighty years after the church itself. The rectangular hall, 36 m long and 24 m wide, is divided into three naves by eight Tuscan columns, the central nave 7.5 m wide and taller than the aisles, with two tiers of galleries above the side naves. It seats 2,500.
Sopron's first Lutheran congregation was founded in 1565, and its church, dedicated to Archangel Michael, burned in the great city fire of 1676. Two wooden churches followed on the same site, then a stone church completed in 1724. The present building was erected in 1782–83 under Joseph II's Patent of Toleration, with 182 alder piles in the foundation; its 52-metre tower was added only in 1862–63.
The baroque gilded wooden altar came from the Kloster Kahlenberg near Vienna and shows God the Father, the Archangel Michael, the apostles and putti, with a painting of Christ on the Mount of Olives. The second wooden church's furnishings, including the pulpit, chalices, baptismal font, bronze chandeliers and organ, were moved here. The organ was installed in 1884.
The church stands mid-way along Templom Street, near where Kolostor Street and Bünker János Rajnárd köz meet, at Kirchengasse 10. The Miatyánk bell rings daily at 6:00, 12:00 and 18:00, so these are good markers for timing a visit. On Sundays bells sound at 8:00, 8:45, 9:00 and 10:00 around the services.
The tower, added in 1862–1863, is 52 metres high and houses four bells. Three were cast by Seltenhofer Frigyes és fiai, including the 3441 kg Hősök bell of 1926; the 487 kg Miatyánk bell was cast by Szlezák László in 1948 and rings daily at 6, 12 and 18 o'clock.
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