Church of St. Louis - a Baroque Masterpiece
The Protestant Church of St. Louis (Ludwigskirche) canbe called the peak of creativity of architect Friedrich Joachim Stengel inSaarbrücken. Its construction began in 1762 but was suspended in 1768 due tolack of funds. Only a few years later, Prince Ludwig, the son of the deceasedprince, managed to find the money to complete the works. The temple was namedafter his namesake saint –St. Louis. The consecration of the church was held onJune 25, 1775 with a church service and a cantata composed especially for theoccasion.
The layout ofthe church has a shape reminding a Greek cross. There are statues of fourevangelists in the niches on the facade. The stone balustrade encircling theroof is decorated with 28 figures representing the apostles, prophets, biblicalcharacters and allegories of virtue. The interior of the church is no lesswonderful. Stengel also made sure that the surrounding area of the temple andbuildings located on it were a single complex.
The Second WorldWar left the Ludwigskirche in ruins. The restoration work began in 1949. It waslong debated if it was necessary to restore the luxurious interiors of thechurch or if they had better decorate it in a new way. As a result, it was decidedto restore the former interior with the old pictures and drawings. TodayLudwigskirche is considered one of the most significant Lutheran churches inGermany, along with the Frauenkirche in Dresden and the Church of St. Michaelin Hamburg.
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