St Jacob's

St Jacob's - Rothenburg

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St Jacob's is a Lutheran church, and as such one of the more interesting I have thus far seen.  Lutherans will look at these pictures and ask incredulously "That's a Lutheran church?"  Well, yes and no.

It started out life as a Catholic church.  When the Reformation erupted, some churches which had theretofore been Catholic churches suddenly became Lutheran churches.  Often that was accompanied by a radical simplification primarily focused on the decorative aspects of a church -- Lutherans are plain people in that regard.  Thus you tend not to find many baroque Lutheran churches.  In fact, you won't find any.

So to find a Lutheran church that looks like St Jacob's is very odd.  Elaborate carvings as altarpieces, statuary (Gott in Himmel!), stained glass...  What is this world coming to?