Frauenkirche, Nuremberg

Frauenkirche
west façade
Location	Nuremberg
Country	Germany
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Consecrated	1358
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Style	Gothic
Groundbreaking	1352
Completed	1361
Specifications
Capacity	25,000
Administration
Parish	Parish of Our Lady German: Pfarramt Unsere liebe Frau
Archdiocese	Bamberg
Clergy
Pastor(s)	Markus Bolowich
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Frank Dillmann (kantor)

The Frauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady") is a church in Nuremberg, Germany. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored. Numerous works of art from the Middle Ages are kept in the church, such as the so-called Tucher Altar (c. 1440, originally the high altar of the Augustinian church of St. Vitus), and two monuments by Adam Kraft (c. 1498).

The church was built in the grand market, in place of the former Jewish synagogue, which was destroyed during the pogrom of 1349 (which followed an outbreak of Black Death). The architect was probably Peter Parler. Charles IV wanted to use the Frauenkirche for imperial ceremonies, which is reflected in the porch with the balcony, and in the fact that the church is relatively unadorned except for the coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire, the seven Electors, the town of Nuremberg, and the city of Rome, where the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned.

Charles IV's son Wenceslas was baptized in the church in 1361, on which occasion the Imperial Regalia, including the imperial reliquaries, were displayed to the people. Beginning in 1423, the Imperial Regalia was kept permanently in Nuremberg and displayed to the people once a year on a special wooden platform constructed for that purpose.

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