Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen

The Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen ("Market Church of Our Dear Lady") in the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt was built between 1529 and 1554 and is the most recent of its medieval churches. In German, its official name is shortened to Liebfrauenkirche but it is also referred to as Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) and the Marktkirche (Market Church).

The church was built between 1529 and 1554, replacing two former churches but keeping their towers. It is one of the most important buildings of the late Gothic period in central Germany. Its four towers, together with the Red Tower of the city hall, are the landmark of the city, hence its nickname "Stadt der fünf Türme" (City of the Five Towers).

Justus Jonas introduced the Reformation into Halle, and his friend Martin Luther preached. George Frideric Handel was baptized in the church and received his first organ lessons. Johann Sebastian Bach inspected the new organ, and his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was an organist. The important beginnings of both pietism and Enlightenment were connected to the church in Halle. Severely damaged in World War II, it was restored and is a historic monument.

The Market Church was built between 1529 and 1554 at the location of two predecessors, St. Gertrude and St. Mary. The Church of St. Gertrude to the west dated from 11th century and was the church of the salt makers in the center of Halle on the Hallmarkt, the salt market. The St. Mary's Church to the east dated from the 12th century and had been the parish church of the merchants and tradesmen of this mining town on the Marktplatz, the market square.

Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Elector of Mainz, needed a prestigious church that met his expectations at a central location in his Residenz town. Albrecht, who feared for his peace of mind in the heaven, had collected more than 8,100 relics and 42 holy skeletons which needed to be stored. These precious treasures known as "Hallesches Heilthum" and indirectly related to the sale of indulgences had triggered the Reformation a few years before. Notably on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses, in which he condemned the trade with indulgences and sent a copy to his cardinal Albrecht, who in turn sent it to Pope Leo X. Then the cardinal and the Roman Catholic members of the town council wanted to repress the growing influence of the Reformation by holding far grander masses and services in a new church dedicated solely to Saint Mary. On Whit Monday, 17 May 1529, representatives of the clergy, the city council and church pastors gathered on the market square and decided, after extensive consultation, to demolish the existing parish churches, only keeping their towers, and connect the two (blue) western towers to those on the eastern side by means of a new nave. It was also decided to close the two cemeteries surrounding the churches. A new burial site was chosen – the Martinsberg, a hill outside the town – and the Stadtgottesacker cemetery was laid out. This cemetery with 94 arches, designed by Nickel Hoffman, is a masterpiece of the Renaissance.

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Wikipedia