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Церковь Святых Петра и Павла (более известна как Петрикирхe) — лютеранская кирха в Санкт-Петербурге.

 

27 декабря 1727 г. царь Пётр II подарил немецкой лютеранской общине землю на пустынной территории у Невской перспективы между Большой и Малой Конюшенными улицами. Здание церкви было заложено 29 июня 1728 г., в день святых апостолов Петра и Павла.

 

14 июня 1730 г., в день празднования 200-летия Аугсбургского исповедания, церковь торжественно освятили. Здание было кирпичным, имело деревянную башенку и вмещало 1500 человек.

 

В начале 1832 г., когда церковное здание обветшало, община объявила конкурс на создание проекта новой церкви. Лучшей из пяти представленных работ был признан проект Александра Брюллова, брата знаменитого художника Карла Брюллова. Старое здание снесли летом 1833 г., а 21 августа было заложено новое. В день Реформации, 31 октября 1838 г., новую церковь освятили.

 

Архитектурный стиль можно охарактеризовать как смесь классицизма и неоготики. Алтарь церкви украсила большая картина кисти Карла Брюллова, изображавшая распятие. В нижней части алтаря находилось полотно Гольбейна-младшего «Иисус с Фомой неверующим», а по обе стороны — круглые изображения Святых Петра и Павла, также творения Брюллова. В 1840 г. в церкви был установлен большой орган фирмы Валькер. В 1863 г. в западной башне церкви появились колокола, а в 1864 г. церкви были пожертвованы 2 витража.

 

В 1938 г., после национализации, в здании церкви был устроен склад театральных декораций, потом склад овощей. В 1958 г. началась перестройка здания под плавательный бассейн, который открыли в 1962 г. При этой перестройке была изменена планировка, полностью переделан интерьер, погибли остатки настенных росписей.

 

Верующим церковь вернулась только в 1994 г.

The Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in St. Petersburg

On the 27th of December 1727, Tsar Peter II of Russia granted a plot of land on the Nevsky Prospect to the German Lutheran community. Construction of the church began on the 29th of June 1728, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. On the 14th  (25th) of June 1730, the 200th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, the church was solemnly consecrated. The building was made of bricks and had a wooden turret. By the beginning of 1832 the church fell into disrepair, and a new project was developed under the leadership of Alexander Bryullov, the brother of the famous artist Karl Bryullov. On the 31st of October 1838, Reformation Day, the new church was consecrated.

 

Architectural style can be described as a mixture of classical and Gothic Revival. The altar was decorated with a large painting depicting the crucifixion by Karl Bryullov. In the lower part of the altar there was a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger entitled ‘Jesus with the doubting Thomas’, and on both sides there were round paintings of St. Peter and Paul as well as works by Karl Bryullov. In 1840 a large Walcker organ, built in Ludwigsburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg, was installed in the church. In 1863 the bells, made in Bochum, Westphalia, were added to the western tower, and in 1864 two stained glass windows were donated to the church. From 1895 to 1897 the church’s interior was altered significantly as it was refurbished under the guidance of the architect Maximilian Messmacher. The sculptures of Peter and Paul, which were copies of works by the famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, were placed in front of the church.

 

In 1938 after it was nationalised, the church served as a storeroom for theatrical scenery and, later, for vegetables. In 1958 work began to convert the church into a swimming pool which was subsequently opened in 1962. During the conversion, the layout of the building was changed, the interior was modified and what remained of the old wall paintings was destroyed. In 1994 after the building was given back to the Church, the sculpture of an angel on a pediment was restored. From the outside the building appeared in good condition, but the interior was in a terrible state of disrepair. The design concept was developed by Sabine and Fritz Wenzel on behalf of the Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Frankfurt and with the support of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany. However, during the reconstruction process in the 1990s, the unique system of brick vaults was disturbed and the interior of the building never regained its original appearance. 

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