Contemplate for a moment how, after over 350 years, the Catholics of Lubeck once again had their own church with the Propsteikirche Herz Jesu. It stands before you. This is the main Roman Catholic church in Lubeck. It is also the oldest Catholic church in Lubeck’s historic old town.
Construction of the Propsteikirche Herz Jesu took place from 1888 to 1891. Arnold Guldenpfennig, the architect, designed it in the Neo-Gothic style. The church’s name reflects the religious climate of its time. The church is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This dedication highlights the increasing devotion to the Sacred Heart.
The Propsteikirche Herz Jesu is a brick basilica. It does not have a transept. Cross vaults adorn the interior. The chancel ends in an apse. Due to the layout of the land, the church does not face east. The altar is in the west. The tower is on the east side of the nave. It has a shortened roof-rider-like spire. This design respects Lubeck’s skyline of seven medieval church towers. All shaped bricks came from the Legan brickyard in Lubeck-Niendorf.
The Propsteikirche Herz Jesu measures 46.5 meters in length. The nave is 32 meters long. The chancel is 6.7 meters. The tower is 7.8 meters. The nave is 18.7 meters wide. The tower is 7.2 meters wide. The chancel measures 9 meters. The central vault’s keystones are 14 meters above the floor. The side aisles are about 1.5 meters lower. The roof ridge reaches approximately 23 meters. The tower rises to 60 meters with its cross.
Inside the Propsteikirche Herz Jesu, the original Neo-Gothic features have been mostly removed. The changes came after 1973. A new free-standing altar replaced the old winged altar. A bronzed plaster cross by Ernst Barlach hangs above it. This cross once hung in St. Vicelin.
A memorial for the Lubeck Martyrs is in the church’s crypt since 1955. Hermann Lange, Eduard Muller and Johannes Prassek were chaplains at Herz Jesu. Karl Friedrich Stellbrink was a Protestant pastor. They were executed together in 1943.
From May 21, 2012, the interior was renovated. It reopened on June 23, 2013. The renovation addressed moisture damage. The altar area was extended towards the nave. The tabernacle moved to the west wall of the south aisle. The baptistery now stands at the nave’s entrance.
Three bronze bells were cast for the Propsteikirche Herz Jesu in 1898. Two large bells were melted down during World War I. In 2013, two new bronze bells were cast. Today, three bells ring from the tower.
The Propsteikirche Herz Jesu stands as a testament to faith. It also symbolizes resilience. It is a place of worship. It also serves as a reminder of Lubeck’s complex history.