3 -- Marktkirche, Hannover (1300s)

One of the most prominent features of the old area of Hannover is the Marktkirche, the basic construction of which dates to the mid-1300s (around the same period as the Aegidienkirche, or so it would seem).  Excavations in the 20^th century showed it sits on the spot of another, earlier church that existed there in the 1100s.

Marktkirche was, like the rest of Hannover, very severely bombed during WWII. A photo and scale model of how it appeared after the bombing shows that it was just a shell of structure, with its guts blasted out -- although, being it was made of stone, its basic shape and some of the exterior stone features were able to survive to today. It was lovingly rebuilt in the decade after the war. 

Marktkirche has a rich history central to Hannover and is also one of the most visited tourist spots in the area.   Now, as with many other old structures,  there seem a large number of places on the web to learn about it.  No need to bore anyone with photos and stories that have been shared over and over, but I do want to point out a few outstanding details that  caught my eye. 

First and foremost is the altar piece, a hand-carved and painted wooden panorama of 21 scene panels showing the Passion of Christ, purportedly dating to c. 1480.  If you are interested in late medieval artwork, you can easily spend an hour looking carefully at each panel.  This thing is a masterpiece.  The Wikipedia page for Marktkirche says that this thing only survived the bombing because it had been moved offsite in the 1600s but was eventually relocated back to the church after the War. 

The Marktkirche Passion of Christ, wood panel section altar piece. 

Even if you are not Christian, you have to admit that the photo above is of a beautiful thing.  A hand-carved and painted thing that was carefully designed and made-to-order in an era of low-technology. This photo also illustrates how much detail one can miss in relying on crummy cell phone photos on the Internet.  

As an ever-grateful tourist, I encourage others to go visit the Marktkirche and appreciate the history and all the hard work that so many have done to preserve these places.  

Also notable are the few sculptures still remaining.  In one, located above the main front entrance, it looks like a grim reaper is chasing a peasant with a walking stick.   

Human caricatures  in two other figures also appear on the sides of the doorway, with a shocked, intense expression on their faces --  as if they are meeting divine intervention or even screaming in purgatory.  If I recall correctly (b/c I can’t find photos to confirm) they each appear opposite and almost facing one another, one on each side of the grand carved doorway entrance.  

I am guessing that somewhere is a deep medieval Christian philosophy behind the expressions on these figures.  And perhaps there are writings out there on these two particular individuals (or ones like them).  Nevertheless, the fact that they ended up here at this particular church brings an irony: these two have been holding these same expressions during all of the most significant moments throughout Hannover’s history, including those times their church was bombed and in flames.

And yet they survived.  And you can go see them.

View of Marktkirche side from the adjacent Rathaus