St. Peter und Paul, Weimar 2.39

The church St. Peter und Paul in Weimar, Germany, is also known as Herderkirche (Herder Church) after Johann Gottfried Herder. It is the most important church building of the town, and is called Stadtkirche (town church), opposed to the courtly Schloßkirche (court chapel). It has been the church of a Lutheran parish since 1525, after the Reformation. The church is part of the World Heritage Site Classical Weimar.HistoryThe first church was built on the same location from 1245 to 1249, but destroyed by fire in 1299. Only the foundations remain. The second building was badly damaged in the 1424 town fire. The present building dates back to the a hall church in late Gothic style, built between 1498 and 1500. The choir served as the burial place of members of nobility of the House of Wettin in the Ernestine duchies. The church has been Lutheran since 1525, and Martin Luther gave sermons there.The ducal family evidently attended services not only in the small Schloßkirche, but also in the town church. John Eliot Gardiner suggests that Bach cantatas using a festive orchestra were first performed there, including his first cantata for Christmas, Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63 and Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 for the Easter Sunday of 1715, scored for soloists, a five-part choir and three instrumental groups. Bach frequently played the organ, and two of his sons were baptized in the church.