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The Catholic parish church of St. Johann Baptist is a Gothic hall church in Essen, dedicated to John the Baptist, which stands on Kettwiger Straße, the main street of Essen, in front of Essen Minster, to which it is connected. On account of its position and the fact that its spire towers over the Minster, visitors often mistake it for part of the Minster. == History and architecture == The church is descended from a chapel of St John the Baptist, which already belonged to Essen Abbey in the tenth century. According to the will of Abbess Theophanu who died in 1058, candles were to be burnt in her memory ''ad sanctum Iohannem'', which appears to be the first mention of the church. The dedication of the church to John the Baptist suggests that it was originally a baptistry. The foundations of this original chapel were identified in archaeological excavations after the Second World War. In 1264, the Abbess Berta von Arnsberg promoted the chapel to the rank of a filial parish church of the Abbey. Subsequently, the church served as a meeting place for the canons who carried out those sacred rites which could only be performed by men for the women of the Abbey. The church was rebuilt in 1471 as a gothic hall church and a rectangular east choir was added. From 1699 until 1768, baroque furnishings were added. These included choir stalls, side altars and a pulpit. The pulpit was replaced by one in the rococo style in 1769. The church was renovated and repainted in 1968. The almost square groundplan of the building is divided into nine sections. The three aisled late Gothic nave has a square choir at one end, flanked by a southern side choir and a northern passageway containing the organ loft. The three bays of the west end of the nave are of equal size. A trapezoidal crossing space permits a wider choir bay at the east end. The central bay at the west end supports the tower, which is not visible from inside the church, since the mass of enormous, high-spired tower is distributed onto the pillars without variation in the height of the roof vaults.〔Heinz Dohmen: ''Abbild des Himmels. Tausend Jahre Kirchenbau im Bistum Essen'' Verlag Hoppe und Werrry, 1977〕 Today the church serves as a place of worship and parish church for the Catholic community in Essen's inner city. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Johann Baptist, Essen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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