Elisabethenkirche, Basel

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (February 2011) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,096 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Elisabethenkirche (Basel)]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|de|Elisabethenkirche (Basel)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The Elisabethenkirche, or Offene Kirche Elisabethen, is a 19th-century church building in the centre of Basel, next to the Theater Basel, in Switzerland. It is a well detailed example of Swiss Gothic Revival style churches. It has a 72 metres (236 ft) tall bell tower and spire. The tower has internal stairs.

History

The church construction begun in 1857 and was completed in 1864.^[1] Its architect was Ferdinand Stadler and it was the first new church erected in Basel following the reformation.^[1] Its construction was sponsored by the wealthy businessman Christoph Merian and his wife Margarethe Burckhardt-Merian, which were both laid to rest in the church^[2] in black marble sarcophagi in the crypt below the church's main floor. Christoph Merian did not oversee the completion of the church as he died in 1858.^[2] The Merians also founded the Christoph-Merian-Stiftung.^[1] Today's congregation forms part of the Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Stadt.

Present day

Today the church is home of the first Swiss "OpenChurch" or Offene Kirche Elisabethen].^[3][4] The Offene Kirche Elisabethen caters to the spiritual, cultural and social needs of urban people of all backgrounds. It is also known for their support of the LGBT community.^[4][5]

The Offene Kirche Elisabethen is well known throughout the region for their Fasnachtsgottesdienst,^[6] a service in honor of the Carnival of Basel. The Church has also served as the venue for punk concerts and at times it was converted into a club.^[4]

Schöpfungsfeier (service with blessing of the human-animal relation), Heilungsfeiern (weekly and trimesterly healing-/blessing services for people in need and sorrow) and their gender aware spiritual practice.

Nearly 50'000 people visit the church per year.

See also

• Churches in Basel

References

External links

• Media related to Elisabethenkirche (Basel) at Wikimedia Commons

47°33′10″N 7°35′28″E / 47.55278°N 7.59111°E / 47.55278; 7.59111

This article about a church building or other Christian place of worship in Switzerland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e