Erlöserkirche

The Erlöserkirche stands in Hanover's Linden-Süd district, a three-aisled Neo-Gothic hall church designed by Conrad Wilhelm Hase. Building began in 1878, the consecration followed in 1880, and the tower was finished in 1882. The congregation took shape as a daughter of St. Martin, serving Linden-Süd under its first name, Zionskirche. In 1943 political reasons brought a new name, and a petition of 1950 to restore the old one came to nothing.

Inside, much of the original interior survives, and it makes the church one of the best-preserved in Hanover. An oak pulpit carries images of the evangelists by Hermann Schaper, and the Neo-Gothic altar stands carved from Sollinger sandstone. Unlike its contemporaries the Lutherkirche and the Christuskirche, the church keeps its original spatial impression unaltered by modern additions. A renovation of the choir room in 1990 uncovered vine ornaments from 1881 and paintings from 1901, and both were restored. The organ traces back to 1881, when Philipp Furtwängler & Sons built it. Emil Hammer Orgelbau rebuilt it in 1927 and again in 1979. The instrument today carries 24 registers on two manuals and a pedal, with mechanical action.

Music sets the present course: since 2002 the church has been known as the Gospelkirche, with regular gospel services, concerts and workshops. Its story keeps a human figure as well. Otto Armknecht, known as the Pastor of the Poor, worked among the community from 1883 until his death in 1908. Ricklingen city cemetery honours him with a grave. Step-free access brings wheelchair users to an interior that still reads as it did in 1880.