Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church), Leipzig (must see)

Since the 1100s, at least, there has been a church at the St. Thomas Church site in Leipzig. Under the crossing and choir of the current Gothic hall church, there are the Romanesque foundations of a yet earlier church. In the 13th century, the earlier building became the Augustinian monastery and core of the University of Leipzig, founded in 1409.

Troubadour Heinrich von Morungen gifted a relic of St Thomas to the church in 1217. Martin Luther preached here in 1538. The current tower was built in 1537. Johann Sebastian Bach directed the choir at St Thomas and taught at st Thomas School until he died in 1750. Carl Seffner's statue of Bach next to the church was dedicated in 1906.

While on tour, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played the organ at the church in 1789. Richard Wagner was baptized here in 1813. He later studied piano with the cantor Christian Weinlig. A bronze statue of Felix Mendelssohn designed by sculptor Werner Stein was erected opposite the church in 1909.

St. Thomas Church is 250 feet long with a nave of 164 feet. The roof is extraordinarily steep. The crown is 148 feet high, and the tower is 223 feet. At the end of the 19th century, the interior of the church was transformed from Baroque to Neo-Gothic.

The church is home to a variety of works of art. The baptismal font was made in 1615 by sculptor Franz Doteber. A Baroque crucifix by artist Caspar Freidrich Löbel remains from the times of Bach. The colored windows date from 1889. They show King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Johann Sebastian Bach, Martin Luther, Elector Friedrich der Weise and Emperor Wilhelm I.

St. Thomas Church has two pipe organs. The older, Romantic organ by Wilhelm Sauer was built in 1889. This organ was considered inadequate for Bach's music. The newest organ to replace the original was built in 2000. It was designed to look identical to the organ Bach played in the St.Paul Church, where he was music director for holiday services in 1723−1725.