Welcome to St. John's Church

Take the time to explore some of the special features of this church by following this short tour. Read about the church's history and the Church in the City.

The Protestant St. John's Church is an open city church. Its programme and regular opening hours are designed for people who are passing through the city and would like to step into a church again. Spiritual travellers, religious people, the interested or the curious will find a quiet place here in the hustle and bustle of the city, where they can feel a bit closer to God.

Start your tour outside on Martin Luther Square and notice the impressive brick building with its various stylistic elements, planned by the Berlin architects Kyllmann and Heyden in the tradition of Schinkel's buildings in Berlin. While the Rhenish Romanesque is visible in the round arched style of the windows and the dwarf galleries, elements of the Tuscan-Umbrian Gothic style show in the facades of the transept. The layout suggests the form of a cross. As you walk around the building you will notice the different window glazings, which are external evidence of the separation of the building into church and parish hall. The tower, with its height of 85.7 m, was the highest structure in Düsseldorf for a long time, and it is longer than the width of the entire building.

The two angels on the strip of grass in front of the western portal sat guard on the pediments over the side entrances before the church was destroyed in the Second World War. During the rebuilding they were rescued from the rubble.

When you now enter the church through the south-facing main entrance, notice the pewter inlays at the outside of the entrance door – since our doors are open most of the time, these inlays are not immediately obvious. They show the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which can be read in the Bible, in St. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25, verses 1–13.

If you pass straight through the foyer café, you will reach the main church. The big crucifix behind the altar, created by Arnold Rickert, is the first thing to strike the eye. It shows the suffering Christ and, at the same time, suggests a benediction in his posture.

The high pulpit at the left front pillar, on closer inspection, shows writings in the satinated glass of the pulpit steps. These are names of biblical figures, taken from old Hebrew, Greek and Latin manuscripts.

In addition, to the left, there is the prayer wall. Everyone is invited to write their intercessions an prayers on a piece of paper and to pin them to the wall. The requests made here are taken up in the weekly prayer made on Thursdays at 12 noon.

In the chancel you see the glass pulpit that, being transparent, opens up the view to the apse. It was designed by Claudia Marcela Robles, Jorge Alvaro, and Rodrigo Bruna, as part of a competion in co-operation with the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts.

The baptistery is to the right of the apse, with a lectern in the shape of an eagle. The eagle is the attribute of the Evangelist St. John, after whom this church is named.

St. John's Gospel begins with the words: »In the beginning was the Word …« [St. John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 1]. Please feel free to page through the Bible on the small altar and read it. We have a Bible reading here every Tuesday at 12 noon. The men depicted at the baptismal font with water jars in their hands symbolize the four rivers arising from the Garden of Eden, as told in the Bible [Genesis, chapter 2, verse 10–14]. The dove on the cover is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who descended to Jesus when he was baptised in the Jordan.

In the baptistery, you will see the painting »Twelve-Year-Old Jesus in the Temple« by Eduard von Gebhardt [1893]. The 19th-century painter transposed the stories from the New Testament to the late Middle Ages, because he considered the time of Martin Luther [1483–1546] to be the era of exemplary piety. Note the expressive faces that he has given his figures.

The candelabrum to the right of the baptistery, with the globe and the candles, symbolizes the word of Jesus: »I am the light of the world« [St. John's Gospel, chapter 8, verse 12]. Many people take a moment here to light a candle and say a silent prayer to give thanks for a good experience or to pray for someone who needs help.

In the display case next to the staircase leading to the galleries, you can see Martin Luther's translation of the Bible of 1597. It is opened to the beginning of St. John's Gospel. In the illustration you will recognize St. John the Evangelist with his symbol, the eagle. The engraving shows St. John writing down his memories of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

As you leave the nave, you should take another look upward, at the huge Beckerath organ. It has 66 stops and 4 keyboards that can breathe life into more than 5,000 pipes. This takes place in the church not online during the Sunday services, but also on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at the weekly »Lunchtime Organ« performance.

When you leave the main church, you are very welcome to enjoy a delicious café au lait or espresso in the café, made from the ecological fair trade products on offer. You can also talk to the volunteers working there and find out more about St. John's Church – Johanneskirche City Church – and its programme.

You can continue this walking tour in our gallery or download this text as  Flyer (English) (308.92 kB).