Oschatz, Saxony / Sachsen

Oschatz, Germany was photographed by James Derheim, European Focus Private Tours, in summer, 2016. This was a lunch stop during a private tour led by James with repeat clients from New Jersey.

In the St. Aegidien Kirche we admired the beautiful interior. It was fully restored after a fire in the 1840s. Here is more information from the website https://www.rettet-st-aegidien.de/die-st.-aegidienkirche/kircheninneres/

Until the Reformation, Oschatz was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Meissen. However, as early as 1386, Margrave William granted the right of patronage over the town church to the citizens of Oschatz. The church is dedicated to Saint Giles, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and patron saint of farmers, hunters, and merchants.

The altar and the pulpit are both outstanding examples of Neo-Gothic craftsmanship based on designs by Heideloff. The dominant altarpiece follows the structure of a medieval winged altarpiece, albeit without movable wings. Heideloff himself designed the three-part altarpiece, which was then crafted under his supervision in Nuremberg. The side panels depict the four Evangelists with their attributes. The predella shows the Last Supper, above which the Virgin Mary and Jesus' beloved disciple John are shown kneeling beneath the crucifix. Both figures, as well as the angels hovering above with scrolls, are painted on leaded glass – the central shrine of the altarpiece is considered the first stained glass painting after the Middle Ages. The design is by history and portrait painter Professor Julius Hübner, a member of the Düsseldorf School and at that time director of the Dresden Gallery. The execution was carried out by Carl Samuel Scheinert, a glass and porcelain painter at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory and a member of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.