Church with patron saints Apostles Peter and Paul
The year of the foundation and consecration of the Peter and Paul Church are obscure. It is assumed that a small church already existed in Sebnitz in the 13th century, whose patron saints were the apostles Peter and Paul. The strong influx of new settlers soon made it necessary to enlarge this place of worship, which was done towards the end of the 15th century. The late Gothic outer walls and buttresses of the choir have been preserved from this period.
The present nave, almost square in plan, dates from 1619. The wooden coffered ceiling with 88 coats of arms and ornamental panels, painted by Hans Panitz and only recently restored, also bears the date 1619.
70 years later, the paintings on the parapets of the two-storey galleries in the nave were created. An inscription states that the 55 pictures of biblical scenes from the Old and New Testaments were created in 1688/89 by the Dresden painter Johann Gottfried Buchardy; on the one-storey galleries in the choir room there are depictions of apostles from the same period. The two-storey altar is a valuable Renaissance work of art. Framed by columns, the main panel shows a painting of the Last Supper. Its creator, Martin Kotte from Schandau, immortalised himself in the depicted ensemble of figures with palette and painting stick. The second storey of the altar bears the image of a deposition from the cross.
A large crucifix from around 1520 was attached to the central pillar in the nave, below which is a wooden Madonna figure, also late Gothic (end of the 15th century).
Other particularly noteworthy pieces of equipment in the church are the wooden, painted Renaissance pulpit and the chalice-shaped baptismal font from 1586, which was beautifully restored in 1928/29.
For some time now, the large Sebnitz church shadow play has also been on display again in our church.
The organ of the Peter Pauls Church, a two-manual instrument from 1902 with originally 27 - now 34 sounding stops, comes from the workshop of the Jehmlich brothers, Dresden. In 1928 it was extended and given a free-standing pipe prospect behind the altar. In 1993, the Sebnitz congregation had the idea of combining one of the most beautiful and richly decorated church rooms in Saxon Switzerland with a concert series. The first concerts took place in 1994 under the name "Music in Peter-Paul". Since then, the successful synthesis of architecture and music from different stylistic eras has continued to impress both concertgoers and visiting musicians.
The Sebnitz Christmas Mass on Christmas Day each year has a special tradition. The main musical pieces in this service are the Sebnitz Christmas Aria, composed by the Sebnitz cantor Gotthilf Sigismund Heine (1746 - 1814) and the Sebnitzer Mettenmusik for solos, choir and orchestra by Christian Gottlob August Bergt (1771 - 1837), which are appreciated by many as special church musical highlights.
The present nave, almost square in plan, dates from 1619. The wooden coffered ceiling with 88 coats of arms and ornamental panels, painted by Hans Panitz and only recently restored, also bears the date 1619.
70 years later, the paintings on the parapets of the two-storey galleries in the nave were created. An inscription states that the 55 pictures of biblical scenes from the Old and New Testaments were created in 1688/89 by the Dresden painter Johann Gottfried Buchardy; on the one-storey galleries in the choir room there are depictions of apostles from the same period. The two-storey altar is a valuable Renaissance work of art. Framed by columns, the main panel shows a painting of the Last Supper. Its creator, Martin Kotte from Schandau, immortalised himself in the depicted ensemble of figures with palette and painting stick. The second storey of the altar bears the image of a deposition from the cross.
A large crucifix from around 1520 was attached to the central pillar in the nave, below which is a wooden Madonna figure, also late Gothic (end of the 15th century).
Other particularly noteworthy pieces of equipment in the church are the wooden, painted Renaissance pulpit and the chalice-shaped baptismal font from 1586, which was beautifully restored in 1928/29.
For some time now, the large Sebnitz church shadow play has also been on display again in our church.
The organ of the Peter Pauls Church, a two-manual instrument from 1902 with originally 27 - now 34 sounding stops, comes from the workshop of the Jehmlich brothers, Dresden. In 1928 it was extended and given a free-standing pipe prospect behind the altar. In 1993, the Sebnitz congregation had the idea of combining one of the most beautiful and richly decorated church rooms in Saxon Switzerland with a concert series. The first concerts took place in 1994 under the name "Music in Peter-Paul". Since then, the successful synthesis of architecture and music from different stylistic eras has continued to impress both concertgoers and visiting musicians.
The Sebnitz Christmas Mass on Christmas Day each year has a special tradition. The main musical pieces in this service are the Sebnitz Christmas Aria, composed by the Sebnitz cantor Gotthilf Sigismund Heine (1746 - 1814) and the Sebnitzer Mettenmusik for solos, choir and orchestra by Christian Gottlob August Bergt (1771 - 1837), which are appreciated by many as special church musical highlights.