Weimar - Herder Church

The central feature of the old town of Weimar (now protected as a national monument) is the Stadtkirche (Town Church) or Herder Church, a Late Gothic hall-church (1498-1500) dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul in which Johann Gottfried Herder, the great 18th C. writer and philosopher, officiated as court preacher for many years. In the west choir, under the organ gallery, is Herder's tomb. The church has a large winged altar (probably begun by Lucas Cranach the Elder and completed by Lucas Cranach the Younger in 1555), the grave slab of Lucas Cranach the Elder (d. 1553) and a number of monuments of members of the Ernestine line (mostly 16th C.).

In front of the church is a statue of Herder (by L. Schaller, 1850).