St. Trinitatis

The Protestant main church of St. Trinitatis in Hamburg-Altona is an important example of Baroque sacred architecture. The church was built between 1742 and 1743 on a cruciform floor plan and was attached to the existing 70-meter-high tower, which had shaped the cityscape since the 17th century. The monograms of the Danish kings on the sandstone portals underscore the church's great political and social importance in what was then the second-largest city of the Danish realm. The interior was originally designed as a grand preaching space, with galleries and boxes grouping the congregation around a central pulpit, while the altar stood at the east end of the room. This arrangement was a deliberate contrast to the older Gothic churches in neighboring Hamburg.

During World War II, the church was badly damaged in the bombing raids of 1943; only the outer walls and the stump of the tower survived the firestorm. The reconstruction in the 1960s, led by the architects Horst Sandtmann and Friedhelm Grundmann, opted for a modern interpretation of the historic space. The original barrel vault and the main cornice were preserved, but the altar was moved to the center of the room, surrounded on three sides by the congregation. Particular attention is due to the medieval crucifix, the so-called Smiling Christ of Altona, which was placed on a new cross pillar between the altar and the organ. The entire artistic redesign is the work of the sculptor Peter Dreher and combines traditional elements with the aesthetics of the 20th century.

Today the church houses a large organ from 1972 as well as a set of six bells from 1966. Another highlight is the restored painting by Siegfried Detlev Bendixen depicting Saint Ansgar, which returned to the church in 2006 after a long time in storage. As part of the main parish of St. Trinitatis Altona in the Hamburg-West/Südholstein church district, the building is not only an architectural landmark but also a place of living church tradition and cultural encounter.