Günther Beckstein has retained the childish giggle that one hears when speaking to him about the 1979 German Evangelical Church Congress. It took place in Nuremberg, as did the 38th Kirchentag, which begins this Wednesday. For the Becksteins, it was a matter of honor 44 years ago to offer a church day visitor and her boy a private bedchamber in Nuremberg-Langwasser. There weren’t enough hotel beds, so they jumped in. And of course the visitor was grateful for that, but she didn’t hide her opinion. How could Beckstein, as a young Protestant Christian, support a man like Franz Josef Strauss? I found the woman odd.
The story goes on, Beckstein’s face twitches slightly with amusement when he talks about it. Of course he tried to defend himself at the time, for example by saying that he himself – in his opinion – belonged to the more liberal wing of the CSU. On the other hand, such accusations were not so unusual, especially in Protestant circles, that Beckstein would have had the attack in his mind forever. Until he was recently asked by an incumbent SPD federal minister whether he knew that he – the minister – had ever stayed at the Becksteins’ house? Beckstein knew nothing about it, assumed that the man knew one of his children. Of course, that was wrong: Hubertus Heil was the boy of the Strauss-skeptical mother who had offered the Becksteins Kirchentag quarters in 1979.
The culture and faith festival is taking place in Nuremberg for the second time. And there is at least one point in which the two church congresses do not differ: again the hotel beds are not enough. A few weeks ago, the professional accommodation providers only reported “remainders,” says city spokesman Andreas Franke. The same picture can be seen in Fürth, where program parts of the five-day festival also take place. So private individuals have to step in again, a tradition of these meetings. And the municipalities have to help too: 1,500 rooms alone are available in a total of 40 Nuremberg schools, and the city wants to offer accommodation to almost 15,000 participants. “A huge logistical challenge,” says Franke.
The city contributes a total of four million euros to the costs of the Kirchentag, about which some dissatisfaction can be heard and read in advance. Three million in cash, one million in kind — that’s no small feat for a chronically cash-strapped city that has struggled and made drastic interventions to achieve a viable budget. Especially since current figures put the historical impression into perspective that the city is a bulwark of evangelical faith that is difficult to demolish. In March 2023, just 22.1 percent of the 541,133 people in Nuremberg belonged to the Protestant Church, and the trend is falling.
Historically, Nuremberg was at the forefront when large cities committed to the new religion in the 16th century – Nuremberg shines “like a sun among the moon and stars”, enthused Martin Luther. The city also has a special role to this day: when a new regional bishop is inaugurated, this traditionally takes place in the Lorenz Church, which, together with the Sebaldus Church, shapes the silhouette of the city. Nevertheless, the image of the secret capital of Protestant Bavaria has suffered: if less than a quarter of the inhabitants are members, the image of the stronghold of Protestantism can hardly be maintained. Mayor Marcus König (CSU) still hopes for a “big festival of encounters”, city spokesman Franke for a “young, open-minded target group” who may discover Nuremberg as a tourist destination when visiting the church congress.
Under the leadership of Church Congress President Thomas de Maizière (left), the motto of the festival of faith is “Now is the time”. In the background Secretary General Kristin Jahn.
(Photo: Anestis Aslanidis/epd)
Especially since spectacular images are likely to emanate from the Kirchentag. The opening service, for example, will not take place outside the old town – in the stadium, for example – but on the main market, the heart of the city. In addition to trombone choirs, Church Congress President Thomas de Maizière will also be heard there on Wednesday evening, hoping for a kind of “common campfire” from the Faith Festival. in total 2000 events – summed up under the slogan “Now is the time” – they will try to create “a sense of community” in Nuremberg, says the former interior minister. 100,000 guests are expected.
A lot of political prominence has announced that they will be on podiums, including Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well as CDU leader Friedrich Merz and Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann. The 1979 six-year-old boy in the Beckstein house – Federal Minister of Labor Heil – also wants to come, on Saturday he deals with the Bible verse “The time will come”. His then host Günther Beckstein can even be heard on a total of three podiums, including on Thursday with a review of the last Nuremberg Church Congress, the one from 1979.