Sustainable German Church

The Propsteikirche St. Trinitatis in Leipzig – one of Germany's most sustainable churches – features an innovative building technology concept that relies on self-generated electricity via solar PV and STIEBEL ELTRON ground source heat pumps.

The new building by Schulz and Schulz Architekten (Leipzig) includes a community center with a bell tower, church room, and vicarage. The facade is clad in light red volcanic rock – 1,500 tonnes of porphyry from nearby Rochlitz – stacked horizontally above a support structure made of reinforced concrete and foam glass insulation.

The ensemble comprises two main parts: the tower with the adjoining two-storey community center, and the church space. These are connected via two upstairs bridges and open up to the city as a central meeting place. The 640-square-meter church is not just for parishioners – it offers a “space of silence” in the hectic city center for all of Leipzig.

Directly above the altar, a large ceiling opening brings in natural light. The space rises 22 meters, crowned by a band of skylights that stage the altar in daylight and create a distinctive atmosphere. A 22-meter-long, 3-meter-high, ground-level window further opens the church to the city.

Since its opening in May 2015, St. Trinitatis has received multiple awards, including the "Nike" from the Bund Deutscher Architekten and "Religious Building of the Year" at the World Architecture Festival 2016. The project also won the 2016 Balthasar Neumann Prize for outstanding interdisciplinary collaboration in architecture (Schulz and Schulz), structural engineering (Seeberger Friedl), energy/sustainability (ee concept), and technical building systems (MLT Medien Licht Technik Ingenieure). It remains Germany’s most sustainable new church.

Sustainability was central from the design competition through to operation. All components exceed minimum insulation standards, are largely pollutant-free, and use durable, mineral-based and renewable materials. St. Trinitatis also demonstrates that geothermal energy is a viable alternative to district heating in large inner-city buildings. “Leipzig city center is a district heating zone, but the parish aimed for energy self-sufficiency using renewables,” explains Torsten Hauke from TGA planning office MLT.

Three STIEBEL ELTRON WPF 52 ground source heat pumps extract heat via 18 geothermal probes (140 and 100 meters deep). The system works more efficiently with low flow temperatures, so the church uses underfloor heating. In summer, the system passively cools the building by transferring excess heat back into the ground, helping regenerate the probes.

Solar PV generates 40% of the building's electricity, with a system capacity of 54 kWp. Rainwater is collected in a 29,000-liter tank in the church tower and gravity-fed to toilets throughout the facility.

Since September 2017, church bells have once again rung in the Propsteikirche – a symbol of modern environmental stewardship and spiritual responsibility for the third millennium.