What is this thing on the top of Lutheran churches?

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When I visited Stuttgart, Germany, I noticed that all Lutheran churches could be distinguished by a particular figure affixed to the top of the main spire. I could not clearly make out what it was - it looked kinda like a rooster, maybe. It was 2-dimensional, made of dark metal.

Does anyone know what this is?
 
DavidFilmer said:
When I visited Stuttgart, Germany, I noticed that all Lutheran churches could be distinguished by a particular figure affixed to the top of the main spire. I could not clearly make out what it was - it looked kinda like a rooster, maybe. It was 2-dimensional, made of dark metal.

Does anyone know what this is?
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I don’;t know why but some friends had been to Germany and were just talking about this. It is a rooster.
 
The Catholic Cathedral near my hometown also has a rooster on the spire. Right over a statue of St. John (I do believe). It’s the WEIRDEST thing.

Whassup with that?
 
Maybe its one of those things to keep away those messy pigeons.

Peace
David
 
It’s a reminder of Peter’s thrice denial of Christ. From what I’ve read, a ninth-century pope was the first to push for this architectural reminder of the passage. And I suppose that Lutherans, rejecting the successor of Peter, were quite content to keep a reminder of the first pope’s failings.
 
Belloc_Fan said:
It’s a reminder of Peter’s thrice denial of Christ. From what I’ve read, a ninth-century pope was the first to push for this architectural reminder of the passage. And I suppose that Lutherans, rejecting the successor of Peter, were quite content to keep a reminder of the first pope’s failings.
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Wow. How did I not make that connection??? Haha.
 
I think it just goes back to the practice of putting a rooster-shaped weathervane atop the steeple, as the highest point, common in Luther’s time.
 
The ones in the US are from that very same source. It all started with the same decree by a pope in the 9th century. It became commonplace on churches and the people emulated it.
 
DavidFilmer said:
When I visited Stuttgart, Germany, I noticed that all Lutheran churches could be distinguished by a particular figure affixed to the top of the main spire. I could not clearly make out what it was - it looked kinda like a rooster, maybe. It was 2-dimensional, made of dark metal.

Does anyone know what this is?
Click to expand...
Looks like a tradition…latvia.travel/en/churches

The oldest churches of Riga closest to the shore of the Daugava River – Dome Cathedral, St. Peter’s, St. John’s, and St. Jacob’s – have roosters for the decorations on their tops, not crosses. According to the Christian tradition, the rooster is a vigilant defender against any evil and he can drive away every bad thing by his morning song. A rooster on the top of a tower has also a practical use – it serves as a weathercock setting the rhythm of the life for Riga as the port city, where many sailing ships sto
 
I also missed the connection - my first thought was weather vane…
 
Belloc_Fan said:
It’s a reminder of Peter’s thrice denial of Christ. From what I’ve read, a ninth-century pope was the first to push for this architectural reminder of the passage. And I suppose that Lutherans, rejecting the successor of Peter, were quite content to keep a reminder of the first pope’s failings.
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I don’t know about the 2nd part, unless Lutherans don’t take much value with Luke 22:32-

But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and you, being once converted, confirm your brethren.

MJ
 
Here is an article written by a Lutheran minister concerning the Christian symbolism of the rooster, and why it ended up on top of churches: Cock-a-doodle-do.

For those who want the essence of this article in a nutshell:

The roofs of pagan Roman temples were typically adorned with weather vanes in the shape of tridents, in honor of the Roman god of the sea.

When these temples became Christian churches, the ancient Christians said, “Um…ok…those pagan tridents have GOT to go!!!”
(This was probably spoken in Latin; although I can’t remember what the Latin word for “um” is)

The trident weather vanes were replaced with rooster weather vanes. Ancient Christians saw the rooster being symbolic for different reasons:

**1) Peter denied Jesus, but Jesus still forgave him. The rooster reminds us that Jesus is willing to welcome back those who deny him but then seek his forgiveness.

2) The rooster crows very early in the morning, which is when Mark 16:2 says that Jesus rose from the dead. Christ, like the dawn of a new day, is the Light that scatters the darkness. The rooster reminds us that Christians are to be children of the light, and await each day as a new day in Christ.

3) Jesus told us to always be ready for his coming, and that he may come at any day or hour, including “at the crowing of the rooster” (Mark 13:35). Hence, the image of the rooster reminds Christians to be vigilant.**

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David said:
Maybe its one of those things to keep away those messy pigeons
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I think that others have answered my original question, especially my brother (who has also contributed a fantastically hilarious illustration to the thread).

But (as you seem to know), pigeons are apparently a real problem in Germany. All Cathedrals, and even many secular buildings, have a fine plastic netting material covering anyplace that pigeons may wish to occupy. During one visit to Stuttgart, I stayed in a hotel that was part of the main train station (hauptbahnhof). There was fine plastic mesh covering every surface upon which a pigeon might wish to alight. It seems that fine plastic mesh is part of the German building code or something.

I’ve been to several Cathedrals in the United States, most recently the magnificent Cathedral of St. Louis, in New Orleans. Even though this particular Cathedral is directly adjacent to Jackson Square, where pigeons outnumber humans three-to-one, I observed no plastic mesh on any buildings, sacred or secular - not even in the whole of the French Quarter (whose buildings mostly predate the Louisiana Purchase).

FWIW, I notice that this is my 3,000th post in CAF. I’m glad that it could be a little but funny.
 
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