St. Johannes (Kirdorf)

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Kirdorf, Taunus Cathedral St. Johannes
Chancel and side altars
Dome of the apse
organ

The St. Johannes Church is a Roman Catholic church building in the center of Kirdorf , a district of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Hochtaunus district ( Hesse ). It is one of the largest churches in the Vordertaunus and is therefore often referred to as "Taunus Cathedral" in local parlance because of its two church towers .

History and architecture

A separate church building is mentioned for the first time for Kirdorf in the year 1229. However, this church was not located in today's town center, but near the Rabenstein . In 1622 this church was destroyed and only rebuilt after the end of the Thirty Years War . In 1751 a new building took place.

The Taunus Cathedral in its current form, now the fourth church in Kirdorf, was built between 1858 and 1862 under the direction of the Mainz architect and master builder Ignaz Opfermann in the middle of the village on a hillside and on August 31, 1862 by the Mainz Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler inaugurated. It is considered to be one of the last large sacred buildings in Germany to be built in the late classicistic round arch style.

Characteristic is the design of the building parts, which are largely symmetrical to the longitudinal axis of the building, as well as the arrangement of the two towers, which are around 50 meters high and more than double over the 23-meter-high nave . The total height and width of the church building are roughly the same, each approx. 23 meters, which emphasizes the symmetry of the building. Due to the hillside location and the very dense development in the vicinity, the proportions of the building are difficult to grasp from the outside.

Much of the green slate used for the construction was mined locally in the Rabenstein area. The building was, in accordance with the original design by Opfermann, unplastered until 1906.

The Roman Catholic parish of Kirdorf with the Church of St. Johannes was incorporated into the Diocese of Limburg (formerly Mainz ) on February 5, 1884 .

Furnishing

  • The decor of the church is characterized by the Art Nouveau painting by Alois Kolb , one of the most famous church painters of his time. The painting, which Kolb himself started, was completed by his three sons between 1923 and 1925.
  • The high altar dates from 1880, and two side altars were added in 1889.
  • The baroque font was taken over from the church built on this site in 1650.
  • The bells originally built in the Taunus Cathedral have not been preserved. In 1950 a new bell was installed, two bells each in the east (es, f) and west tower (c, as). With a total weight of almost four tons, these bells are far heavier than the original design of the statics. In 1971, a counter pendulum system was installed to prevent structural damage from progressing through the swinging of the towers.
  • The organ is the last work of the Mainz organ builder Hermann Dreymann , which was completed and inaugurated while he was still alive. It is the largest Dreymann organ in the Limburg diocese and the only one that dates back to when a diocese church was built and has been preserved to this day.

Web links

Commons : St. Johannes (Kirdorf)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the Catholic Parish St. Johannes, Kirdorf , on museum-kirdorf.de , accessed on November 15, 2017

Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 29.4 ″  N , 8 ° 36 ′ 37.9 ″  E