St. Bonifatius in Wiesbaden, Germany, is the central Catholic parish and church in the capital of Hesse. The present building was designed by architect Philipp Hoffmann in

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and built from 1844 to 1849. Its twin steeples of 68 m (223 ft.) dominate the Luisenplatz. The parish is part of the Diocese of Limburg.

History

The first church St. Bonifatius

As Wiesbaden was Protestant after the Reformation, the first Catholic parish after the Reformation was founded in 1800. The congregation first met in a ''Bethaus'' (oratory) in the Marktstraße. It soon became too small for the growing number of Catholics in the town, which prospered as a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

and ''Residenz'' of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

. The parish received grounds adjacent to the from the Duke of Nassau, and from 1829 to 1831 built a rigidly Neoclassical church, in keeping with the buildings around the square. Soon after the building was completed, it collapsed on 11 February 1831. A likely reason is insufficient foundation on ground which had previously been ponds.

The second church St. Bonifatius

On 24 May 1843, the young Philipp Hoffmann received the commission to build a church. He had already participated in building the town castle. His design is reminiscent of Gothic architecture, but also includes elements of Romanesque architecture and naturalistic ornaments to be found later in the Jugendstil. The foundation was laid on the day of the patron saint St. Bonifatius, on 5 June 1845. The interior was consecrated by the Bishop of Limburg Peter Josef Blum on 19 June 1849. A

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic ...

is supported by 22 columns. The facade was completed in 1856, and the towers in 1866. In World War II the church suffered severe damage. An air raid on 2 February 1945 destroyed all the windows, the roof, and part of the vault. Repairs made in 1949 replaced the vault with a simple construction. The vault was re-built in a general restoration in 1965, which also took into account the changes of the Second Vatican Council. A new altar by Elmar Hillebrand was added in 1967. The new windows are

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

in mainly white, red and blue, designed by Johannes Beeck. Sculptor Karl Hoffmann created a crucifixion scene and a sculpture of both St. Francis and Teresa of Ávila.

Church music

An organ was built in 1954 by . In 1985 the instrument was expanded by

Hugo Mayer Orgelbau Hugo Mayer Orgelbau is a German organ builder in Heusweiler, Saarland, building pipe organs in the third generation. It was founded in 1952 by Hugo Mayer (1912–1980) in Saarbrücken, Brebach and moved to Heusweiler in 1957. His son Gerd Mayer too ...

; in 1995 three electronic bass stops were added. The Kantor was

Gabriel Dessauer Gabriel Dessauer (born 4 December 1955) is a German cantor, concert organist, and academic. He was responsible for the church music at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden from 1981 to 2021, conducting the Chor von St. Bonifatius until 2018. He is an inte ...

from 1981, the conductor of the 120-member

Chor von St. Bonifatius The Chor von St. Bonifatius (Choir of St. Boniface) is a German mixed choir, the church choir of the parish St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden. It was founded in 1862 as a male choir and was a mixed choir from 1887. From 1981 to 2018, it was conducted by ...

, founded in 1862, the children's choir ''Kinderchor von St. Bonifatius'', and the Schola for Gregorian chant. He was succeeded by

Roman Twardy Roman Twardy is a German teacher, academic lecturer and the conductor of the Wiesbadener Knabenchor boys' choir in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. The choir appears internationally and has made recordings. From 2019, Twardy is also interim conductor of ...

. The church choir sings at services, including regular orchestral masses of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert for Christmas and Easter. Every year, typically on 3 October, a choral concert is performed. Other annual features are choral and organ concerts organised around a theme, called ''Boni-Musikwochen'', including concerts of organists such as

Kent Tritle Kent Tritle (born August 26, 1960) is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music and ...

and

Ignace Michiels Ignace Michiels (born 7 December 1963) is a Belgian organist, choral conductor and organ teacher. He is internationally known as a concert organist. Career Michiels studied the organ, the piano and the harpsichord at the music academy of Bruges ...

, and the project choir Reger-Chor. On 7 November 2015, as part of the 21st festival

Wiesbadener Bachwochen (Wiesbaden Bach Weeks) is a biennial festival of music around Johann Sebastian Bach in Wiesbaden, the state capital of Hesse, Germany. It was initiated and has been run by Martin Lutz. The city awards the Bachpreis der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden ...

, the church presented a concert dedicated to French church music, Gabriel Fauré's ''

Cantique de Jean Racine ''Cantique de Jean Racine'' (Chant by Jean Racine), Op. 11, is a composition for mixed choir and piano or organ by Gabriel Fauré. The text, "Verbe égal au Très-Haut" ("Word, one with the Highest"), is a French paraphrase by Jean Racine of a L ...

'' and

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

and Olivier Latry's '' Salve Regina''. A project choir of 150 singers performed, led by three conductors of the Diocese of Limburg, with soloists and members of the orchestra of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Dessauer ended conducting the choir in 2019, succeeded by interim conductor

. His term as church musician ended with 2021. He was succeeded by

Johannes Schröder Johannes M. Schröder (born 3 October 1991) is a German organist, composer and Catholic church musician. After several years responsible for the church music at the Westerwälder Dom, he moved to St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden. He is also a lecturer ...

Priests

The priests of St. Bonifatius were at the same time ''Stadtdekan'' ( dean) of Wiesbaden, including: *

Joseph Weyland Joseph Weyland (born 24 April 1943) is a Luxembourgian diplomat and was Luxembourg's Ambassador to the United States from 2 March 2005 to 2008. In addition, he was concurrently accredited to Canada, Mexico, and the Organization of American Sta ...

(1863–1887) *

Antonius Hilfrich Antonius Hilfrich (also Anton Hilfrich; 3 October 1873 – 5 February 1947) was a German priest and Roman Catholic Bishop of Limburg, Germany. Ordained in 1898, in March 1930 he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Limburg and Titular Bishop of Se ...

(1927–1930) * (1954–1968) * Werner Bardenhewer (1974–1996) * (1996–2006) * Johannes zu Eltz (2006–2010) *

Wolfgang Rösch Wolfgang Rösch (born 25 August 1959) is a German Catholic priest. He was from 2010 to 2013 Dean of Wiesbaden at the parish St. Bonifatius. From 23 October 2013 he has been vicar general of the Diocese of Limburg, also administering the diocese d ...

(2010–2013) * Klaus Nebel (from 2015)

Chaplains

Lothar Zenetti Lothar Zenetti (6 February 1926 – 24 February 2019) was a German Catholic theologian, priest, and author of books and poetry. In Frankfurt, he was both a minister for young people and a parish priest. He was also active on radio and television. ...

(1926–2019)

Literature

: ''Architekturführer Wiesbaden – Durch die Stadt des Historismus'', 2006, , pp. 75 (in German)

Gallery

Wiesbaden Luftbild Luisenplatz St. Bonifatius-Kirche Foto 2008 Wolfgang Pehlemann Wiesbaden IMG 0172.jpg, Aerial view of the Luisenplatz Luthmer V - 213 - Wiesbaden katholische Kirche Grundriss.jpg, Ground plan St. Bonifatius (Westseite).jpg, The church from the west St. Bonifatius Church, Wiesbaden, Germany.jpg, Interior from the organ loft Christmas St. Bonifatius 2018 Twardy Dessauer.jpg , Christmas 2018 Stabat Mater (Dvořák) St. Bonifatius Wiesbaden.jpg , Dvořák's Stabat Mater, 2019 Chor von St. Bonifatius, Oratorio de Noël.jpg,

Oratorio de Noël The ''Oratorio de Noël'', Op. 12, by Camille Saint-Saëns, also known as his Christmas Oratorio, is a cantata-like work scored for soloists, chorus, organ, strings and harp. While an organist at La Madeleine, Saint-Saëns wrote the Christmas ...

, 2022

References

External links

St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden
website (in German) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bonifatius, Wiesbaden Religious buildings and structures completed in 1849 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany Roman Catholic churches in Hesse Churches in Wiesbaden Gothic Revival church buildings in Germany Hall churches 1849 establishments in the Duchy of Nassau Churches in the Diocese of Limburg