The church of St. Christoph in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, known in German as St. Christoph zu Mainz, is an example of early

gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

. St. Christoph was originally built between 1240 and 1330. The church is associated with Johannes Gutenberg, who may have been baptised there. It had been erected in Christofstraße in the historic city centre of Mainz and adjacent to the Karmeliterplatz. Its ruins represent the central

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in the city of Mainz, in memory of the victims and the destruction of the city in World War II, such as the bombing of Mainz on 27 February 1945.

History

The former parish church was mentioned for the first time in documents of 893. In a document by Pope Innocent II in the year 1140 the patronage of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier was laid down. Except for its Romanesque tower with pairings of two arched windows, dating from around 1240, the present building dates from the decades around 1280 until the 1330. In the 17th and 18th century, the church was renovated and redesigned in

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...

joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

effective on 8 May 1543 as the eighth person and placed his vow in the rectory of St. Christopher. In 1762 the church was renovated.Christiane Reves: Bausteine zur Mainzer Stadtgeschichte: Mainzer Kolloquium 2000. Franz Steiner Verlag, Band 55 2002, . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was razed except for the external walls. During the great air raid on Mainz on 12 and 13 August 1942 St. Christopher burned down, whereas a renewed bombing on 27 February 1945 with tactical demolition bombs brought the vaults to collapse. The outer walls have been restored and protected on the north side by concrete columns. The new

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es have been provided with a relief by the Mainz sculptor Heinz Hemrich carrying symbolic representations of the city's history. The church now is designed as a

. A commemorative plaque in the floor tells the embedded text ″Den Toten zum Gedenken/ Den Lebenden zur Mahnung″ ″In memory of the dead / as a reminder for the Living". Right next to the church stands the most modern

Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...

statue of the city. It was created to celebrate the year 2000 Gutenberg celebrations of Mainz by sculptor Karl Heinz Oswald. The iron sculpture displays the Gutenberg

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

. Gutenberg used for printing a wooden press, reminiscent of construction, mechanics and operation of a

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts contro ...

. The windows in the chancel and the glass wall in the chancel were designed by Alois Plum. p. 11. In the eastern chancel, a chapel has been renovated, including a baptistry in the south transept, and a sacristy in the ground floor of the Romanesque tower. In this chapel, windows by the Mainz glass artist Alois Plum have been installed. The chapel is owned by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...

, while the remaining ruins (including the tower above the sacristy) are owned and maintained by the City of Mainz. Beginning in 2020, weekly ecumenical prayers for peace in the tradition of the Coventry Cross of Nails are offered in the chapel on Fridays at 5 p.m. Additional worship services are conducted at various times by the Roman Catholic urban ministry ''Cityseelsorge'', as well as the

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...

and Episcopal Church.

Preserved decorations

*The oldest organ in the

, surviving in parts, which was built in 1667 by Johann Peter Geissel for St. Christopher's Church in Mainz was sold after 1773 to Gau-Bischofsheim, where it stands today in the parish church. * In the eastern part of the church is a Gothic baptismal font, which is supported by four lion heads, dating back to the time of Gutenberg. * A Rococo sculpture of St. Valentine was rescued in the chaos of the war and was taken to the Carmelite Church. The Valentines pilgrimage was translocated just as well.

Lost decorations

*Since 1792 a miracle Cross from the time around 1300 was kept in St. Christoph.

References

External links

*http://www.mainz.de/tourismus/sehenswertes/st.-christoph.php St. Christoph] on the city website {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Christoph Mainz Churches completed in 1330 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany Ch Gothic hall churches in Germany