St. Peter's Church (in German ''Peterskirche'') is located beneath
Deutschhaus Mainz in the northwest of the historical center of
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 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is the one of the most important
rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
buildings in Mainz. Originally it was a collegiate church monastery of ″St. Peter before the walls″, which had existed since the 10th century and is dedicated to the
apostle Peter as patron. Today it serves as a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
for the parish of St. Peter / St. Emmeran.
History of the collegiate
The collegiate was founded 944 by archbishop
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
north of the city wall. Collegiates were key administrative units, on which the archbishop relied. The
provosts, the head of the collegiate, each led an
archdeacon.
Due to its location before the gates, the collegiate was completely destroyed by Swedish attacks 1631 in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
. , and is to be seen on the north side portal of Saint Peter as paintings, 1631 at the Swedish attacks completely destroyed. At the behest of Archbishop
Johann Philipp von Schönborn a reconstruction was not considered. For over a century the collegiate community had no own building. It was only in 1749 Archbishop
Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein
Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein (6 July 1689 – 4 June 1763) was the Prince-Bishop of Worms, Archbishop of Mainz and Elector of Mainz.
Early life
He was born as the eldest son of Count Johann Franz Sebastian von Ostein (1652-1718) and his wi ...
decided for a new building. The collegiate was moved to its present location near the
palace church St. Gangolph, later vanished in the Napoleonic era. At this location there was previously a
romanesque church, the so-called ″Odenmünster″ or ″St. Mari underm Münster″. This has not been used since 1724 and was left to decay.
The construction of the new St. Peter's Church lasted from 1749 to 1756/57, and was carried out in the context of the valorisation of the bleaching district (Bleichenviertel). The church was consecrated 2 May 1756 by Archbishop Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein. With the beginning of
secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
, the collegiate was repealed on 4 July 1802. Due to the fact that
Mainz Cathedral lay partially in ruins St. Peter's was chosen for the inauguration of bishop
Joseph Ludwig Colmar in 1803.
The building
The present building of St. Peter's is a baroque hall (three bays) with double
onion dome tower façade by architect
Johann Valentin Thoman.
[St. Peter's - A church with late-baroque elegance]
digital
Until 1762 the church was completed yet. Under French occupation, the church became a stable in 1813. When the control of the
Fortress of Mainz passed to the
German Confederation it became the garrison church of the
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
garrison parts, which it remained until 1918. Then it was dedicated a parish church. In 1872
Ferdinand Becker painted an altarpiece for the church.
St. Peter had survived the
first major air raid on Mainz in August 1942. The second serious attack on Mainz in autumn 1944 had significantly worse consequences. The South Tower was hit by a high explosive bomb and fell onto the nave, where it hit a big hole in the vault. The north tower, the choir room and large parts of the nave, however, were undamaged.
On 27 February 1945, Mainz was almost completely destroyed by air raids with incendiary bombs. St. Peter's Church lost its tower façade, the nave was burnt out. Until 1952 the church was provisionary repaired, so that it could be used by the community. In 1959 the reconstruction began. In 1961, the twin towers were restored to the original. After years of restoration from 1973 to 1989, the church was returned to the parish. During this period the ceiling
frescos were created new by Karl Manninger according to old photographs.
The decoration of the church was much irretrievably lost in the original, most notably the organ, the ceiling frescoes from 1755 by
Joseph Ignaz Appiani
Joseph Ignaz Appiani (October 16, 1706 – August 19, 1785) was a South Germany, South-German Painting, painter of late the Baroque. He was the son of the plasterer Pietro Francesco Appiani from Porto Ceresio and Maria Sophia from Fürstenfeldbruc ...
, showing the life and work of St. Peter, and the choir stalls. The great baroque altars, stucco decoration and the most valuable piece of equipment, the great
pulpit of Johannes Förster, were not destroyed.
Recent additions
A modern altar of the artist
Gernot Rumpf was added recently. It refers to the ″fisher of men″ Peter with a net. Herein, frolicking fish that turn out as people on closer inspection - even one of them with a fool's cap thereunder. The same artist also created the
ambo and the
Paschal candle. At the 50th anniversary of the death of Father Franz Adam Landvogt, who was pastor at St. Peter, a bronze statue of
Karlheinz Oswald
Karlheinz Oswald (born 1958) is a German sculptor known for his portraits and cast iron sculptures, many of dancers, often displayed in public places. He studied at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz from 1981, and between 1983 and 1988 w ...
was erected in the Landvogt crypt in October 2003.
References
Literature
*Wilhelm Jung: ''St. Peter in Mainz. Ehemals Stifts- und Pfarrkirche'', Mainz, 1989
External links
Interioron the web page of the parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz Peter's Church
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
Rococo architecture in Germany
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1757