The Frauenfriedenskirche (German for ''Our Lady's Peace Church'') is a Roman Catholic church in Bockenheim (Frankfurt am Main) (Germany). It was built by Hans Herkommer from 1927 to 1929, on a rise then known as ''Ginnheimer Höhe''. The church is an unusual example of

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

modernist church architecture, combining elements of

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

with the "New Objectivity" of

Bauhaus architecture The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 2009 ...

, and using monumental mosaics for external and internal decoration. The plan to build such a church was developed in 1916 by Hedwig Dransfeld, then chairperson of the ''

Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund The German Catholic Women's Association (german: Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund), abbreviated as KDFB, is a federally registered Catholic lay women's organization and political interest group. The association has roughly 180,000 members in Ge ...

'' (Catholic German Women's Organisation). The church was meant to represent a prayer for peace in stone and also serve as a memorial for the fallen of the First World War. The foundation money initially collected for the project was lost due to the 1914–1923 German hyperinflation. The church was finally completed on 5 May 1929 and handed to the Catholic congregation of Bockenheim. It was badly damaged in the Second World War, and afterwards rebuilt with money donated for the purpose. The names of any German soldiers killed or missing in either World War were displayed in the church in return for a donation.

Architecture

The church, its rectory, and the parish halls form an architectural unit, together with the 18 by 30 metres (59 by 98 ft) memorial yard. The church's west facade is dominated by a 25 metres (82 ft) high portal structure, or tower, subdivided by three high round arches. The middle arch contains a monumental mosaic-covered statue of Mary as Queen of Peace. The mosaic in the left arch depicts the motifs night, mourning and a sword, symbolising war, the one on the right symbolises peace by depicting the sun, happiness and flowers. The mosaics are by the sculptor

Emil Sutor Emil Sutor (June 19, 1888 – August 13, 1974) was a German sculptor. He was born in Offenburg and died in Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Bad ...

. Below the triple-aisled 18 m (59 ft) tall nave, there is a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, containing a '' pietà'' by

Ruth Schaumann Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny#Geography, Cologny United States * Ruth, A ...

. In the nave, the altar is 2 m above floor level. Above it is a monumental mosaic by

Joseph Eberz Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. It depicts the crucified Jesus, below him

Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, pierced by seven swords.

Equipment

The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

of the Frauenfriedenskirche was built by the company ''Siegfried Sauer'' in Höxter in 1996. It has 45

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

, electrical

tracker action Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe(s) of the corresponding note. This is ...

, three keyboards and pedals. Since 1956, the church has had six bells.

External links

Frauenfrieden parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frauenfriedenskirche (Frankfurt am Main) Churches completed in 1929 Roman Catholic churches in Frankfurt Churches in the Diocese of Limburg Christianity in Frankfurt Modernist architecture in Germany Expressionist architecture

Architecture

Equipment

See also

External links