Mariä Heimsuchung (

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

's Visitation) in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in Kohlheck, part of Wiesbaden's suburb of Dotzheim, consecrated in 1966. It is dedicated to the Visitation (''Heimsuchung''). The tall concrete building is a landmark of Wiesbaden. It features two large

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

s by the Wiesbaden painter Otto Ritschl. The parish Mariä Heimsuchung is now part of a larger parish, in the Diocese of Limburg.

History

After World War II, Catholics who came from further east settled in Wiesbaden. Bishop Wilhelm Kempf installed a new parish, Mariä Heimsuchung, in Wiesbaden-Dotzheim in 1960. The church was built on a design by the Berlin architect Johannes Lackel. It was consecrated on 3 July 1966, dedicated to the Visitation. The shape of the building is a stylised letter "M" as a symbol for

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and the floor is the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

, indicating that she was Jewish. The materials are predominantly concrete as the common material at the time, also slate and glass. Light comes from the west and illuminates the high wall behind the altar in the east. The interior features two large

s by from Wiesbaden. The artist created the works in 1973 and 1976 as abstract paintings with large shapes in bold colours, intended to invite to prayer and meditation. The church is a landmark of Wiesbaden, nicknamed ''Fingerzeig Gottes'' (God's finger) or ''Seelenabschußrampe'' (launching ramp for souls). Since 1 January 2013, the parish has been part (''Kirchort'', church location) of the larger parish St. Peter und Paul in Wiesbaden-Schierstein, together with six other parishes in Wiesbaden's west.

References

External links

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Den Fingerzeig Gottes erhalten / Wiesbadener Kirchen beim Tag des offenen Denkmals
St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden, 11 September 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Heimsuchung (Wiesbaden) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1966 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany Roman Catholic churches in Hesse Churches in Wiesbaden 1966 establishments in West Germany Churches in the Diocese of Limburg