Westerwälder Dom is the common name of the church St. Bonifatius in

Wirges Wirges () is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Wirges lies in a high hollow in the further Westerwald between Köppel and Malberg, roughly 5 km northwest of Montabaur and 20 km northeast of Koble ...

in the

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the States of Germany, German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Ma ...

region, Germany. It was built in

Gothic revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

from 1885 to 1887. It has been called Westerwälder Dom from 1902.

History

The church is the third church building in Wirges, all dedicated to St. Boniface. The congregation outgrew every former building. When a new building was planned, alternatives were to build it on the graveyard, expanding the old church, or to build a new church on a larger property in the west of town. In 1878, when the bishop of Limburg was banned, the ''Kirchenvorstand'' commissioned an expansion of the church without waiting for consent from the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, and works for started, intending to use the expansion as a first stage for a rebuilding. The tower was demolished as unsafe, against protests from the population who wanted to protect it as an "unersetzliches Kunstwerk" (irreplaceable work of art). In 1883, Baumeister Büchling was requested to supply plans for a completely new building. After the Limburg office was working again, they commissioned architect Max Meckel from Frankfurt to supply an alternative design for a

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church with three naves. The old church was demolished, leaving only the columns of the central nave. The new church was connected to the expansion building and the new tower. It was consecrated on 20 August 1887 by Bishop Karl Klein, who promoted Meckel to cathedral builder (''Diözesanbaumeister'') at the same time.

Literature

* Kath. Kirchengemeinde St. Bonifatius Wirges: ''Festbuch anlässlich der 100-Jahrfeier der Pfarrkirche St. Bonifatius Wirges''. Wirges, 1987. * Kath. Kirchengemeinde St. Bonifatius Wirges: ''St. Bonifatius Wirges''. Wirges, 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westerwälder Dom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1887 Roman Catholic churches in Rhineland-Palatinate Gothic Revival church buildings in Germany 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany