Trinity
In 1912, the Dreifaltigkeitskirche in the Dichterviertel was consecrated as Wiesbaden's third Catholic church after two years of construction.
The Dreifaltigkeitskirche church in Wiesbaden's Dichterviertel district was built between 1910 and 1912 as the third Catholic church after St. Boniface and Maria Hilf.
The architect was the Mainz cathedral architect Ludwig Becker (1855-1940). He was particularly interested in the moments of transition between two styles. He took up historical forms, recomposed them and regarded this "mixture of styles" as an attempt to go beyond the exact copying of historical models. In the style of early Gothic, cubic structures determine the external appearance of this gabled, three-aisled basilica with transept and polygonal choir end. While the west towers measure 38 meters, the choir flank towers reach a height of 65 meters.
Becker compensated for the steep slope of the terrain to the east by building a crypt. Simple buttresses without pinnacles support the ribbed vault of the interior. The building is made of brickwork with architectural elements made of light-colored sandstone and plastered inside and out. Individual ashlars have been left exposed and thus enliven the rising wall. The rectory is attached to the north side of the church building on Frauenlobstraße and the sexton's house on Rückertstraße (1912/1913).
The main portal, which is surmounted by a triangular gable, stands out from the two side portals, which are shifted to the edge of the building, with its rich ornamental and figural design. Relief depictions of the synagogue and the Ecclesia above blind windows face each other. Richly decorated arches supported by slender columns open the portal into the depths. In the tympanum, a depiction of the Holy Trinity surmounts an assembly of holy figures: The Mother of God is arranged on an axis with the Trinity. To her right, you can see St. Boniface, St. Catherine, St. Maurice and St. Elizabeth. To Mary's left are St. Hrabanus Maurus, St. George as the diocesan patron saint, St. Hildegard and St. Ferrutius. The relief was created by the Munich sculptor August Weckbecker (1888 - 1939) in 1911.
When the Holy Trinity Church was consecrated on 29 September 1912 after only two years of construction, a large part of the interior was still missing, such as the altarpieces, the organ, the statues of saints, the painting and the stained glass windows. In the northern tower bay of the entrance hall, which was formerly used as a baptistery, stood the altar of St. Anthony, from which the carved figure of the saint still originates today. Opposite it is a vesper image consecrated in 1914 by the sculptor Anton Mormann (1851-1940) from Wiedenbrück, who also created the Stations of the Cross in the church.
The figures of the four evangelists and the four Latin church fathers watching over the nave come from the workshop of the Steinlein family of sculptors from Eltville. These 2.50 meter tall lime wood sculptures once surrounded the choir, but since the mid-1960s they have stood in their current locations on high consoles along the northern and southern nave walls.
A monumental carved triumphal cross hovers above the altar island, which was redesigned in 2003. The four panels painted by August Martin and Schöppler, which are now mounted on the walls of the choir, originate from the first high altar from 1919, which was originally intended as a temporary solution. They show full-length depictions of saints and bust portraits of the twelve apostles.
Since June 2012, the old panels have once again been framed by a depiction of the Trinity. A contemporary work of art was installed in the central position of the choir polygon. The work was created by the wood sculptor Andreas Koridass (*1965), who was born in Wiesbaden and lives in Mainz. He has cut and carved a massive 2.60 meter high plank from each of three different trunks of elm, spruce and oak. Painted dark and illuminated from behind, they are suspended in front of the wall.
The altarpiece of the Notburga altar, consecrated in 1921, stands in front of the southern choir tower chapel, where the Sacred Heart of Jesus altar, created in 1920 and now lost, once stood. The central panel shows St. Notburga as the patron saint of maidservants, rest from work and the end of the day, framed by St. Zita on the right and the martyr Blandina of Lyon on the left. The altar originally stood in the north aisle under a now lost window with scenes from the lives of the saints.
The altar of the Virgin Mary in front of the northern tower chapel was supplemented in 1965 by a figure of the Virgin Mary by Hans-Jakob Steinlein (*1903). The original figures of saints are William of Aquitaine, the prophet Isaiah and Joseph, Anna, Elisabeth and Clare. A series of masterfully carved angel figures frame the altarpiece like a lace border.
The church was not painted until 1925. The choir vault once bore a depiction of the mercy seat, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist. The choir walls depicted the Mass of St. Gregory on the left and the Expulsion of the Saracens by St. Clare on the right. The paintings in the crossing vault celebrated the Creation. In the central nave, pairs of angels hovered on the vault caps. Each side aisle bay was also covered by a sky of gilded plaster leaves against a midnight blue background.
In accordance with the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, the interior of the church was redesigned from 1964. Not only the high altar, the communion benches and the pulpit fell victim to the changes, but also the original painting of the church. Only fragments remain. For example, a picture of the unicorn hunt still adorns the parapet of the organ loft as a metaphor for the Annunciation to Mary. In 2003, the colored version of the vault keystone in the choir was uncovered again.
None of the stained glass windows were able to withstand the pressure of the air mines detonated in the Gutenberg School on the night of February 2, 1945. The choir windows created in 1950-1952 by the Marburg artist Erhardt Klonk (1898-1984) are based on the themes of the original glazing: from left to right, the viewer sees the Annunciation to Mary, the birth of Christ, the baptism of Jesus, the teaching and baptizing of Christ to the apostles and the miracle of Pentecost. The south transept window was also designed by Klonk. Since 2003, the center of this window has been occupied by an image of the Mother of God created by the Wiesbaden artist Angelika Groth. The original window from 1917 had a depiction of the coronation of Mary and below it the death of Mary.
The 24-stop organ from the organ builder Hugo Mayer in Heusweiler/Saar with main, swell and pedal divisions, which was consecrated on December 12, 1976, replaced the pneumatic organ from 1916, which was one of the few #organs in Wiesbaden to survive the war.
In 1919, the crypt was converted into the Chapel of Our Lady. Its net vault grows from a single central pillar. The high altar, which was also initially intended as a temporary solution, was designed by Ludwig Becker. The sculptures of the Madonna and the chandelier-bearing angels are modeled on Tilman Riemenschneider. The painters Martin and Schöppler were responsible for painting the chapel with Marian themes.
Literature
- Hüfner, August
The Holy Trinity Church in Wiesbaden. Its development and design, Wiesbaden 1937.
- Bringmann, Michael
The architect Ludwig Becker (1855-1949) as master builder of Mainz Cathedral - a bone of contention? In: Art and culture on the Middle Rhine. Commemorative publication for Fritz Arens on his 70th birthday, Worms 1982 (pp. 191-206).
- Katholische Kirchengemeinde Dreifaltigkeit Wiesbaden
90 years of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. "...like a song of stone, a song of praise to the Most High". A chronicle by Willem-Alexander van't Padje, Wiesbaden 2002.