Bonifatius-Kirche, Catholic church in Innenstadt-Ost district, Dortmund, Germany
Bonifatius-Kirche stands at the corner of Eintrachtstraße and Bonifatiusstraße in Dortmund's Innenstadt-Ost, between the Stadtwaldchen and Westfalenpark. Emil Steffann's 1951 rebuild is a pillarless hall with an apse; a large round arch opens onto a north side room, and a smaller northeast room serves as a chapel. The southeast tower and two western stair towers survive from Ludwig Becker's 1909–1910 Neo-Romanesque church, and rubble stones from the destroyed building are set into the new masonry.
The building was constructed in 1910 in the Neo-Romanesque style and suffered severe damage in 1944 before being reconstructed in 1951 according to designs by architect Emil Steffann. This reconstruction shaped the church's appearance and its role in the city's landscape after the war.
The church is dedicated to Saint Boniface, the Archbishop of Mainz and missionary known as the Apostle of the Germans. Its interior follows Franciscan simplicity, an influence traced to Emil Steffann's stays in Assisi. The altar stands at the centre, and the arrangement of the liturgical places anticipated the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
The church stands at the corner of Eintrachtstraße and Bonifatiusstraße in Innenstadt-Ost, between the Stadtwaldchen and Westfalenpark, with the B1 federal road 70 metres to the south. The preserved southeast tower and the two western stair towers mark the entrances. Visitors should check the parish's current opening times before travelling, as access depends on services and community use.
The 1954 baptismal font by Heinrich Gerhard Bücker was controversial at first. It works like a mobile: three thick hemp ropes hold the lid, and a 125 kg bronze dove above it acts as the counterweight. When the lid is lifted for a baptism, the dove sinks at the same moment.
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