St. Bonifatius, Gothic Revival church in Giessen, Germany.
St. Bonifatius is a three-nave Neo-Gothic basilica built on raised ground south of the old city center in Giessen. The floor plan is cross-shaped, the choir is polygonal, and the facade features pointed arches and vertical lines that run through the whole building.
Catholic worship in Giessen was suspended after the Reformation in 1527 and only resumed in 1784 when Franciscan priests from Wetzlar began holding services in the city. The current building was heavily damaged by bombing in 1944 and then rebuilt between 1945 and 1949.
The church is named after Saint Boniface, an English missionary who spread Christianity across Central Europe in the 8th century. Inside, a carved winged altarpiece from 1904 draws the eye with detailed wooden figures depicting religious scenes.
The church sits on raised ground south of the city center and is easy to reach on foot from the main streets. Those who want to look around inside should come outside of service hours, when the space is quieter and more open to visitors.
A bomb explosion in 1944 destroyed the eastern side of the building, taking out the south aisle and five choir windows. If you look closely at the walls, you can still spot where the old stonework meets the material used during the postwar rebuilding.
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