St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, Modern Catholic church in Ahaus, Germany

St. Mariä Himmelfahrt is a church in Ahaus whose 68-metre sandstone tower, built 1498–1519, carries a steep slate spire with a cross. The low, rectangular concrete nave of 1966, designed by Erwin Schiffer, has facades of vertical lamellae with coloured glazing. A dark metal sculpture of a figure with raised arms stands before it.

A first church from the 14th century burned in 1400; the surviving 68-metre tower was built between 1498 and 1519. After the town fire of 1863 the Gothic nave was rebuilt as a neo-Gothic brick hall church, consecrated on 20 November 1865 at a cost of 35,000 Taler. Hilger Hertel raised the sandstone tower and replaced its burnt Baroque top with a neo-Gothic spire. Structural defects led to demolition in 1965 and a new church by Erwin Schiffer, consecrated in 1966.

The church is nicknamed "St. Horten" because its concrete facade was felt to resemble Horten AG department-store architecture; Robert Gernhardt wrote the critical poem "St. Horten in Ahaus" about it. In 2020 the nickname led to its nomination in an English-language Twitter poll on badly built churches. A lesser-known local name is "Gotteskäfig" (God's cage).

The 68-metre sandstone tower from 1498–1519 stands beside the 1966 concrete hall; the entrance porch of the old tower holds a 14th-century tympanum with the Horstmar-Ahaus alliance coat. Two stone tablets of 1865 at the junction of tower and new building recall the town fire and the rebuilding. The interior is normally open around services.

Because its pale concrete and lamella facades reminded locals of Horten department stores, the 1966 church is nicknamed "St. Horten"; Robert Gernhardt wrote a poem of that name, and in 2020 it was entered in an English-language Twitter poll on badly built churches. A rarer nickname is "Gotteskäfig", God's cage.