Autobahnkirche Himmelkron, Road church near A9 motorway in Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge, Germany.
Autobahnkirche Himmelkron is a road church located near the A9 motorway in Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge. It features a bell tower 36 meters high and a distinctive roof structure shaped like a ski jump that stands out from every angle in the valley.
A Catholic community formed in Himmelkron only from 1941, when South Tyrolean resettlers arrived; after 1945 it grew with Catholic refugees and expellees, served by the parish of St. Otto in Bad Berneck. Pastor Georg Roppelt bought a plot in 1966, but construction was postponed for the enlargement of the Bad Berneck parish church in 1969. His successor Karl-Heinz Weißer revived the plan after the 1989/90 turn brought more traffic on the A9 and B303, and proposed the church also serve as a motorway church; Archbishop Elmar Kredel of Bamberg agreed. The foundation stone was laid on 21 April 1996 and Weihbischof Werner Radspieler consecrated the church on 28 June 1998.
The church is dedicated to Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers, and a fountain of 2005 by sculptor Max Walter from Werneck stands on the forecourt. Since 2020 a meditation path called "VIACOLORE" runs nearby, set on seven steles with 14 panels designed by Gerhard Böhm of Himmelkron and executed by enamel artist Peter Luban of Rößnitz; the same pair made the two-winged church portal.
The church sits right at the A9/B303 junction, with a large car park on site and a meeting house with hall, group rooms and kitchen. A visitor counter at the entrance records how many people come in. The forecourt holds a labyrinth paving based on Chartres Cathedral and, since 2005, a St Christopher fountain by sculptor Max Walter.
The ground plan was shaped like a pie slice by diocesan architect Eugen Vonmetz and features an innovative wooden ceiling structure. This unusual design makes the building one of a kind in the concept of motorway churches.
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