As a rotunda, the church is not only visually striking, but also has its very own history. Here is the background to the church building from where this year’s Pentecost service will be broadcast.
When the congregation of Wiesbaden was founded, Germany was still ruled by an emperor. His regular visits made the town famous as a spa. And in his wake, the rich and famous settled in the city and built magnificent villas and residential buildings that still characterise the cityscape today.
Around Easter 1898, a completely different kind of clientele gathered in a building tucked away in a backyard somewhere: workers, craftsmen, the middle class. It was the first church premises of what was then known as the Apostolic Congregation in Wiesbaden. Divine services took place here for ten years.
Decades on the road
The following years were characterised by repeated moves for the congregation: services were held in a former carpenter workshop, a dance hall, and a former factory. From 1925 to 1928, the congregation was able to use an Anglican church on Sunday afternoons.
Then, in 1932, the Church acquired the building of a former Masonic lodge. The building was converted, resulting in the congregation’s first own church, complete with pipe organ and stained-glass windows. In the meantime, the Church mushroomed, and additional congregations were established in the city districts and surrounding areas.
In need of more space
The previously solid local growth soon accelerated, especially when refugees from the former eastern territories came to Wiesbaden after the Second World War. In 1953, the congregation had around 760 members. New premises were needed, and the search began in 1955.
The congregation found what they were looking for between a retirement home and an abbey. The church bought the property in early 1957. Before the construction work could begin, a few stones had to be literally cleared out of the way.
Rocky road to the new building
The previous owner was a stonemason. And the congregation had undertaken to relocate his business—including tonnes of raw material. Support was provided by the US Army in the form of heavy equipment.
An impressive circular building with a diameter of 24 metres and a height of a good 11 metres was planned. Originally, office space was also to be added to house the administrative offices of the New Apostolic Church in Hesse. Why these plans were never realised is not known.
A veto and its opposite
And then the building application threatened to fall through. The city’s planning authorities vetoed the project in July 1957: “The rotunda is not justified from an urban planning perspective! The complex does not blend in with the existing buildings.”
Just 15 years later, things sounded very different. The church building was listed as a historic monument. It was considered worthy of protection in two respects: both as a characteristic building of the 1950s and as part of the ensemble of other buildings on the street.
A sacred mountain in Hesse
A few exhausting discussions later, the Church received the go-ahead. The construction took around one and a half years, and the workers were not quite finished by the time the inauguration took place in 1959. The church had invested 750,000 D-marks, which is equivalent to around two to three million euros in purchasing power today.
The church building played a role far beyond Wiesbaden, especially during the time of District Apostle Gottfried Rockenfelder. The church still meets today’s requirements and fulfils a central function, for example for central divine services for ministers or now for the Pentecost service 2025, which will be broadcast worldwide.
Photos: Jessica Krämer, NAK Hessen/Rheinlandpfalz/Saarland, Zentralarchiv NAK Westdeutschland