Journey in Stengel’s Footsteps in Rheinhessen and the Palatinate
Saarbrücken. The support association “Friends of the Ludwig Church e.V.” invites interested parties to a trip “In the Footsteps of Friedrich Joachim Stengel” on Saturday, September 12.
[advertisement placement="medium_rectangle" align="left"]Although the famous Baroque architect lived and worked for many decades in and around Saarbrücken, besides the Ludwig Church he also left impressive testaments to his architectural art in other places. This year’s trip leads to Rheinhessen and northern Palatinate, where two more significant Baroque churches testify to Stengel’s art. In Jugenheim (Rheinhessen), located between Alzey and Mainz, Stengel built a church from 1765 onwards modeled on Saarbrücken’s Friedenskirche. However, the Jugenheim Martinskirche, in contrast to its Saarbrücken counterpart, still features the original interior furnishings from the 18th century with Gothic wall paintings and a historic Wegmann organ. There, one can see what the Friedenskirche most likely once looked like. The second stop on the trip is Kirchheimbolanden in the Palatinate. The local Paul’s Church was built by Stengel’s predecessor as Nassau’s General Building Director, Julius Ludwig Rothweil. Stengel knew Rothweil’s churches in Weilburg and Kirchheimbolanden – and they served as a model and important inspiration for his own designs, above all the Ludwig Church.
In both churches, in addition to an expert guided tour by Stengel specialist Senior Church Counselor Dr. Thomas Bergholz, there will also be a brief presentation of the historic organs by Saarbrücken’s church music director Ulrich Seibert. Particularly noteworthy is the so-called Mozart Organ in Kirchheimbolanden, on which Mozart played during his passage to Paris.
A wine tasting and a shared lunch at the Walldorf-Pfaffenheim winery in Saulheim, Rheinhessen, round off the trip.
Departure is at 9 a.m. from Ludwigsplatz in Saarbrücken. The return is planned there around 6 p.m.
The participation fee including tours, wine tasting, and lunch (without drinks) is 75 euros per person or 49 euros for members of the “Friends of the Ludwig Church.”
Registrations for the trip are possible until September 1 with Dr. Iris Föhr from the “Friends of the Ludwig Church”: Mobile: 01578-9390298 or Email: info@fohr-steuer.de.
Both photos: Thomas Bergholz
