Saint Justinus' church, Frankfurt-Höchst
Encyclopedia
The Carolingian
Saint Justinus' church in Frankfurt-Höchst is the oldest building in Frankfurt
/Main and one of the oldest churches still existing in Germany
.
The Catholic basilica
originates from around 830, and the late gothic
chancel
was built from 1441. The church stands at the east of the old part of the town Höchst
, looking over the Main river.
On the one hand, St. Justinus is important for its stonework (the Carolingian
capitals
and the late gothic
north doorway), and on the other hand, it is important as being one of the few nearly completely surviving early medieval
churches - which has been continuously used for around 1200 years.
The history of the church is closely connected with the city of Höchst
founded in the 8th century as a daughter city of Mainz
. The first well known documentary evidence of the city dates from 790.
Archbishop Odgar of Mainz (826-847) established the Confessor Justinus church in Höchst, and his successor, Rabanus Maurus
, made the final consecration in around 850. It did not really serve as a parish church then, but as a symbol for the power of the Electorate of Mainz proximate to the royal court at Frankfurt
. The relics of ‘St. Justinus the confessor’ were brought into the new church, where they remained for about 450 years.
A particular synod of Mainz
was held at the church in 1024, and in 1090 it became a Benedictine
monastic church of St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
, as well as a parish church. In 1298 the relics of St. Justinus were transferred to the mother house, and the church consecrated to St. Margaret
, though the dedication to St. Justinus remains to this day.
In 1441 it became an monastic church of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony
, because since 1419 it was only used as a parish church. The Antoniter
order built the late gothic
chancel
and made numerous alterations. It ceased to be a monastic church after secularization
in 1802.
St. Justinus was restored in the 1930s and 1980s and today belongs to the parish of St. Josef
in the Frankfurt
district of Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg
.
with three sanctuaries
and apse
s at the east end. The entrance was originally at the west end of the central nave
, but is now on the north side of the church at the northern sanctuary
. The aisle windows have been replaced, and late gothic
chapels were added on the north side. Also the apse
s were removed following the alterations.
The remainder of the Carolingian
work is however intact: the two other sanctuaries
, the central nave
with small round-arched clerestory
windows, the flat ceiling, the aisles, and at the top of the two sets of five columns - Corinthian
capitals
, which belong to the most important works of Carolingian art
.
sanctuary was replaced by a gothic
Holy Cross
chapel, in the place of today's vestry
. To the northern aisle, three further chapels were added.
) was built with a polygon
al apsidal end and seven windows. The chancel was clearly higher than the original basilica
, and this contrast is certainly visible today. The original vaulting in the chancel had to be taken down in 1523 due to danger of collapse, and is now replaced with a flat ceiling.
Due to the change in position of the entrance, a richly decorated pointed-arch north doorway was built in around 1442, which is flanked by statues of Paul of Thebes
and Anthony the Great
.
Construction which commenced in 1441 are the works of the so called Frankfurt school, under the master builder Madern Gerthener
. The most important builder in Höchst was Steffan von Irlebach, son-in-law of Gerthener, as well as the stonemason Peter Wale, who worked with Gerthener on the Frankfurt Cathedral
tower.
Carolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
Saint Justinus' church in Frankfurt-Höchst is the oldest building in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
/Main and one of the oldest churches still existing in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The Catholic basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
originates from around 830, and the late gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was built from 1441. The church stands at the east of the old part of the town Höchst
Höchst (Frankfurt am Main)
Höchst is a district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into 4 Stadtbezirke.Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928 together with its boroughs Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim. It is situated 10 km west of downtown...
, looking over the Main river.
On the one hand, St. Justinus is important for its stonework (the Carolingian
Carolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
and the late gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
north doorway), and on the other hand, it is important as being one of the few nearly completely surviving early medieval
Medieval architecture
Medieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture common in Medieval Europe.-Characteristics:-Religious architecture:...
churches - which has been continuously used for around 1200 years.
History of the church
Höchst (Frankfurt am Main)
Höchst is a district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into 4 Stadtbezirke.Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928 together with its boroughs Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim. It is situated 10 km west of downtown...
founded in the 8th century as a daughter city of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. The first well known documentary evidence of the city dates from 790.
Archbishop Odgar of Mainz (826-847) established the Confessor Justinus church in Höchst, and his successor, Rabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius , also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, the archbishop of Mainz in Germany and a theologian. He was the author of the encyclopaedia De rerum naturis . He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commentaries on the Bible...
, made the final consecration in around 850. It did not really serve as a parish church then, but as a symbol for the power of the Electorate of Mainz proximate to the royal court at Frankfurt
Kaiserpfalz
The term Kaiserpfalz or Königspfalz refers to a number of castles across the Holy Roman Empire which served as temporary, secondary seats of power for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Early and High Middle Ages...
. The relics of ‘St. Justinus the confessor’ were brought into the new church, where they remained for about 450 years.
A particular synod of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
was held at the church in 1024, and in 1090 it became a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastic church of St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz originated as a Benedictine abbey, founded in 787 or 796 by Archbishop Richulf in honour of Saint Alban of Mainz, located to the south of Mainz on the hill later called the Albansberg. It was turned into a collegiate foundation in 1442...
, as well as a parish church. In 1298 the relics of St. Justinus were transferred to the mother house, and the church consecrated to St. Margaret
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
, though the dedication to St. Justinus remains to this day.
In 1441 it became an monastic church of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony
Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony
The Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony, Order of St. Anthony or Canons Regular of St. Anthony of Vienne , also Antonines, were a Roman Catholic congregation founded in 1095 or so, with the purpose of caring for those suffering from the common medieval disease of St...
, because since 1419 it was only used as a parish church. The Antoniter
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
order built the late gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and made numerous alterations. It ceased to be a monastic church after secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
in 1802.
St. Justinus was restored in the 1930s and 1980s and today belongs to the parish of St. Josef
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
in the Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
district of Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg
Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg
The Diocese of Limburg is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany.It was erected in 1821 from the Diocese of Trier and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The Holy Cross Church in Bornheim, Frankfurt am Main, is a part of the diocese...
.
The Carolingian basilica
The original church was a six-bay basilicaBasilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
with three sanctuaries
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
and apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s at the east end. The entrance was originally at the west end of the central nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, but is now on the north side of the church at the northern sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. The aisle windows have been replaced, and late gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
chapels were added on the north side. Also the apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s were removed following the alterations.
The remainder of the Carolingian
Carolingian art
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
work is however intact: the two other sanctuaries
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, the central nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with small round-arched clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows, the flat ceiling, the aisles, and at the top of the two sets of five columns - Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
, which belong to the most important works of Carolingian art
Carolingian art
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
.
Late gothic additions
Up to the end of the affiliation with the Benedictine monastery of Saint Alban in 1419, the church had hardly changed structurally. In the 1420s the southern CarolingianCarolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
sanctuary was replaced by a gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Holy Cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
chapel, in the place of today's vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
. To the northern aisle, three further chapels were added.
The high choir (chancel)
In 1441, the rules of the Augustinian choir master, under the Antoniter order, required a larger choir, and so a high choir (chancelChancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
) was built with a polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
al apsidal end and seven windows. The chancel was clearly higher than the original basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
, and this contrast is certainly visible today. The original vaulting in the chancel had to be taken down in 1523 due to danger of collapse, and is now replaced with a flat ceiling.
Due to the change in position of the entrance, a richly decorated pointed-arch north doorway was built in around 1442, which is flanked by statues of Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes, commonly known as Saint Paul the First Hermit or St Paul the Anchorite is regarded as the first Christian hermit...
and Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
.
Construction which commenced in 1441 are the works of the so called Frankfurt school, under the master builder Madern Gerthener
Madern Gerthener
Madern Gerthener was a German stonemason and late Gothic architect.Gerthener was born in Frankfurt to Johann Gerthener, a stonemason whose business the younger Gerthener took over by 1391. In 1395 he entered the city payroll, and soon took a leading role in the city's large construction works...
. The most important builder in Höchst was Steffan von Irlebach, son-in-law of Gerthener, as well as the stonemason Peter Wale, who worked with Gerthener on the Frankfurt Cathedral
Frankfurt Cathedral
Saint Bartholomeus's Cathedral is a Gothic building located in Frankfurt, Germany.Frankfurt Cathedral is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time...
tower.
External links (German)
- Church of St. Josef
- St. Justinus' church
- Detailed representation St. Justinus' church with photos, sketches, historical reconstruction and bibliography.
- 360°-panorama of St. Justinus