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Alexander Luckmann Profile picture
@A_Luckmann
Feb 3, 2024 • 56 tweets • 38 min read • Read on X
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Given the incredible number of 20th-century churches in Northrhine-Westphalia (the topic of my dissertation), I’m going to try to post one every day. #1
#2 Paul Schneider-Esleben, St. Rochus, Düsseldorf (1955)

A one-story base shaped like a three-leafed clover is clad in diamond-shaped terracotta tiles, topped by a thin line of windows. From this base rises a parabolic dome clad in copper with tiny round openings punched in a white line down the middle. In front of the building are steel poles that have been erected to mark the columns of the bombed former church. Photo by GraphyArchy on Wikipedia
(Probably 12) concrete columns support a one-story base around a very tall, parabolic concrete dome. Folding wooden pews are arranged under the dome, while the base houses circulation space. The floor is of tiles. Photo by Thomas Mayer (thomasmayerarchive.de)
A floorplan showing a building shaped like a three-leafed clover surrounding a parabolic dome
#3 Denis Boniver, Church of the Resurrection, Bonn-Venusberg (1957)

A round church, with a prominent tripartite entrance up a few steps under a protruding flat canopy. The ground floor is faced in brick, and the second floor steps back into a fully glazed clerestory. The third level is a small vent topped by a cross.
A round brick space with an altar at the back, organ to the left, and permanent peas in the front. Clerestory windows to the left and right frame the solid altar wall.
A floor plan of two offset circles with a slightly protruding altar niche
#4, courtesy of @KarlreMarks: Dieter Georg Baumewerd, Church of the Holy Ghost, Emmerich am Rhein (1966)




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Floorplan, birds eye view, and elevation showing the floorplan made up of a semi-orthogonal three-leaf-clover
#5: Joachim Schürmann, Church of Christ the King, Wuppertal, 1959-60 (Schürmann's first church!)
A simple stone block, about three stories high, with a band of windows running around the top crowned by a green copper fascia. There are small entrances at either side and a low window in the middle. Photo by Pitichinaccio
A fieldstone wall rising to about three stories, with a band of windows runing around the top and a wood ceiing rests on a thin truss. An organ is visible above a slightly raised (?) altar at the back. Photo by Yang Liu
#6: Gottfried Böhm, Church of the Holy Spirit, Erkrath-Hochdahl (1969-72)


Seen from across a wall, a church tower with an extremely sharp jagged stair gap. Photo by Willy Horsch via Wikipedia
A green truss structure above an altar raised onto a one-step-high brick platform. A narrow band of high windows runs above the bare CIP concrete walls. Photo by Beckstet via Wikipedia
The church tower visible alongside an apartment building (it's part of an ensemble including apartments and kindergarten). Photo by Thomas Vogt via https://www.baukunst-nrw.de/objekte/Heilig-Geist-Kirche-Erkrath--2921.htm
The altar seen with a larger view of some chairs, clerestory windows, and red-painted walls against which the green trusses pop. Photo by Manuela Klauser via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/erkrath-heilig-geist/
#7: Josef Lehmbrock, St. Albertus Magnus, Leverkusen-Schlebusch (1959)


A concrete church with a swooping roof and piers that divide the façade into small bays, seen through woods. Photo by Dr. Josef Simons
The interior of these concrete bays during a mass. Photo by Caro Seeling via Pinterest
The full snail-shell-like swoop of the roof visible in an interior shot from further away by Henry Solich
A different view of the swooping exterior through trees, with a rectilinear tower to the left. Photo by Hendrik Voss
# 8: Bernhard Rotterdam, St. Engelbert, Leverkusen-Pattscheid, 1929

A stark view of an altar with concrete shell construction.
A whitewashed church with an asymmetrical front facade with two peaked roofs and a central rose window. Photo by Wilfried08 via wikipedia
A fisheye view of a church with pointed arches. simple pews frame the altar. Photo via https://www.sankt-remigius.de/stengelbert.html
# 9: Heinz Bienefeld, St. Willibrord, Waldweiler, 1973

(Breaking the rules by going to Rhineland-Palatinate, but Bienefeld was very much a Rhenish architect). All photos by Rita Heyen via strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/waldwe…



A worship space with brick walls, a stone baptismal font and a wood ceiling. Light comes in through a lare skylight and small slits in the walls
Pews and the organ in the worship space, showing the diagonal and vertical alignment of many bricks.
Exterior view showing entrance through a tower and the long brick walls
View upward into brick tower
#10: Alfons Leitl, St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, Mönchengladbach-Neuwerk (1961-64)

Photos by H. Bouwers via mariavondenaposteln.de/ueber-uns/kirc…

A plaza with, on the left, a brick-faced bell tower with narrow white banding and a copper fascia. Straight ahead is the church, with brick facing, narrow columns, and a copper gable roof. It has a with a wide covered entrance
A linear space with two pews either side of a central aisle. Concrete columns raise brick walls above two side aisles. These walls rise to clerestory windows that have crenels reaching down instead of up. The altar is slightly raised. The space used to have a wood roof but it was removed for structural reasons.
#11: Gottfried Böhm, St. Gertrud, Cologne (1961-66)


Seen from across the street: A very tall, narrow, slightly leaning tower in the center of a larger complex. To the left is a worship space with radiating gable roofs; to the right is a community center with long horizontal windows. The whole is made of rough, CIP concrete. Under the gable roofs on the left are rose windows. Photo by Elya via Wikimedia Commons.
The interior. Three rows of pews. The roof is deeply folded concrete and dominates the space; light enters from high stained-glass windows, and the strongest light is above the altar at the back. The floor is made of bricks. Photo by Elya via Wikimedia Commons.
From the other side, the folds of the roof are visible. To the left is the pointed, asymmetrical tower. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons.
Massive concrete piers that support a deeply folded concrete roof. Photo by Amelie Rogall and Boris Dorau via https://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/16271415
#12: Fritz Winter and Ingeborg Winter-Bracher, Church of St. Stephen, Cologne-Riehl (1965) (renovated by Zeller Kölmel Architects, 2021)


A roof sweeps down to the ground over a gridded window wall. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia commons
Two triangular window walls meet under a peaked roof. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons
Wooden chairs in an interior. To the left, a roof sweeps down to a point; to the right, a window wall has bright stained glass. Photo via https://uk.prefa.com/architects-and-planners/prefarenzen/like-a-shimmering-crystal/
A triangular steel frame. Photo via https://www.riehler-geschichten.koeln/kirchen/stephanuskirche/
#13: Karl Band, Church of St. Clement, Cologne-Niehl (1962-64)

Exterior facade of a church. It is divided into gabled bays that look like tall, narrow houses. The side we're looking at has three bays formed by concrete piers and roofline; in the bays are windows alternating with concrete shades. The entrance is in the left bay; a semi-circular brick chapel protrudes from the central bay. On the left side, the bays are filled in with brick. A brick tower with a folded roof rises behind. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons
Along a street, narrow, tall house-like bays rise. Behind them is a brick tower with small, irregular windows cut into it and a folded roof. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons.
A large worship space with a row of pews either side of a central aisle. The walls are faced in brick; the ceiling is wood. Light enters mainly through hexagonal clerestory windows. The altar is slightly set back and flanked by concrete piers. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons.
Stefan Leuer, St. Gregorius, Aachen-Burtscheid (1967)


To the left, a church tower with regular slit windows piercing concrete; to the right, a large, ship-like concrete mass with a roofline that rises toward the front. Small square windows pierce this mass near eye height. Photo by Michaela Kalusok and Jürgen Wiener via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/aachen-st-gregorius/
A low, wide entrance structure with regular slit windows piercing concrete. Behind, a curved roof is just visible. To the right is a tall tower. Phot by Michaela Kalusok and Jürgen Wiener via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/aachen-st-gregorius/
A wood roof slopes down to a point, like a canoe. White stucco walls are below in a curve. The altar is at the widest point, with three rows of pews sloping down to it. Photo by Michaela Kalusok and Jürgen Wiener via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/aachen-st-gregorius/
A floorplan showing a curved triangle of a main worship space with very small curved triangles either side of it pointed in the other direction.
Dieter Oesterlen with Heinrich Schmiedeknecht, Church of Christ the King (Protestant), Bochum (1957-59)


A worship space with brick walls and a folded concrete roof. Two rows of piers converge upon an altar. Photo by Carsten Lissack
Bays with diamond-shaped roofs protrude from a church. Behind is a Gothic church tower. Photo from
The same protruding bays with diamond roofs, but now in color. A square is visible in front. Photo by Lutz Leitmann/City of Bochum.
A floorplan showing a worship space with jagged bays on either side and an altar to the right. The whole thing looks a bit like a jagged beetle.
#16: Erwin Schiffer, St. Mary of Peace, Odenthal-Eikamp (1972, tower added 1992)

An approximately four-story-tall concrete church tower stands in front of a rectangular concrete-and-glass church. Photo by Pingsjong via Wikimedia Commons.
Two rows of pews flank a central aisle in front of an altar. The floor is brick, and the floor of the choir is marble, as is the altar. Orange and red stained glass forms a narrow band across the rear wall of windows. Photo by Gris via Wikimedia Commons.
A rectangular, nearly square concrete-and-glass building is to the right of a sidewalk and raised by a few steps. Large windows are interrupted by prominent concrete piers, which have an expressed joint with a wide band of concrete that runs around the top of the building. Photo by Velopilger via Wikimedia Commons.
#17: Rudolf Schwarz, Church of the Holy Spirit, Bottrop (1953-57)


Two brick walls framing a window wall whose bluish glass is ethced with a swirling pattern and crossed by white steel trusses. Photo by Christian Huhn via https://bigbeautifulbuildings.de/objekte/heilig-kreuz-kirche
A brick worship space. Two rows of pews flank an aisle that leads to an oval altar. There is a wood ceiling. Photo by Christian Huhn via https://bigbeautifulbuildings.de/objekte/heilig-kreuz-kirche
A picture of a curved church from the outside (the front of the picture is the altar). White-painted piers divide a brick wall into bays. A glass-brick clerestory at the altar lets in light. To the rear is a brick bell tower. Photo by W. Strickling via Wikimedia Commons.
A view up into the parabolic clerestory of the altar. An eye of God by Theo Heiermann is in the center of the clerestory window. The ceiling is made of wood. Photo by Christian Huhn via https://bigbeautifulbuildings.de/objekte/heilig-kreuz-kirche
#18: Fritz Schaller, Convent Church of the Good Shepherd (now Syrian Orthodox Church of Sts. Peter and Paul), Cologne-Lindenthal, (1962-64)


On the right, a larger mass; to the left of a central entrance, a lower, smaller mass. The larger mass has brick walsl and a slate gable roof with a small stained-glass clerestory above the slate. The roof extends beyond the brick, seeming to squish it down. The mass of the left has a trio of gable roofs running parallel to one another. The whole complex is behind a path and some bushes, and visible to the left is what looks like an apartment building. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons.
A slightly burry interior photo showing two rows of pews leading up to a raised altar under a peaked roof. A row of thin clerestory windows gives a band of light. Photo from E Gebauer, Fritz Schaller (Cologne, 2000)
A section drawing by Fritz Schaller showing a larger gable roof to the left and a trio of gable roofs to the right, under which the building steps down to add a second level sunk into the ground.
A side view of a brick wall with a low slate roof above. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons
#19: Fritz Winter and Ingeborg Winter-Bracher, Church and Community Center, Leverkusen-Wiesdorf (1965-70)

Photos from “FG Winter, Bauten und Ziele” (Krefeld 1970)

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#20: Karl Band and Werner Fritzen, St. Francis, Bonn (1961); interior renovated c. 2000

A folded green tile roof on a brick church, with a protruding concrete tower (like a "string of pearls," per source). Photo by Florian Monheim via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/bonn-st-franziskus/
An oval floorplan to which two rows of chairs hew, surrounding a central altar. Walls are made of red brick with large swathes of glass windows, some clerestory, some reachign to the ground. The folded roof is faced in wood. Photo by Florian Monheim via Straße der Moderne
A green copper roof that folds down above brick walls, with a thin slit of clerestory windows between the two. Photo by Hagman via https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/bonn-st-franziskus/
#21: Wolfgang Müller-Zantop and Heinz Kalenborn, St. Markus (Protestant), Essen, 1961-62

A one-story reinforced-concrete building surrounds a worship space with an L-shaped gable roof, whose green copper-faced cast concrete surmounts gridded window walls. To the left is a tall, narrow, rectangular churchtower. Photo by wiki05 via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space with two rows of wooden pews. The space is dominated by triangular stained-glass window walls separated by inverted pyramids of wood-faced roof. The windows start above a one-story stucco-faced wall. Photo by Achim Pohl
A one-story concrete entrance building is made of an irregularly pierced concrete screen. Behind it rises a gable of gridded window wall above which is an oxidized copper roof. Photo by Wiki05 via Wikimedia Commons
#22: Alfons Leitl, Church of the Holy Cross, Neuwied (1960-63)


A curved church building whose façade is made of narrow concrete piers crossed regularly by curved concrete beams (?) which cascade diagonally down the facade. This curving, irregular grid frames stained-glass windows. The roof also curves, rising to its highest point at the middle of the façade. Two small concrete boxes house entrances. The building is behind a small park. Photo by Tohma (talk) via Wikimedia Commons
A central organ surrounded by stained glass and an irregular concrete grid. The main colors of the stained glass are white, brown, and blue. Photo by Thomas Hummel via Wikimedia Commons.
A narrow, pointed tower made of concrete panels. The tower slants to the point. There are ventilation shafts near the top; the point is slate. Visible to the right is the church building. Photo by Tohma (talk) via Wikimedia Commons.
A large choir with raised altar. The floor is of dark gray granite; the altar is of concrete . A cross hangs above the altar. The walls are of yellowish brick. The ceiling is dark framed by a light material; it's hard to tell what it's made of. Behind the altar is a deep niche with freestanding chairs. Photo by Thomas Hummel via Wikimedia Commons.
#23: Josef Rikus and Heinz Buchmann, Church of St. John XXIII, Cologne-Sülz (1968-69)


An approximately rectangular church of sculptural concrete elements rises to the right of a set of shallow steps. A corduroy concrete wall rises about one story high, above which are stained-glass windows. The "roof landscape" consists of concrete beams which alternately are laid flat and on end, and interlock. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space with heavy concrete roof landscape. Every wall is a stained-glass window wall. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons
An elevation of the church's side wall facing the steps. A bush-hammered concrete wall rises one story, above which are stained-glass windows in predominantly blues and reds. Concrete roof beams laid on end are bracketed by narrow columns that separate the stained glass into bays. These beams alternate with concrete beams laid flat. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons.
The interlocking concrete beams of the church's roof landscape, a stunning and entirely abstract composition. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons.
#24: Bernhard and Bernd Rotterdam, Church of the Holy Ghost (Cologne-Weiden), 1966-70
A building composition with three masses: to the left, a one-story auxiliary building; in the center, a 2-story central block with worship space, with brick walls, an oversized central entrance, and a row of clerestory windows under a flat blueish copper roof; and to the right, a church tower, also of brick with narrow bands of horizontal concrete, and a butterfly roof. Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via Wikimedia Commons.
Four rows of pews lead to an altar set back into a niche. The worship space has light brown brick walls and clerestory windows that run in a narrow band just under the ceiling, extending down above the altar. There are two beautifully simple columns with strong entasis. Photo via https://www.glasmalerei-ev-web.de/pages/b7431/b7431.shtml
Josef Franke, St. Ludgerus, Bottrop-Fuhlenbrock (1927-29)

A worship space with parabolic arched ceiling and parabolic niches running along the sides. The ceiling is painted light blue with reddish marks down the middle. In the front of the photo is a stone holy water font, and in the back is an altar in front of a gold wall. The floor is of blue and white stone. Photo by K. Roland Berger via https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/kirchen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet-der-architekt-josef-franke
A dark brown clinker-brick church. Four piers frame three parabolic entrance doors. The roof is gabled, with a slight decrease in slant like a Dutch gable at the sides, and a square tower with a green copper hip rises from above the altar. The whole is massive, dark, and imposing. Photo by K. Roland Berger via https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/kirchen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet-der-architekt-josef-franke
The symmetrical entrance façade of a dark-brown brick church. Four brick piers frame three parabolic arched entrances, above which three tall narrow crosses are carved in brick. Either side of this central entrance block are simple brick walls with two sets of three small square windows. The roof is a Dutch gable. Photo by Bärbel Miemietz via Wikimedia Commons.
#25: Fritz Schaller, St. Remigius, Wuppertal (1973-76)

A round church with three layers walls: a vertical round wall that reaches to the ground, made of béton brut and covered in ivy; inside and above that, a slightly pitched round wall, above which is a small dome surmounted by a cross (these are covered in dark copper panels). Above the outermost wall are small skylights. to the right is a green copper church tower. The whole looks a bit dark and science fictional. Photo by Atamari via Wikimedia Commons
Two rows of pews in an oval space aimed toward a raised altar. The space is dominated by light gray concrete walls rising from about 4 meters that angle up toward a dome (not visible in the picture), and have small windows in the shape of rectangles with the corners punched out (like nametags). Lights are suspended from the dome. Behind these walls are CIP concrete walls. Photo by Opernkomponist via Wikimedia Commons.
What wasn't visible in the previous picture: the concrete walls, pierced with regular tie holes, rising to a dome with small clerestory windows. The color palette is cool and gray. Photo by Opernkomponist via Wikimedia Commons.
#26: Josef Franke, Church of the Holy Cross, Gelsenkirchen (1927-29)
A dark brown clinker brick church, with a tall parabolic entrance under a stark symmetrical rectangle. At the top is a very deeply carved Christ on the cross. The entrance is up a short flight of stairs and flanked by buildings on either side. Photo by K. Roland Berger via https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/kirchen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet-der-architekt-josef-franke
A parabolic church with green tile floors and roofs with crosses; at the end is an orange and blue pastel altar space. Photo by K. Roland Berger via https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/kirchen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet-der-architekt-josef-franke
#27: Karl Otto Lüfken, St. Andreas, Aachen (1965-69)

A brick building with jagged roof above clerestory windows, colloquially known as "the lemon press." Photo by Arthur McGill via Wikimedia Commons
A watermarked interior photo of a large, whit-ebrick-walled worship space with wood jagged wood roof above clerestory windows. Four rows of pews converge upon an altar set in a slight niche. Photo by Florian Monheim/Bildarchiv Monheim/Alamy
The wooden roof structure under construction. Photo via http://www.aachen-soers.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=16
#28: Friedhelm Schwingeler, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Witten (1980-81)

All photos via katholisch-in-witten.de/pastoraler-rau…


An irregular church building of pale yellowish brick with slate roof and clerestory windows. The roof slopes down toward the photographer. To the right is a projecting entrance structure. Behind the building is a slanted-wall copper church tower.
A worship space with slate floors and yellowish brick walls and a wood roof. Three rows of pews are at sharp angles toward an altar raised by three steps. The roof and wall planes are sharply angled, so that the building seems to collapse toward the altar.
A view back from the altar toward the entrance of the worship space. A small organ is above the entrance.
#29: Gottfried Böhm, St. Rochus, Jülich (1960-65)

A concrete building with a flat roof, more or less squaee, with a glassed-in protruding entrance. At the right and left corners, two squares each are cut out of the concrete for blueish stained-glass windows. The whole is inside a brick-walled courtyard. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons.
A flat-roofed worship space with two rows of pews leading to a slightly raised altar. Two bands of concrete, one just below the ceiling, one protruding over side aisles, are separated by a wide swathe of blueish stained glass. Photo by Karl-J. Gramann via https://www.fotocommunity.de/photo/st-rochus-karl-j-gramann/43487667
A brick wall topped by a band of light brown concrete pierced by a few small square windows. Behind this wall is a long church building, with a wide band of blueish stained glass below a mass of concrete. To the left is a rectangular, tall, narrow concrete church tower. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons.
#30: Heinrich Otto Vogel, St. Luke the Evangelist (Protestant), Münster, 1961


A red-brick irregular church building. Its most prominent feature is, to the right, a conical, copper church tower atop a round red-brick base. Photo by Rabanus Flavus via Wikimedia Commons.
A brick church with two round towers at the sides and a gable roofed main mass in the center. Nine arched windows dominate this center, arranged outward in a 3-2-1 pattern. Photo by Hobusch via Wikimedia Commons.
A worship space with nine arched windows arranged in a diamond pattern, 3-2-1 outward. Photo by FriedrichFrisch via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space with two rows of steel pews covered in red felt flanking a central aisle. They converge on a raised marble altar in front of a mural or mosaic of what appears to be Jesus on the cross with onlookers. The walls are red-brick. To the left is an organ. Photo by FriedrichFrisch via Wikimedia Commons.
#31: Eduard Frieling, Church of the Birth of Christ, Cologne-Bocklemünd (1969-71)


A church dominated by an acutely triangular shaped concrete tower with a right angle immediately above the wood entrance door. To the right of the tower is a flat-roofed concrete three-story building with horizontal strips of windows. Beyond the tower an irregularly shaped church building. The picture is taken from an interior courtyard. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons.
Rear photo of the church building. There are no horizontal right angles, everything is slightly off-kilter:. The main mass is as if two rectangles, one inset in the other, have been deformed in opposire directions so that one protrudes from the other. A band of windows swoops down in a chevron to the right, while another rises from the street level; one ht left are three windows that have been tilted upward by 45 degrees. To the right in the back is the church tower. The whole is framed by apartment blocks. Photo by Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons.
A slightly blurry photo of a dark church interior, with pews leading up to a raised altar lit by candles. Sharply angled grey CIP concrete walls converge upon this altar, behind which is a brightly painted wall. Photo via https://www.seelsorgebereich-bmv.de/unsere-kirchen/christi-geburt/
A brightly lit altar raised by three marble steps under a wood ceiling. The grey CIP concrete walls seem to collapse toward the altar. Photo via https://www.seelsorgebereich-bmv.de/unsere-kirchen/christi-geburt/
#32: Hans Tietmann and Karl Haake, St. Bruno, Düsseldorf (1927-28); rebuilt by Heinz Thoma (1949-55)
A church of brown clinker brick. The church building is gabled and about three stories tall with a round central rose window. The entrance is through two sets of stone piers. To the right is a tall, rectangular clinker-brick church tower with two depe slits running from high windows down the front. Photo by Wiegels via Wikimedia Commons
A church with basilican plan. The floor is tile, the two rows of pews are painted a light green and lead to a slightly raised altar made of dark stone (?). The ceiling is of a warm wood with a reddish pattern down the middle. Light enters through stained glass windows above the side aisles' piers. Behind the altar is an abstract sculpture of white triangles that look like doves' wings. There are abstratc green sconces that curve over lights. Photo via https://www.heiligefamilie.de/unsere-kirchen/st-bruno/
#33: Josef Lehmbrock, St. Suitbert, Essen-Überruhr (1963-66)


A church with a small entrance pavilion protruding from a folded concrete façade under a swopping copper roof. Photo by WIKI05 via Wikimedia Commons
Two rows of piers converging upon a slightly raised altar. Behind the altar is a screen-like wall of niches painted in warm grays and yellows. Light enters from invisible clerestory windows or skylights above the altar. Photo by Achim Pohl via Bistum Essen, https://www.bistum-essen.de/pressemenue/artikel/pfarrei-st-josef-hat-offene-standortfragen-geklaert
A roof swooping down from above the altar. To the left is a mezzanine. In the middle are wooden pews. On the far wall are prints, which are by Käthe Kollwitz. Photo by Gereon Alter via Straße der Moderne, https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/essen-st-suitbert/
A folded white-painted wall swoops down from a high point behind a grass field. Photo by Gereon Alter via Straße der Moderne, https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/essen-st-suitbert/
#34: Dominikus and Gottfried Böhm, St. Elisabeth, Koblenz (1953-54)

A curved building divided vertically into three sections. The bottom two are clad in brick, the top with a patterned concrete screen. Narrow concrete piers support the flat roof. To the left is a freestanding church tower. Photo by Holger Weinandt via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space with dark pews and white walls. The top third of the walls had clerestory windows enlivened by concrete screen. photo by Gabriele Delhey via Wikimedia Commons
Chairs arranged in front of an altar; to the right a pride flag is hung from a structure for lights and loudspeakers. Photo by Thomas Hummel via Wikimedia Commons
#35: Heinz Bienefeld, St. Bonifatius, Wildbergerhütte-Reichsdorf

A church tower on the side of a gabled church with a red tile roof. The stone work is extraordinary. Photo by Schweigmatt via Wikimedia Commons
A church with chunky brick columns holding up the wood roof. The actual building is made of stone with glass clerestory windows, and the roof and brick columns are out in front of it. The whole building is set behind a gravel entrance area amidst fields. Photo by Lukas Roth via https://www.world-architects.com/it/eventi/radical-antiquity-heinz-bienefelds-villas-and-churches
A stone-walled worship space with a wooden gable roof and clerestory windows. The wood roof goes beyond the walls, creating a sense of openness beyond the walls. There are four rows of wood pews. The stonework on the walls is gorgeous. Photo via Bergischer Geschichtsverein Oberbergische Abteilung e. V. https://www.bgv-oberberg.de/?p=6629
#36: Carl Moritz, Church of Christ the King (known as Erpho-Church), Münster, 1928-30
A simple, massive neo-Romanesque church with a squat central tower over the entrance. it is made of yellowish stone. the tower has a hipped copper roof, as do smaller side towers that rise around it. One enters through a small arcade. photo by Johannes Maximilian via Wikimedia Commons
A nave with regular stone piers that define bays. Two rows of pews. The altar is in the east, at the rear of the photo. The ceiling is a barrel arch, just barely visible. Photo from c. 1930 via https://stefanrethfeld.de/a-z-architekten-carl-moritz-1863-1944-nachbericht/
#37: Hel Haparta, St. Juliana, Duisburg-Wehofen (1963-65)

A reddish stone church tower that rises from a triangular base to a point. The tower is at the right-angled center of the church exterior. Behind it, the green copper roof swoops down and back up like a tent. The rest of the church is also made of reddish stone, with concrete piers in the far corners. Photo by Thomas Dodt via Wikimedia Commons.
An altar under a roof that swoops up to the middle like a tent. The walls are whitewashed. There is a narrow band of clerestory windows made of greenish stained glass. Photo by Alfons Winterseel via Rheinische Post, https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duisburg/st-juliana-ist-wehofens-architektonischer-mittelpunkt_aid-46278349
Another view of the facade. To the left, the triangular tower; in the center, the tent-roofed worship space; and to the right, a stucco-walled auxiliary building. Photo by Krd via Wikimedia Commons
#38: Otto Bartning, Church of the Resurrection (Protestant), Essen, 1929-30
A round church that steps back at each of its four levels. Ground level has a colonnade; the second level contains the main worship space; the third has high clerestory windows; and the fourth is the church tower. Each level has walls made of brown brick and the roofs are of green copper. The building is colloquially referred to as a circus tent or a cake. Photo by Volker Wagenitz via Straße der Moderne, https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/essen-auferstehungskirche/
A high central domed space with narrow concrete piers surrounding a few wooden pews. There is a low band of windows above the ground level and a large, high band of clerestory windows. The ceiling is painted red. A central candelabra is in front of the organ, which rises above the altar. Photo by Florian Monheim via Straße der Moderne, https://strasse-der-moderne.de/kirchen/essen-auferstehungskirche/
#39: Günter Schulte, Mary the Queen, Iserlohn-Lasbeck (1964-5)

Two pews leading to a raised altar. The worship space has whitewashed concrete walls until about 5 meters up; from there rises a gabled wood roof. Light streams in from windows to the right. Photo by Pastoralverbund Letmathe, https://www.pv-letmathe.de/gemeinden-einrichtungen/kirchengemeinden-orte/maria-koenigin-lasbeck/
To the left, a church tower with stained glass behind vertical concrete slats rising to about two stories tall. Above is a hipped slate roof. To the right, a main worship building with concrete frame surrounding a brick wall and stained-glass windows. The whole thing is topped by a wide hip roof. Photo by bubo via Wikimedia Commons
The church complex showing three hipped roofs rising from white stuccoed walls in the middle of the forest. Photo by Philipp Kreisel via https://www.pv-letmathe.de/gemeinden-einrichtungen/kirchengemeinden-orte/maria-koenigin-lasbeck/
#40: Gottfried Böhm, St. Adelheid, Troisdorf-Müllekoven (1961-66)


A brick church building composed of rectangular blocks interspersed with round towers. The slate roofs extend well down the walls. Photo by Journey234 via Wikimedia Commons
A panoramic photo showing a church worship space. The ribbe dceiling over the nave and the side aisle is low, whereas over the altar the ceiling is high and light enters from clerestory windows. Photo by Xavier de Jauréguiberry via Flickr
The church complex from above, showing its slate roofs and brick structure in the midst of vaguely traditional, gabled suburban houses. Photo by Wolkenkratzer via Wikimedia Commons
A slate tower against a brick wall. Photo by Xavier de Jauréguiberry
#41: Alfred Fischer, St. Anthony of Padua, Castrop-Rauxel (1922-25)
A tall brick building topped with a cross, with two one-story wings. There are a number of vents symmetrically and a rose window above the entrance. Photo by K. Roland Berger via Pixel Projekt Ruhrgebiet, https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/st-antonius-von-padua
A parabolically arched concrete nave with lovely delicate ceiling paintings and parabolic niches and arcade. In the front is a massive stone altar. In the back is an organ in a small mezzanine over the entrance. Photo by K. Roland Berger via Pixel Projekt Ruhr Gebiet, https://www.pixelprojekt-ruhrgebiet.de/serie/st-antonius-von-padua
#42: Nikolaus Rosiny, St. Anna, Düsseldorf-Niederkassel (1967-68, demolished 2021)

Irregular structure of rectangular blocks, most with brick walls and one with slate. There’s a copper roof that extends onto the walls. photo by Taurus65 via wikimedia commons
A white-walled worship space with flat ribbed roof and clerestory windows. The altar is in the middle of a wide area that looks bigger in the panoramic photo. Photo by Sukyunn Yang and Insook Ju via http://yangjubang.de/index.html
A picture of the church mostly demolished. Photo by Mabit1 via Wikimedia commons
#43: Dominikus and Gottfried Böhm, St. Ursula, Hürth-Kalscheuren (1957-58). Repurposed into the “Böhm Chapel” gallery in 2010


A round church with piers holding up a snail shell-like copper roof that extends beyond the main structure. Photo by Elke Wetzig via Wikimedia Commons
The repurposed interior as a gallery space. Photo by Felix Hemmers via https://www.zukunft-kirchen-raeume.de/projekte/st-ursula-ausstellungsraum-boehm-chapel/
A black-and-white photo of the same building, close to its construction, with to the left a skinny concrete church tower that narrows toward the top. Photo via https://www.boehmchapel.com/about/
When still in use as a church: Rounded rows of pews curving toward an altar at the left. Rounded niche walls alternate with floor-to-ceiling windows behind a thin metal screen; a narrow band of clerestory windows runs beneath the cork ceiling. Photo by Felix Feldhofer via https://www.baukunst-nrw.de/objekte/St.-Ursula-in-Huerth-zu-Galerie-umgenutzt--2037.htm
#44: Johannes Reuter, St. Michael, Brilon-Gudenhagen (1968-70)


A tent-formed church with tower to the left. The church is concrete and the roof is a gray slate. The whole thing looks slightly like two different mushrooms. Photo by Malchen53 via Wikimedia Commons
A view from altar back toward the church’s pews and organs. The space is more or less rectangular (although closer to having right sides) with concrete walls, a narrow band of clerestory windows, and a wooden tent roof. The entrance is shielded by a concrete wall that serves as a backdrop for the organ. Photo by Malchen53 via Wikimedia Commons
A massive concrete pier with a concrete relief on the church wall to the right. Photo by AlterWolf49 via Wikimedia Commons
A church floorplan that is more or less rectangular but actually bows out slightly to become an octagon. the entrance is behind the organ, which faces the altar diagonally. There are three rows of pews that face the altar from three sides. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by SteveK
#45: Paul Georg Hopmann, St. Adelheid, Cologne-Neubrück (1968-69)

A brick church building with concrete upper walls and copper roof. Photo by Willy Horsch via Wikimedia Commons
Another view of the red-brick church building with round corner tower. Photo by Rolf Heinrich via Wikimedia Commons
A brick-walled worship space with orthogonal walls. photo by Alexandra Hein via https://www.roncalliland.koeln/ueber-uns/st.-adelheid/index.html
#46: Denis Boniver, Protestant Church of the Old City, Gelsenkirchen (1955-56)

More (better) interior photos at baukunst-nrw.de/objekte/Evange…

to the right, an eclectic gable-roofed church with a concrete frame and brick walls. There is a diamond pattern on the front, and a small, round tower where two volumes meet. To the left, a pointed tower with open arches in side a curved rectangle of a frame. Photo by Thomas Robbin via https://www.baukunst-nrw.de/objekte/Evangelische-Altstadtkirche-Gelsenkirchen--2473.htm
A brick-walled church interior with lightly curving ceiling and, to the left, large windows. An altar is straight ahead and an organ is to the right; image taken from the mezzanine. Photo by M. Westphal via Wikimedia Commons
#47: Georg Rasch and Winfried Wolsky, Church of the Resurrection, Cologne-Buchforst-Buchheim (1967-68)
Two triangular concrete walls with very low relief, looking a bit like narrow blocks of slate, rise and meet at a peak. photo from Kölner Kirchen (Bachem, 2004), p 168.
The interior of those walls, which also have a clerestory window admitting bright, high light above the altar. photo from Kölner Kirchen (Bachem, 2004), p 168.
#48: Ernst Petersen and Walter Köngeter, Klarenbach Church, Düsseldorf-Holthausen (1953-55)

To the left, a concrete church tower with brick facing and concrete star-like braces. To the right, a church with gridded glass facade and sculptural concrete piers that merge into a gable roof. Photo taken from across the street. Photo by Wiegels via Wikimedia Commons.
Church with gridded glass facade frames by sculptural concrete piers that split toward the ground like a three-pointed shuriken. Photo via German Postwar Modern on Tumblr
A worship space with two rows of wooden pews leading to a white perforated concrete wall behind the altar, framed by two massive sculptural concrete piers. Photo by Mark Mollerus via https://www.fotocommunity.de/photo/ev-klarenbachkirche-duesseldorf-holth-mark-mollerus/39694693
#49: Otto Bartning and Otto Dörzbach, Church of Christ, Bonn-Bad Godesberg (1952-53)

A pink-painted basilicas church with brown tile roof. Two one-story wings flank a low entrance, which leads to the main worship space, a three-story gabled building . The whole ensemble is behind a hedge. Photo by Hagman via Wikimedia Commons
A tall, light space with concrete frame and wood gable roof. There are stained-glass clerestory windows and vertical ribbed windows next to the altar; a yellow and red mosaic behind the altar. Photo by SweetHomeGodesberg via Wikimedia Commons
Wide view of the worship building. Clerestory windows, roof, and ribbed vertical windows are apparent. Photo by Schöner Name via Wikimedia Commons
#50: Gerhard Langmaack, Protestant Church of Thomas, Espelkamp (1960-63)
A church complex with two single-story concrete wings flanking an entrance plaza; a tall, wide, and flat church tower of reddish copper; and behind that a yellow-brick church building with a folded green copper roof. Photo by Christoph Heuer via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space, looking down a central aisle between two rows of peas. The space is curved, swooping in toward the altar inside a symmetrical set of tall narrow stained-glass windows. Photo by Salfahli via wikimedia Commons
#51: Toni Hermann, Church of the Virgin, Duisburg (1958-61)
A concrete church with a dramatic mosaic on the front facade that cascades down to a stone sculpture. The side has glass-reinforced plexiglass folded walls that look like copper; the entrance seems to be from that side. There are high clerestory windows covered by copper “shutters.” Photo by Jordi via Wikimedia Commons
A worship space dominated by filtered light coming through beautiful side wall screens. The ceiling is of a woven wooden pattern, and two rows of pews lead to a dark altar with a gold cross. Photo by kaʁstn Dis/Cat via Wikimedia Commons
#52: Karl Band, St. Brictius, Cologne-Merkenich (1963, with Romanesque tower from 13th century)


A largely whitewashed concrete church, with a brick tower at the front. The tower has irregular rectangular windows. The main body of the church is marked by its copper roof, which has four gables running perpendicular to the linear building. The triangular gable ends are mirrored by cuts into the concrete wall below to make diamond-shaped clerestory stained-glass windows There's a small copper roof over the entrance. To the right of the main building a one-story structure is attached, presumably either community center or parsonage. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons.
A worshp space with whitewashed walls apart from a brick altar niche. There appear to be three rows of pews. The ceiling is wooden, with diamond-shaped clerestrory stained-glass windows. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons.
Another view of the entrance façade, showing two symmetrical entrances either side of the altar niche brick tower (which means you enter on the altar side, an unusual arrangement). To the right is the 13th-century Romanesque churchtower. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons.
The 13th-century Romanesque church tower, with round arches on openings at each level and a pointed slate roof. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons.
#53: Chapel of Maria of Rest, Düren-Arnoldsweiler (1960; built by retirees in Düren)
A small rectangular chapel on the edge of the street. It has a flat roof, is made of white-painted concrete, and a glass façade of french doors and clerestory windows. The side walls also have light stained glass. Photo by Kilind via Wikimedia Commons
The interior: a simple altar with large glass brick-shaped stained glass windows. The altar is a simple stone table. Photo by Kilind via Wikimedia Commons
#54: Klaus Heubel, Church of Christ (Protestant), Dormagen (1960-63)

A very tall central portion of a churc rising to a peak; this is likely a tower niche above/behind the altar. A concrete roof structure contrats with the red brick of the rest. There are two more or less cubic red-brick wings. Photo by Chris06 via Wikimedia Commons
The opposite side of the church, showing large gridded window walls and a concrete frame either side of a central copper wall. A triangular peak, probably the other side of the tower seen in the previous image, is faced in green copper
View from next to an altar to a worship space. There is one wide row of pews with two niches, one visible and one just behind where the photographer is standing. The far niche has a mezzannine. The photo is black-and-white but the walls are made of brick and the ceiling appears to be wood. Clerestory windows merge with one large window wall, and there's a smaller window wall in the niche. Photo via the Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Dormagen, https://www.ekd-online.info/archiv/
#55: Matthias Kleuters, Church of St. Joseph, Bauchem (1974), demolished 2013


A concrete-frame church with a gridded stained-glass façade. There are two main rectangular elements next to each other, and a wide copper door. Photo by Bernd and Käthe Limburg via http://www.limburg-bernd.de/Kirchen%20und%20Kapellen%20im%20Kreis%20Heinsberg/Bilder%20Geilenkirchen/Garnisonskirche%20St.%20Josef%20Bauchem.htm
A very large red-tiled church interior with clerestory windows. We appear to be looking from a very large side chapel into the main worship space; to the right an altar backed by a vertical gridded window. There is a white roof panel folded into diamonds. Photo via https://www.glasmalerei-ev-web.de/pages/b3423/b3423.shtml
A wide concrete-panel building. The edges are curved. To the right is a church tower with slit windows. Photo by Bernd and Käthe Limburg via http://www.limburg-bernd.de/Kirchen%20und%20Kapellen%20im%20Kreis%20Heinsberg/Bilder%20Geilenkirchen/Garnisonskirche%20St.%20Josef%20Bauchem.htm
A look back at a wood-railing mezzanine with an organ. There are two rows of wooden pews. The mezzanine is supported by a single red-painted column. Photo by Bernd and Käthe Limburg via http://www.limburg-bernd.de/Kirchen%20und%20Kapellen%20im%20Kreis%20Heinsberg/Bilder%20Geilenkirchen/Garnisonskirche%20St.%20Josef%20Bauchem.htm

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