Martin Weber (architect)
Encyclopedia
Martin Weber was a German
architect
who designed Catholic
churches.
, who built the Evangelical Church in Hesse, and then for Dominic Bohm
in Offenbach am Main. During 1919-1921 he lived as an Oblate (Brother Maurus, OSB) in the Benedictine
Abbey of Maria Laach. From 1921 to 1923 he ran a "studio for church architecture" with Bohm. In 1924 he established himself as an independent architect in Frankfurt
. In 1935 he founded a "Study Circle of Sacred Art" with Rudolf Schwarz
.
He built mainly many Catholic churches, and became one of the leading church architects of the time.
. He conceived the church as an integral whole, without separate bays. The altar
is emphasized according to its role, highlighted by the lighting.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who designed Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
churches.
Life and work
After training in construction, he went to the building and art school in Offenbach am Main. In 1914-1915 he worked for Friedrich Pützer in DarmstadtDarmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, who built the Evangelical Church in Hesse, and then for Dominic Bohm
Dominic Bohm
Dominikus Böhm was a modernist German architect and church builder.-Life:Böhm was born into a family of builders from the Swabian-Bavarian area of Germany, the youngest of six children...
in Offenbach am Main. During 1919-1921 he lived as an Oblate (Brother Maurus, OSB) in the 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...
Abbey of Maria Laach. From 1921 to 1923 he ran a "studio for church architecture" with Bohm. In 1924 he established himself as an independent architect 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...
. In 1935 he founded a "Study Circle of Sacred Art" with Rudolf Schwarz
Rudolf Schwarz (architect)
Rudolf Schwarz was a German architect known for his work on Kirche St. Fronleichnam, Aachen. He also played a decisive role in the reconstruction of Cologne after the Second World War. After conducting Cologne's reconstruction authority between 1947 and 1952 he contributed to the rebuilding of the...
.
He built mainly many Catholic churches, and became one of the leading church architects of the time.
Style
In Weber churches the altar is the centre and focus of the MassEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. He conceived the church as an integral whole, without separate bays. The altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
is emphasized according to its role, highlighted by the lighting.
Frankfurt
- 1924-1925: Capuchin monastery (downtown)
- 1925-1927: Parish Church of St. Boniface (SachsenhausenSachsenhausen (Frankfurt am Main)Sachsenhausen is a part of the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Composed of two districts: Sachsenhausen-Nord and Sachsenhausen-Süd, it is part of the Ortsbezirk Süd. It is located on the South bank of the Main river, right in the city center, opposite the Old Town.Sachsenhausen was founded as...
) - 1928-1929: Holy Cross Parish (BornheimBornheimBornheim is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the West bank of the Rhine, approx. 10 km north-west of Bonn, 20 km south of Cologne....
) - 1930: emergency church of Christ (Praunheim)
- 1930-1931: Church of the Holy Spirit (Riederwald)
- 1931: Chapel of St. Boniface (Bonames)
- 1932: Parish Church of St. Bartholomew (Zeilsheim)
- 1932-1933: Parish Church of St. Albert (DornbuschDornbuschDornbusch can mean:*Dornbusch *Rudi Dornbusch...
) - 1934-1935: Sancta Familia Parish Church (The Holy Family) (Ginnheim)
Elsewhere
- 1927/1929: Extension of Ursuline convent and school of St. Angela in KönigsteinKönigsteinThe term Königstein can refer to several places in Germany and Namibia:Germany:* Königstein im Taunus, town in Hesse* Königstein, Saxony** Festung Königstein, castle near Königstein in Saxony* Königstein, Bavaria...
(Taunus Hochtaunuskreis) - 1930-1931: parish "St. George's Court" in Limburg (LahnLahnThe Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
) - 1932: Enlargement of the parish church of St. Margaret in DorndorfDorndorfDorndorf is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
(Limburg-Weilburg) - 1932/1933: Extension of the parish church of St. Catherine in NievernNievernNievern is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
(Rhein-Lahn-Kreis) - 1935-1937: Parish Church of St. Kilian in WiesbadenWiesbadenWiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
- 1936: The parish church of Holy Trinity (Trinity Church), GroßholbachGroßholbachGroßholbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
(Westerwaldkreis) - 1936-1937: Parish Church of St. Bruno in GizyckoGizyckoGiżycko is a town in northeastern Poland with 29,796 inhabitants . It is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , having previously been in the Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Giżycko County.-History:...
(East Prussia) - 1937-1939: Parish Church of St. Barbara in Lahnstein-NiederlahnsteinLahnsteinLahnstein is a verband-free town of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the Lahn River with the Rhine, approximately south of Koblenz...
(Rhein-Lahn-Kreis)
- 1922-1923: Benedictine Abbey of St. Benediktusberg in VaalsVaalsVaals is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which in its turn finds itself in the southeastern part of the Netherlands....
(Netherlands) - 1922-1923: Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul in DettingenDettingen- Municipalities :* Dettingen an der Erms in the district of Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg* Dettingen an der Iller in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg* Dettingen unter Teck in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg...
(Kreis Aschaffenburg) - 1922-1923: Parish Church of St. Paul in Offenbach am Main
- 1922-1923: Parish Church of St. Mary's Assumption and St. Peter and Paul in GroßwallstadtGroßwallstadtGroßwallstadt is a community in the Miltenberg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.- Location :...
(Kreis Miltenberg)