Thomaskirche Gelsenkirchen

The Protestant Thomaskirche was built on a square ground plan turned on its tip, and with its bow-of-a-ship –like shape urbanistically accentuates the townscape of this Gelsenkirchen suburb. It is much in line with the Catholic St Suitbert church in the same road and built almost at the same time.
Both the interior and the exterior was reduced to basic geometrical elements, a triangle in particular. The roof leaves the impression of a tent that has been suspended over the nave. The almost plain interior is arranged toward the plain altar, which is framed by the benches. This arrangement illustrates the church’s change from a “triumphant church” to a “home for the congregation”..
A wall relief behind the altar in form of a stylised cross made by the artist Heinz Nickel is indirectly illuminated through a slit in the roof. Along the side walls, the room is lit through inclining slats. The entrance room, however, is completely black.

Author: Stadt Gelsenkirchen | Referat Stadtplanung
Last changed on 11.04.2024

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Architecture » Public Buildings » Religious