St. John the Baptist Church

One of the earliest examples of modern church architecture, the expressionist ›Kirche St. Johann Baptist‹ stands on the site of a small, neo-Romanesque brick church.

Its imposing appearance, with a triple portal and the crowning crucifixion ensemble can be attributed to the eminent church builder Dominikus Böhm, who in the 1920's was commissioned to renovate and extend the church. The extension was however so great that it was almost a completely new building. Nowadays, only the Eastern part has retained the neo Romanesque form of the original building. For Böhm, however, the St. John the Baptist Church was the cornerstone of his career as a master of pioneering church architecture in the German speaking area.

Reinhold Alexander, the sculptor, took up Böhms spatial concept and designed the new interior accordingly. In particular, the integration of light into the interior of the church played a significant role. Expressionism had conferred its character onto the church's interior, as demonstrated by the linear-angular forms and the effective use of light.

The baptismal chapel with the dove of the Holy Ghost hovering in the incoming light above the font is particularly impressive.
In front of the church there is a winged St. Marks lion, with an opened New Testament.