Meppen Church

Already in the time of Charlemagne, a small baptismal church stood on a hill in the middle of the old town around 780. New constructions and alterations took place in 1225, 1462 and 1870. In 1225, a larger Romanesque building followed the small church. In 1462, the Provost Church was built as a three-aisled late Gothic hall church. The north wall of the eastern side aisle bay or, more probably, of the north transept arm of the predecessor building is preserved. The predecessor building was probably a cruciform church with two nave bays and a straight closed choir, which can be inferred from wall projections in the interior. In 1870, the nave was extended by one arch bay each in the main and side aisles according to plans by Johann Bernhard Hensen. At the same time, the present west building with three portals in neo-Gothic style was created. The old Romanesque north portal, also called "Pilgrim's Gate" or "Bride's Gate", was walled up and only reopened at the beginning of the 1980s with a door designed by Heinrich Gerhard Bücker. It is related to the rich portals of the hall churches in Billerbeck, Coesfeld and Vreden. On April 7, 1945, the tall tower was hit by grenades and burned out in the upper part. In December 1950, a folded roof was erected on the preserved stump according to the design of the Cologne architect Dominikus Böhm. The three bells in the tower are tuned to the striking tones c' – d' – e'.

The present three-bay hall church of an almost square ground plan has square central nave bays and longitudinally rectangular side aisle bays. It is illuminated by tall three-part windows with fish-bladder tracery and chamfered reveals. At the south portal, the building is dated 1471. The two-bay choir with five-eighths closure was built in 1461. The interior shows a squat spatial impression due to the low apex height of the groin vaults on short, strong columns.

The focal point in the church choir is the large neo-Gothic winged altar in the style of Flemish carved altars from 1895 by the Osnabrück sculptor Heinrich Seling. The altar was donated by the "Petroleum King" Wilhelm Anton Riedemann, a native of Meppen. In the course of the 2007 renovation, a baptismal font was created in place of the left side altar. The right side altar is also a work by Seling. The choir stalls and the pulpit are also neo-Gothic. Among the older sculptures is a larger-than-life Man of Sorrows from 1517 by Jöste Beldensnyder, who is probably identical with Jost von Vorden from Münster. A Madonna from the 17th century was probably created as a free copy of an older type by Heinrich Meiering from Rheine. A Vesperbild made of Baumberger sandstone was created in 1685 as a donation by Judge Hermann Morrien in the style of Wilhelm Heinrich Kocks from Münster. A figure of Saint Joseph from the beginning of the 18th century is the only signed work by Theodor Jöllemann. The organ with a case in baroque forms is a work by the company Gebrüder Hillebrand Orgelbau from 1991 with 40 registers on three manuals and pedal.

In the church square stands a larger-than-life Calvary with Mary, John and Mary Magdalene, created in 1517 by Jöste Beldensnyder from Baumberger sandstone. Of this, the figure of the good thief is original; for the other figures, the heads were replaced in the 17th/18th century; the figure of Christ dates from the 19th century. A Way of the Cross station shows the relief of a Pietà from 1715.