St. Martin, Idstein

St Martin stands in Idstein, a town in the Rheingau-Taunus district of Hesse. The present church was designed by Johannes Krahn and consecrated in 1965. It replaced an earlier Gothic Revival building dedicated to Mary Magdalene. The parish grew after the Second World War when many refugees arrived. In 2017 the parish merged with five others to form St Martin Idsteiner Land. The church remains the town’s Catholic parish church.

The building is noted for its simple Romanesque-inspired plan and use of sandstone. Light enters through a band of windows beneath a plain wooden ceiling. The altar, ambo, font and tabernacle are carved from Lahn marble. A free-standing bell tower forty-two metres high houses four bells. The Stations of the Cross windows were designed by Paul Corazolla. After a 2003 restoration the altar was moved closer to the congregation.

Inside, a new organ with 1,888 pipes and 33 stops was installed in 2006. Five choirs and an orchestra perform regularly, including a children’s choir and a group playing on period instruments. Concerts feature works from Baroque to contemporary, often broadcast in the Rhein-Main region. The church also hosts ecumenical services with the town’s Protestant Unionskirche.