St Michael's Church

But as if that weren’t modern enough, exposed concrete was chosen as the material, and the altar was placed as an island in the middle of the building so that the community could gather around it. In 1982, Otto Herbert Hajek created a complex series of images in the form of the Zeichen am Wege sequence and the twelve tablets in the vault. Using intense primary colours, they endeavour to depict, at multiple levels, the divine hope of salvation, the ‘New Jerusalem’, and the seven angels in the Book of Revelation. And as a ‘walk-in sculpture’, the altar room features ambiguous symbolism, which makes St Michael’s a particularly unusual modern-day church.

A must for: Architecture enthusiasts. The open-minded. The imaginative. Seekers of the unusual.

Modern architecture: 80%
Glass art: 60%
Imagination: 40%


PSSSST! THE INSIDER TIP:
In addition to Otto Herbert Hajek’s image sequences and Jakob Schwarzkopf’s large glass windows, the church’s tabernacle is a particularly unusual example of modern art which, in the case of St Michael’s, also proclaims its own message. Where feasible, the tabernacle can be opened exclusively to groups as part of tours through the church. We advise keeping your camera in your bag for this, and instead appreciating the triptych inside it in silence. You’ll be surprised.

All Photos: Carmen Müller