11.27.2016

dancing with architecture: The Bruder Klaus Field Chapel (Germany)


When I put together the itinary for our European vacay, I looked for a stop every hour during drive times. Needing a stop between a Mies van der Rohe and a (forthcoming) Gropius, we ventured off the Autobahn for this nifty little sanctuary just outside of Antweiller west of Bonn. The Bruder Klaus Feldkapelle (The Brother Klaus Field Chapel) was built by a local farmer using 120 tree trunks to create an inner void around which concrete was poured. Once the concrete dried, the farmer slowly burned out the interior logs over three weeks, creating the final chapel. 

The chapel is dedicated to the Swiss Saint Nicholas von der Flue, also known as Brother Klaus. Appropriately, the farmer hired the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor to develop the design.

photo from wikiarquitectura

This was a lovely stop in the quiet German countryside to see an amazing and somber piece of contemporary eclesiastic architecture. 

if you go

The chapel is located here. You can drive up to the chapel's path, although you'll see people walking out of town to the chapel (we assumed these were folks taking buses to visit the quaint town. 













SaveSave

No comments:

Post a Comment