Hof churches
History in stone
When you visit Hof for the first time, several churches will catch your eye as you stroll through the city center. In fact, four of the most important and historically significant churches in our city are located right in the center and are strung together like a string of pearls: the Hospitalkirche at one end of the city center, the Michaeliskirche on Ludwigstraße, the Marienkirche in the old town, and the Lorenzkirche at the other end of the city center. Each of them is a stone testimony to the eventful history of the city of Hof and is worth seeing from a historical, architectural and artistic point of view. What could be more natural than to take a look inside one of our churches on your tour of discovery?
St. Michael's Church
evangelical
With its towering twin towers, St. Michaelis is one of the city's landmarks and, together with the town hall, dominates the image of Ludwigstrasse. Although the date 1559 is carved into a lintel of the northern staircase, Hof's main Protestant church is much older. In fact, after the founding of the city and in the course of the expansion of the new town, St. Michael's was built as a chapel as early as 1230 and was chosen as the main Protestant church in 1536 under the sign of the Reformation. During a siege of several weeks in 1553, the church was under heavy fire. This is still commemorated by cannonballs attached to the central choir window and the northern tower. The great fire in Hof in 1823 also left its mark on St. Michael's - large parts of the building fell victim to the catastrophic fire. St. Michael's surprises with an impressively spacious interior and is considered the largest Protestant church in Upper Franconia with about 2000 seats.
For lovers of sublime organ music, St. Michaelis holds a special rarity: the imposing Heidenreich organ, praised by experts as one of the most beautiful-sounding in Bavaria. The organ of the Heidenreich brothers is the largest surviving instrument of the organ-building family that has been based in Hof since 1782. You can experience the power of sound of the famous Heidenreich organ at regular concerts with high-ranking artists, during the Andvent season and on Saturdays from Pentecost to Thanksgiving during the organ devotions at market time.
St. Mary's Church
catholic
The imposing building of St. Mary's Church forms the visual conclusion of the old town. Built in 1864 in the neo-Gothic style according to plans by the Regensburg cathedral master builder Denzinger, the main Catholic church is one of Hof's "youngest" churches. After Catholic life died out in the wake of the Reformation in 1529, Catholics did not move back into the area until 1810, when Hof became part of Bavaria along with the margraviate of Bayreuth. The growing number of Catholic workers from Bohemia and the Franconian Forest, as well as Bavarian civil servants, eventually resulted in the construction of St. Mary's Church - on the site of the Gasthof zur goldenen Sonne. The name of the Sonnenplatz next to St. Mary's Church is still a reminder of the former inn. Its artistic unity gives St. Mary's special charisma. Only a few churches are so completely preserved in their outer form and inner decoration up to the organ. The organ was built in 1885 by the then renowned organ building company Steinmeyer from Oettingen and is today one of the unique historical instruments of German Romantic organ building. Another small peculiarity: the choir room of the Marienkirche does not face east, as is usually the case, but south.
On a column on the left side of the church is the bust of Bernhard Lichtenberg, the provost of the Berlin cathedral who was beatified in 1996. Because of his death in Hof during transport to Dachau, the parish of St. Mary's feels a special bond with this courageous contemporary witness, similar to that of Father Rupert Mayer of Munich, whose relic the altar holds.
St. Lawrence Church
The Lorenzkirche in the Lorenzpark at the end of the pedestrian zone is the oldest church in the city and historically of great importance as the mother church of the region. It was first mentioned in a document in 1214, but is said to have been built as early as 1080. Repeatedly rebuilt, the church presents itself today as a remarkable monument of church building in the early 19th century. The interior of the church dates back to a comprehensive reconstruction in 1822 in the style of classicism. The pulpit altar in the so-called Margraviate style also dates from this period. The most important works of art are a crucifix (around 1500) and the valuable "Hertnid von Stein altar", a late Gothic Franconian winged altar from the period between 1480 and 1486. It was named after its donor Hertnid von Stein, cathedral dean at Bamberg and pleban in Hof, and shows, among other things, St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the church.
The Lorenzkirch is an "open church". Dedicated staff offer tours of the church or tower throughout the year, run the church café, or invite visitors to picnics and movie nights. The surrounding Lorenzpark was converted into a "Lorenzoase" in the course of the 800th church anniversary in cooperation between the church community and the city of Hof. Foundations, sponsors and the citizens of Hof also participated in the project.
Hospital Church
And former hospital
Thanks to its relative remoteness - today centrally located at the Unteres Tor - the Hospitalkirche is the only church in Hof to have been spared from city fires. After the mother church St. Lorenz, the Hospitalkirche is the second oldest church in the city, whose origins date back to the late 13th century. In 1268, the "Hospital", an old people's and poor people's home for Hof citizens, was built at the Lower Gate outside Hof's city walls. From there, it had its own entrance to the church built for its residents: the Hospitalkirche.
One of the two works of art worth seeing is the central shrine of the late Gothic winged altar, which dates back to 1511. On it are depicted Mary with the Child, accompanied by Catherine and Barbara. The four reliefs of the movable wings of the altar show the Christmas story. For a long time it was unknown to which artist the initials MH in the coat of arms should be assigned. Since 2007 it is known that Michael Heuffner is responsible for the altar reredos. Heuffner was born in the free imperial city of Eger, is attributed to the Nuremberg school and worked in Zwickau. Another highlight of the Hospital Church is the wooden coffered ceiling with 90 hand-painted depictions of the Old and New Testaments, closely based on the paintings of Matthäus Merian the Elder ("Merian Bible") and the "Osiander Bible" published by Osiander. They were completed within one year from July 1688 to August 1689 by the painter Andreas Lohe from Hof and his son.
Of the buildings of the hospital, the cellar house, the benefice house, the convent house, and the officials' house are still standing on the north side of the courtyard. Opposite, on the south side, stable buildings have been preserved, in which the Museum of Bavarian Vogtland is housed. Today, the functions of the hospital are fulfilled by a modern retirement and nursing home.
