St. Markus Kirche Wittlich

Today's parish church, situated in the historical city centre, was built between 1709 and 1723 by the archbishops Johann Hugo von Orsbeck and Franz-Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg and is under the protection of the parish patron St. Markus. However, the church was not officially consecrated until 1727. It is a four-bay pillar basilica in a mixture of post-Gothic and simple early Baroque forms, divided into a main nave and two side aisles. To the west is a three-storey tower with a curved dome that houses the chimes. The high altar was acquired in 1749 from the Dominican Church in Koblenz. The high-quality choir stalls on the south wall were created around 1770, those on the north wall were added around 1820 and both were extended again in 1927. The side altars from 1747 in the side aisles were made by the court carpenter Conrad Fischer. The organ prospect from 1769, made by Peter and Nikel Schreiber, has been preserved. The organ was rebuilt in 1848 by Wilhelm Breidenfeld from Trier and in 1958 by the organ builder Johannes Klais from Bonn. It has 38 stops distributed over three manuals and the pedals. The font was created in 1727 by the Koblenz sculptor Lorenz Staudacher. Among the many figurative works of art that are distributed throughout the church, the wooden figure of St. John the Baptist from the 15th century stands out especially. The freestanding altar table (1971) and the ambo (1976) with its symbolism of the tree of life are works of the sculptor Hans Scherl from Wittlich. The church windows were created after the war between 1949 and 1952 as coordinated cycles. In the northern side aisle they show scenes from the Old Testament (Alois Stettner and Prof. Heinrich Dieckmann) and in the southern side aisle New Testament depictions of saints (Prof. Dieckmann and Maurice Rocher). The choir windows by Prof. Georg Meistermann represent the high feasts of the church year Christmas, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.