St. Marien: A throne room in the eastern city center

Built shortly before the First World War from 1911 to 1913 in the eastern part of the city center, the three-nave building is an imposing successor to the provisional church building inaugurated in 1896 and bears the official title "Our Lady of the Holy Rosary". The nave is around 40 meters long and almost 20 meters wide. There is room for around 500 people inside the church. There is also standing room for 200. After old church building styles such as Gothic and Romanesque were revived at the beginning of the 20th century, the church of the Catholic parish of St. Mary's was also to be built in this medieval architectural style. However, the design was rejected and a neo-baroque church was built instead under the influence of an art school from Offenbach. The architectural style also proved to be cheaper, as the numerous decorations in the interior on the vault, round arch and altar did not have to be carved in sandstone, but were instead applied with plaster or stucco.

As a sign from God against the numerous factory chimneys that dominated the skyline of Offenbach at the beginning of the 20th century, Pastor Bernhard Grein had a 60-metre-high bell tower erected. The crowning glory was a neo-baroque double onion with a slate covering, visible from afar. Climbing the 300 or so steps to the round tour (48 meters high) of the "Fingerkuppe" is only possible with a guide and by prior appointment at the parish office. The tower clock with three gold-plated dials is also located there. Eight bells now ring out from St. Mary's Church, the four oldest dating from 1913. Two large bass bells were inaugurated in 1999 and two further small bells in 2005, giving the parish of St. Mary's the deepest and heaviest peal of bells in the diocese of Mainz.

The so-called Paradieshof in the entrance area of the church was also modeled on a baroque church - even if it was kept rather small in the densely populated Offenbach city centre. The forecourt directly on Bieberer Straße is surrounded by an iron fence. Behind it, a short but wide staircase leads up to the church gate. Supported by green plants, the Paradieshof is intended to offer a moment to take a deep breath, where visitors can leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind them before entering the place of worship.

The interior of St. Mary's Church looks like a throne room. The reason for this can be found in the choir room: the imposing high altar from 1913 - a typical baroque canopy altar. The back wall of the altar is adorned with a painting depicting the coronation of Mary, the Mother of Christ, as the Queen of the Holy Rosary, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of popular prayer in the lower part of the devotional image. The large sculptures of Ambrose, who was Bishop of Milan from 374, and Pope Leo the Great (mid-fifth century) surround the throne-like high altar. To the right and left of it, two side altars adorn the southern wall of the transept. Also worth seeing is the stained glass cycle depicting the ascensions of Mary and Jesus. It was destroyed by a firebomb in the Second World War and restored in 2005.

Broader, sometimes round shapes, sculptural decorative elements such as garlands, the playful-looking putti figures on the side walls or entrances and stucco adorn not only the high altar, but also the lavishly decorated pulpit, for example. However, decorative elements of Art Nouveau can also be found in St. Mary's Church, for example the floral ornaments on the vaulted ceiling or the delicate carvings on the wooden benches.

After the population of Offenbach increased at the end of the 19th century and Catholic life developed again in the factory town following its suppression by the Reformation, the number of parishioners in the Catholic parish of St. Paul grew so much that a second parish was established for the eastern inner city - St. Marien. From around 12,000 members at the beginning of the 20th century, the number of parishioners fell to around 8,000 in the 1960s and to around 4,500 today. Since the beginning, St. Marien has had a kindergarten on its premises, accessible via Kraftstraße, the rectory right next to the Paradieshof at the front entrance and the Mariensaal, a meeting and event room that can accommodate around 180 people. The Mariengemeinde has also been working with the Italian Catholic community in Offenbach, Rathenaustraße 36, for over ten years and celebrates services together with the faithful.