The Unionskirche (Union Church) is the active Protestant parish church of Idstein, a town in the Rheingau-Taunus district in the German state of Hesse. Idstein was a residence of the counts of Nassau. The church building in the center of the historic Altstadt (old town) dates back to the 14th century when it was built as a collegiate church. It became Lutheran during the Reformation. Its interior was adapted in the 17th century to become a Lutheran Predigt- und Hofkirche (sermon and court church). The most prominent decoration in the church is the series of 38 paintings by the Flemish painter Michael Angelo Immenraedt, an exponent of Flemish Baroque painting, and others. They follow a program of biblical scenes. The church was named Unionskirche in 1917 to commemorate the union of Lutheran and Reformed Protestants in the Duchy of Nassau in August 1817, the first of its kind (before the Prussian Union in September of the same year). The Unionskirche is a recognized monument under the Hague Convention. The Protestant congregation uses it, and it is open to other institutions as a concert venue, including concerts of the Rheingau Musik Festival. It features an organ built in 1912 by Walcker Orgelbau and retaining the historic case dating back to 1783. The church was restored from 2012 to 2017, completed for 500 years since the Reformation and 200 years since the Union. The restoration was awarded the Hessischer Denkmalschutzpreis (Hessian monument preservation prize).
History
Collegiate church of St. Martin Remnants in the tower, which lies north of the choir, show that a Romanesque church existed before 1287 at the same location. The present edifice was built from 1330 to 1350 under Gerlach, Count of Nassau, as a collegiate church for a college of six canons, founded in 1333. The college and church were dedicated to St. Martin.
Protestant church Idstein became Lutheran during the Reformation. After the Thirty Years' War, the church was transformed to a representative Baroque Predigt- und Hofkirche (sermon and court church) by Count Johann of Nassau-Idstein. The restructuring lasted from 1665 to 1677. While the nave was retained, the church was expanded to the west, and the walls were raised, resulting in flatter roofs. Most of the pillars were removed, oval windows were installed in the clerestory, and portals were rounded. Arnold Harnisch (Mainz) and Hans Martin Sattler (Idstein) removed the vaults and built Marmorarkaden (marble arcades). Galleries were installed on three sides in 1675.
There were reserved chairs for certain senior members of society in royal government, municipal government, administration, jurisprudence, presiding roles, and the citizenry (Herrschafts-, Rats-, Sekretär-, Gerichts-, Vorsteher-, Bürgerstuhl). Plaques on the respective balustrades show biblical quotations relevant to the position. In 1714, the tower was heightened, and in 1830 an octagonal spire with gables was added. In 1725, dormer windows were added to provide better lighting for the gallery.
Paintings A unique feature of the church are 38 oil paintings, which completely cover the ceiling of the nave and the upper part of the walls. This use of paintings as an architectural feature is unusual for a Protestant church. The paintings, exclusively on biblical topics, were created from 1673 to 1678 by Michael Angelo Immenraedt from Antwerp and his assistant Johannes Melchior Bencard. Three paintings are based on designs by Joachim von Sandrart, and five were executed by his nephew Johann von Sandrart. Several paintings are based on well-known works by Rubens. For example, The Wedding at Cana on the south wall shows similarity to Rubens's painting The Feast of Herod, which hangs today in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. The sequence of paintings aims to tell biblical stories to a partly illiterate congregation. The biblical figures are depicted in courtly Baroque garments. The painting Heimsuchung (Visitation) shows Mary arriving with a servant who carries her baggage on his head. Her cousin Elizabeth lives in a residence with a formal garden in the background. Johann of Nassau-Idstein had a formal garden at the Idstein residential palace, which was begun in 1646. The topics of the paintings in the center row of the ceiling are, from the altar to the back: Verklärung Christi am Tabor (Transfiguration), Kreuzaufrichtung (Elevation of the cross), Auferstehung (Resurrection), Kreuzabnahme (Descent from the Cross), Himmelfahrt (Ascension), and Johannes auf Patmos sieht den Himmel offen und die Engel mit dem Evangelium (Vision of St. John on Patmos, literally: John on Patmos sees heaven open and the angels with the Gospel). Paintings before restoration:
Paintings after restoration, 2017:
Fittings and furniture
The marble altar was built in 1676 by Arnold Harnisch. It shows a painting of the Last Supper from the end of the 17th century. The marble pulpit was erected in 1673 by Christian Gaßmann and the baptismal font, also of marble, in 1675 by Martin Sattler. Count Johann, infamous for his persecution of witches (Hexenverfolgung) as late as 1676, died shortly before the reconstruction of the church was completed. Franz Matthias Hiernle constructed an epitaph for Georg August Samuel von Nassau-Idstein, his wife Henriette Dorothea and their children, who are buried there. It was designed by Maximilian von Welsch and placed to the left of the altar.
A 1725 fresco above the altar by Maximilian Pronner (Gießen) depicts a vision from the Book of Revelation as described by St. John (Revelation 5:12ff). George Frideric Handel set the same biblical passage to music as Worthy is the Lamb, to conclude his oratorio Messiah. In 1726, decorative wooden pillars in the shape of palm trees were installed. The lattice separating the elevated chancel was made by Johann Urban Zais. Two crystal chandeliers hang above the main aisle. They date from the early 19th century and were originally installed in the old Kurhaus Wiesbaden.
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