The Catholic parish church of St. Maria is located in the centre of Landau, directly on the Marienring. With its towering size, it is the most powerful church in the entire southern Palatinate and was built in the neo-Romanesque cathedral style. The foundation stone for the Marienkirche was laid on 12 June 1908 according to plans by Josef Cades, Stuttgart. In 1910, the church was ready for construction, with the exception of the two towers. On 12 June 1911, the church was solemnly consecrated by the Bishop of Speyer, Michael von Faulhaber, later Archbishop of Munich and Freising. One hundred years later, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, also first Bishop of Speyer and later Archbishop of Munich and Freising, celebrated the anniversary service in his home parish. At that time, the construction of the church was estimated at around 1 million gold marks (from today's perspective, this corresponds to approx. 42 million euros). It is 73 metres long, 40 metres wide and 20 metres high in the nave. The mighty west towers each reach a height of 60 metres. The church has a floor area of 2,236 square metres and 44,673 cubic metres of enclosed space. About 60 single-family houses would find room in the Marienkirche. Speyer Cathedral is five times larger.
TEXT: www.kirchelandau.de/pfarrei-gemeinden/kirchen/kirche-st-maria/
