The Carmelite Priors arrived in”Boppard”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/otherholidays/rhine/b_boppard/town/index.html in the C13th and founded one of the first priories in Germany here, outside the Medieval walls. Twelve clergy and lay brothers lived here and the church also served as the parish church. It is a large double naved building dating from the C14th and C15th.
The first church was built in 1320 and a second larger nave was added to the north in 1439. The church had a wealthy congregation and was used the burial place of the town aristocracy. The splendid altars are the result of their generous donations. The church originally had splendid stained glass windows but these were sold by the town council and are now in different museums around the world, including the Burrell Museum in Glasgow.
The plain exterior of the church is a complete contrast to the inside, particularly the south nave with its glorious Baroque altar piece dating from around 1700. The carved wood choir stalls date from the C15th. At the back is a lovely pietra of the Virgin holding the body of the Crucified Christ, dating from around 1430.
There is a wall mounted stone pulpit on the south wall. The wall painting above it shows the life of St Alexius. He was a Roman citizen who left his wife to live as a hermit in the desert. He became venerate as a saint and returned to Rome to escape from this notoriety. He was taken in by his parents, who didn’t recognise him and spent the rest of his days in prayer, living in a cupboard under the stairs.
There are more altars with splendid reredos on the massive pillars separating the two naves, including the lovely triptych of the Crucifixion dating from the early C16th.
The massive Baroque reredos in the north nave was the former high altar of “St Severus Church”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/otherholidays/rhine/b_boppard/severus/index.html in Boppard and dates from the middle of the C17th. On either side are the statues of St Severus and St Peter. The large painting shows the last supper. Above is the nativity. The rest of the north aisle is empty apart from some carved stones against the north wall.
This is a very attractive church and well worth finding. It is open from 9-5.
There are more pictures “here.”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/otherholidays/rhine/b_boppard/carmelite/index.html
