Rededication Mass on 18 Aug. Open for regular Mass and the public starting 14 Sept.
Some of the renovation plans included lowering the floor that was installed in the 1500's & 1900's due the continual flooding of the river.
This beautiful church with its' 2 crusader helmet towers, dates back to 1219 and contains myriad treasures. Located on the Main river, just past the Eisener Steg bridge and the Römer, it is easy to find.
* The following is not able to be seen yet as this nave is not finished, but hopefully very soon.
Inside, one of the 1st things you will see is a huge, beautifully carved Romanesque stone portal carved in 1220. This is the Jerusalem Portal. As you continue down the nave towards your left, you encounter the Jacobs Way Portal, also from 1220, commemorating those making the pilgrimage to Santiago del Compostela, as St. Leonhards was an important way station for these pilgrims. Continuing on, you come upon the best treasure of them all, an architectural oddity - the "hanging vault". Created in 1510, this was one of Frankfurts' biggest sightseeing sensations in the 1700 and 1800's.
St. Leonhards has some very interesting vaulting. Each section of the church has a different, unique style. The area near the portals and the "hanging vault" has many crests on it and is very intricate, as well as containing beautiful designs of birds, flowers and so on in the areas between the ribbing. The ceiling in the choir area has what is called "star vaulting" and it is believed that Madern Gaertner, the architect for the Kaiserdom and the Eschenheimer Turm, designed this around 1430.
In the choir area, are several beautiful frescos that range in age between 1440 and 1600. The 3 altars all date from the early 1500's and are very beautiful. The Flemish "Mary Altar", to the left of the choir, is exceptionally detailed and dates from 1480.
www.stleonhards.org/
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