St. Marien, High Altar, Detail

@grouser: Nope, if I would have wanted to show the horror side of religion I would have shown something completely different than this wonderful altar. This is great handcraft, no more and no less.

@Tracey: Okay, okay, I'll read that book!
Btw, if you have some insights to share, feel free to do so... :-)

@Lorraine: My favourite 19th century church up to now. When I was there I was alone, had enough time and light. That was a nice little photo session.

@valenttin: Definitely! This one was my darkest so far. Very important to have a reliable camera at hand. With St. Marien I was very lucky though, as it did not only have a very light interior but the sun was also shining at a lucky angle. Thanks for dropping by!

@ManuelaR: A wonderful altar, indeed! Thanks very much!

@Ina: Thanks very much! If light just would always be good like this!

@Observing: That doesn't sound very good! Church closings here are also quite common, especially protestant churches are hit by this. But slowly a kind of rethinking rises up: when in one of the poorest corners of the Ruhr region a church was to be demolished, opposition from residents, gastronomers and tradesmen emerged, because this church was a landmark and monument of its quarter. I don't know how it ended, but even if many people don't go to church anymore, they recognize their worth, at least the worth of the buildings.
Btw, the church you see is by no means a 'poor' church! The city of Bonn is quite wealthy and so are its parishes. This one here was designed exactly as seen and unchanged since then, all equipment is in a remarkably good condition. I've seldom seen a 'preppy' church like that! :-)

@Steven: Thanks! Tabernacle: I think so, yes. The altar was the only structure in the choir.

@JoeB: Thanks Joe! I'm curious how it will look like with the lamps on.

@grouser: If you only stick to the object you might be true. In early Baroque times the suffering of Christ and the saints was celebrated in a detailed (if not gory) way. You can still see this in undisturbed Baroque churches today, especially the sufferings of St Sebastian were depicted / modeled with all bloody details. However, due to protestant influence there was a change in picture language, shifting from the depiction of suffering to the figure of the Redeemer who has overcome these sufferings. This way Protestantism and Counter-Reformation both changed the perspective on this subject, something to keep in mind when looking at a crucifix, especially if it's painted / modeled after 1700.

@Japanalia: Yes, the altar is all wood. I'm very happy that this beautiful place exists. It's located inmidst an urban residential area with houses built around 1900.

@akarui: I like that gold colour very much. In the near future we'll see an Italian church with similar colour combinations.

@Twelvebit: Who knows what 'really' happened? In the end it's religious tradition, formed by various people during 2000 years, influenced by many other religions, modified by fashion and philosophy and of course by the influence of their leaders, good or evil. Religion is something that lives by its believers. This is in sharp contrast to these Jesus freaks who reduce their 'content' to simple messages à la 'Jesus loves you.' or 'He also died for you.' If it would be that simple I would be no longer a member of my church. Simplification (remember that altar!) leads to arbitrariness.
Btw, the crucification was most probably real, as it was a common punishment for treason in Roman jurisdiction.