Marienstiftskirche, Lich

[3] In 1316, the Marienstift was founded by Philip III of Falkenstein, as a collegiate church (German: Kollegiatstift) with ten canons, which was intended to educate young men for the priesthood.

In the year of the college's foundation, a new, stone church was begun which was roughly two-thirds the size of the present building.

[5] Meister Michael of Nürnberg produced a plan for the new building in 1509 at the instruction of the Count, which was modified in 1510 by Nikolaus of Wetzlar.

[7] After the foundations were dug in spring 1511, the walls of the long sides of the church were under construction until October of that year.

Contrary to the usual order, the non-vaulted nave was built first in 1514 and the choir and sacristy were completed subsequently, in 1525.

[15] In renovations between 1879 and 1881, the glass panes of the southern window and the south side of the slate roof were repaired.

The nave has a steeply pitched roof, which also covers the side aisles and is slightly hipped at the west end.

[19] The Renaissance scrollwork (which was revealed in 1952) is cut off by a faux-marble wooden cornice, which supports the idea that the barrel were added as part of a renovation.

[18] In the side aisles there is late gothic rib vaulting, which was probably originally intended to be installed in the central nave as well, but never added due to financial limitations.

The galleries above the side aisles, which terminate at the choir and are accessed through three spiral staircases in the west wall, are supported by solid round columns.

[9] These columns extend up to the abutment of the main aisle's barrel vault, which forms a secondary arcade above the gallery.

At the top of the eastern pillar on the southern side, indications of the original plan for rib vaulting in the central nave can be seen.

In the northeastern choir window are the remains of the old stained glass windows, which include a depiction of Mary with Child in the aureole from the previous church and one of Elizabeth of Hungary from the date of the present church's original construction, flanking depictions of the coats of arms of Wais von Fauerbach [de] (above) and of Büches [de] (below).

In the southern side aisle there are stained glass depictions of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, as well as the risen Christ.

[18] The church is entered through two pointed-arch doorways: the sumptuous main door on the south side and the smaller, plainer west portal.

[24] It was once thought that the south door was part of the previous church which had been incorporated into the present structure, but this has now been refuted.

They depict the four Doctors of the Church, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and Pope Leo I.

The matching altar and the baptismal font are made out of white-veined, grey-black Lahn marble [de].

[30] The life-sized, late Gothic, wooden crucifix of the three-nail type is located nearby, above the altar and it dates from 1511.

The self-contained Fürstenstuhl for the church's noble patrons, the Princes of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, is located opposite of the pulpit.

It is a closed lodge with five windows between wooden pilasters and arches and bears a label reading "1714" and a coat of arms from 1859.

[18] Behind the door of the doorway to the south gallery is a wooden board which served as a Henkerssitz, the special seat for the town executioner.

[33] The organ was built during the Thirty Years' War between 1621 and 1624 by the organ-builder Georg Wagner [de] of Lich and had around 20 registers with two manuals and a pedalboard, as well as wing doors on the sides.

In 1913, a substantial renovation took place in the course of which the organ received tubular-pneumatic action, cone chests, a free-standing console, an expression pedal and several new registers.

Finally, further tunings were added in 2002, so that the modern instrument contains over 39 registers and can adequately reproduce a broad range of styles.

The raised round tower in the middle is crowned by the Habsburg double eagle, flanked by figures of King David and Solomon.

The three-part rear housing with a round central tower is located on a ledge relatively distant from its console.

The Marienstift cantors, the project-choir "Camerata Vocale Hessen," children's and youths' choirs and the brassband shape parish life.

Since 2001, the full-time choir-master and organist, Christof Becker, has co-ordinated the musical schedule and has organised regular organ vespers and concert series, such as BarockFestLich.