Mariendom, Neviges (Pilgrimage Church of Mary, Queen of Peace)

The Neviges pilgrimage goes back to 1681. Rising pilgrim numbers in the early 20th century soon prompted the wish for a large new church; after the Second World War the growing crowds made a new building necessary, and the plan was carried out in the 1960s.

Gottfried Böhm designed the church at the request of the archbishop, on a slope next to the Franciscan monastery, to which sacristies link it. Built from 1966 to 1968, it was consecrated in 1968. First planned without seating, it could hold 6,000 people. A few years later the complex gained the pilgrims' house, first planned as a residence for nuns and also designed by Böhm; its topping-out was celebrated in 1970. The church, the pilgrims' house and the kindergarten were entered in 1995 on the City of Velbert's list of monuments.

The reinforced-concrete church rises on an irregular polygonal plan beneath a self-supporting folded concrete roof. Its steep walls and roofs break several times along sharp edges, and the interlocking roofscape varies in height, so that the building looks like a rock. The pilgrims' house and the kindergarten frame the square in front of it.

The pilgrims' path leads up to it in stages, from one open space to the next, to the highest point: an open forecourt that continues into the church, where the sanctuary, in the design's concept, marks the end of the route. The pilgrims' house, of exposed concrete, lines one side of this rising path; it follows the bend of the path and steps up the slope, its upper floor jutting far out, and its façade alternates half-round oriels with straight walls.

Inside, the wide space is treated like a square: the brick paving and street lamps of the outdoors carry on within. Three tiers of galleries, made of angular volumes, project like balconies and gain relief from lighting placed behind them; they recall houses with balconies around a market square. Two chapels and a lower church are set apart from the main hall. Böhm also designed the coloured windows, in which bright red roses, symbols of Marian devotion, are the high points of the lighting.

The Mariendom is the pilgrimage church of Neviges. Pilgrims come to venerate its miraculous image, set in the Marian column: a small copper engraving of the Immaculate Conception, dated 1661. The lower church serves as a place of meditation and is furnished with old wooden sculptures.

The pilgrims' house contains the pilgrims' toilets, a pilgrims' hall and a guesthouse: simple self-catering lodging for at most 30 people, mostly in twin rooms.

Outside announced closures, the church is open to visitors every day from 9 am to 5 pm, except during services. Guided tours are for groups of 10 to 58 people, booked through the pilgrimage office, and are not held on Sundays; a large group should also register if it comes without a guide.

Velbert-Neviges station is a short walk away. Access by the pilgrims' square is step-free; disabled visitors can also enter from Löher Straße by giving notice beforehand.