Little Cathedral on the Prairie

On our road trip earlier this month we also stopped in Hoven and I walked into the Cathedral of the Prairie or St. Anthony of Padua Church. The large wooden doors were unlocked and the quietness within enhanced the church's title of cathedral. I had been in the church about 25-30 years ago for nieces' confirmation. At that time I did not appreciate the beauty and architecture of this small town historic building.

twin 140' spires

This Romanesque revival style was built in 1917-1921 after the wooden structure fell as a result of a prairie windstorm. The residing priest Anthony Helmbrecht convinced seventy of the parishes 200 families to raise $500,000 to build a structure that would last through the harshness of the prairie's weather and natural disasters. He envisioned a church similar to the ones he remembered as a child in Bavaria. This structure is a miniature replica of a 1,000 year old church in Ruhmannsfelden, Bavaria.

The church was created by Bavarian craftsmen and artisans. It seats 1200 and has the acoustics worthy of opera singers, which it has hosted. 

Local townspeople have learned artistic techniques necessary to keep the church looking as it did 100 years ago when it was built. The church went through a major restoration in the 1970s and 80s. That was when I saw the church, through scaffolding and new paint/old paint. Maybe that is one of the reasons I did not think it impressive.

The church has 31 Bavarian stained glass windows. Many of the windows' details follow the style of Bavarian & European artists with whimsical adornments of Bavarian hats and local residents in the faces. The windows originally cost $8,300 and are considered priceless today. They have been polished and resealed and are now protected with plexiglass.

$500,000 in 1917 would be equal to $10 million today. Anton Dohman, a Bavarian immigrant from Milwaukee was the architect for the project. He also designed catholic churches in Strasburg and Richardson ND. I have been in Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Strasburg. (The priest is a geocacher and has placed a geocache The Rock and the Sword GC3TJWW in the church. Evidently I did not have the camera with me on that adventure.)

Hoven was settled in 1883 and the first St. Anthony of Padua Church was built in 1887. It, like most of the early places of worship, was a wooden building.

The day was cold and windy with on again, off again rain. The skies did not clear in the evening, but the clouds certainly added interest to the sunset along the Missouri River at Pollock.