“Lost in time and memory” is how many would describe the Antoniuskapelle ruins before us. Let me tell you a story about this place. It is a story of faith, loss and rediscovery.
Once, where you are standing was not ruins. It was the Antoniterkirche. This church and the monastery stood tall in Frankfurt from 1236. That is almost 600 years.
The Antonines received property near the Bornheimer Gate from Bresto. Bresto was a Frankfurt citizen. The order also received Frankfurt citizenship with this gift.
Around 1430, they built a small Gothic hall church. It had a simple roof turret. Older city maps show it had a four-bay nave. It also featured a chancel with a 3/8 conclusion and buttresses. Achilles Augustus von Lersner described an Antonite preceptor’s gravestone from 1693. An inventory from 1717 mentioned two altars. It also listed a tabernacle and a sacrament cabinet in the wall. A pulpit and two confessionals were also present.
Unlike other locations, Frankfurt did not have a hospital. The Antonines focused on treating those with St. Anthony’s fire. The Frankfurt branch primarily bought and sold goods for the order. This happened during the Frankfurt trade fairs. Few monks lived in the Antonite monastery. The street where the monastery stood became known as Antonitergasse. Over time, this name morphed into Töngeesgasse.
An unknown master created a relief above the church’s entrance around the early 15th century. He likely came from Madern Gerthner’s school. It depicted Saint Anthony’s visit to Paul of Thebes in the desert. It was considered the church’s most artistically significant piece. Today, it is in the Historical Museum. Matthias Grünewald visited the monastery often. This may have inspired his depiction for the Isenheim Altar.
In 1441, the Antonines moved their Rossdorf convent to Höchst. From then on, the clergy there also held services in Frankfurt’s Antonite monastery. Even after the Reformation in 1533, the monastery remained in their possession. The interior remained as it was. However, the monastery played no role in the Protestant imperial city. It mostly stood empty. It gradually fell into disrepair.
During the Thirty Years’ War, the Jesuits tried to gain a foothold in Frankfurt. They acquired the Antonite courtyard and church. However, the Frankfurt Council forced them to leave. The Capuchins were more successful. On April 23, 1628, the council allowed seven monks to move into the monastery. This was due to imperial pressure. After Swedish troops occupied the city, the council expelled the Capuchins on June 13, 1633. Years later, the council returned the monastery to the Antonines. But they could not hold public services.
A major fire in June 1719 destroyed much of the area between Zeil and Schnurgasse. The Antonite monastery suffered heavy damage. The Antonines sold the ruins to the Capuchins in 1723 with imperial permission. This allowed them to return to Frankfurt after almost a century. They began rebuilding the church and monastery. The council quietly tolerated it. By 1725, the new building was consecrated. Lothar Franz von Schönborn, the Archbishop of Mainz, did the honors.
The small baroque church was rotated 90 degrees. Its choir faced north. The southern end with the main entrance was on Töngeesgasse. In 1729, Archbishop Graf Schönborn donated a high altar. Cornelius Andreas Donett created it. Contemporaries praised its artistic quality. They also liked the side altars and ten large Passion paintings. Heinrich Sebastian Hüsgens called it “very good taste.” Surviving pieces show influences of Régence style. It was separating from heavy Baroque.
In 1802, the entire complex fell to the city. This happened during secularization. The city had no interest in it. It auctioned it off for demolition in June 1803. Johann Georg von Meyer bought it. City architect Johann Georg Christian Hess built classical houses on the site. Parts of the furnishings went to other Frankfurt churches. A confessional is in the Leonhardskirche. A crucifix from the high altar is in the cathedral’s choir.
The area lay vacant after buildings were destroyed in World War II and cleared in the 1950s. In the late 1950s, architects Meid and Romeick built the Konstabler parking garage. It opened September 15, 1959, with 750 spaces.
The Capuchins returned to Frankfurt in 1899. They built St. Antonius in the southern Westend. In 1917, they took over the Liebfrauenkirche. It was near the former Antonite monastery. A Capuchin monastery is still there today.
Now, only ruins remain of the Antoniuskapelle. Yet, its story echoes through Frankfurt. It is a reminder of faith. It is a testament to art. It also reflects Frankfurt’s ever-changing history.