St. Maria is historically and architecturally one of the most important Catholic churches in Stuttgart and much more than an imposing consecrated place where church services are celebrated. With the project St. Maria as … the parish in the city center initiated a process of opening up and reorientation several years ago. Since then, a diverse social and cultural program has created a space for personal encounters and joint activities.
Based on the new concept as a church of networking and dialog, the neo-Gothic church will be redesigned and renovated from January 2026. The plans include creating a uniform floor level with a new floor covering and new furnishings, including the liturgical spaces as well as the pews and fixtures.
As part of the redesign, a striking, hanging art object is to be created centrally in the crossing, which refers to the presence of the divine in a contemporary artistic form, in awareness of the theological and historical significance and design of this church architectural vanishing point and the altar placed below it. The reference point is the motif of the cloud, which has received little attention in sacred art and which in the Bible is, among other things, God’s abode, his heavenly vehicle and a sign of his mysterious presence. “The Cloud” is designed to be open to interpretation and accessible to both belief and disbelief, confession and doubt.
Issue of the invitation to tender: 11.04.2025
Receipt of queries by: 12.05.2025
Response to queries: 30.05.2025
Submission of 1st phase: 01.07.2025
First jury meeting: 17/18.07.2025
Invitation of participants for 2nd phase: 22.07.2025
Submission of 2nd phase: 06.10.2025
Second jury meeting: 09.10.2025 (alternative date 17.10.2025)
Implementation/installation of the art object: 2027
Closing date: July 1, 2025