Hesse's oldest Autobahnkirche marks 25 years as Germany observes national highway church day
The Medenbach-West rest area chapel on the A3 near Wiesbaden attracts some 20,000 visitors a year seeking quiet. Its silver jubilee coincides with the nationwide Day of Autobahn Churches on Sunday, 28 June.
The Medenbach-West motorway chapel, a low concrete building set back from the car park on the A3 near Wiesbaden, marks its 25th anniversary this month. The milestone coincides with the nationwide Day of Autobahn Churches on Sunday, 28 June 2026, an annual event that highlights the network of places of worship along Germany’s motorways.
A quiet haven on the A3
Roughly 20,000 travellers, from lorry drivers to holidaymakers and business people, pause at the chapel each year, according to the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN). The 81-square-metre space, with its 24 seats and a slanted coloured-glass roof, offers respite from the constant hum of the Cologne-Frankfurt motorway. Open round the clock, the chapel is particularly popular in summer, when its interior can offer a cool retreat.
The entries visitors leave in the prayer book are also used in our intercessions.
Growing tradition of highway churches
Germany’s first Autobahnkirche was consecrated in 1958 in Adelsried, Bavaria, on the A8. Since then, the network has expanded to 44 motorway chapels and lorry-stop churches across the country, several of them in Hesse. The Medenbach-West chapel, inaugurated around 2001, was the state’s first. Devotions lasting about half an hour are held from March to December on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 pm.
- First German Autobahnkirche inaugurated in Adelsried, Bavaria
- Hesse's first Autobahnkirche opens at Medenbach-West
- 25th anniversary; 44 Autobahnkirchen nationwide; national Day of Autobahn Churches
Art and architecture in concrete and glass
The chapel’s most striking feature is its sloping glass roof, partially coloured in blue tones to depict a resurrection scene. The design is by Johannes Schreiter, a renowned German glass artist who has created windows for numerous churches across the country. The concrete structure and arcade give the building a modernist feel that contrasts with the surrounding rest stop.
A place for prayer, and occasional trouble
While the chapel is a sanctuary for many, its around-the-clock accessibility also invites occasional problems.
Once, a homeless person slept inside. The prayer books, however, tell a deeper story: over the years, visitors have filled several dozen volumes with wishes, worries and observations, which are incorporated into the community’s intercessions.Windows have not been smashed, but hymnbooks and Bibles have been stolen.
