Inside the Russian Orthodox Chapel at Mathildenhöhe

One of the more interesting structures at Mathildenhöhe in the city of Darmstadt is the curious presence of a Russian Orthodox Chapel. I believe that most if not all of Germany follows either the Roman Catholic or Protestant church. I wouldn’t have expected a Russian Orthodox Chapel in the middle of Germany. Most certainly not in the middle of an artists’ colony. It seems that the chapel itself predates the artist colony. Back then it was the Saint Maria Magdalena Chapel. I don’t know how it looked like back then but the chapel was built for the use of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II whose wife comes from Darmstadt.

The chapel looks like a typical Russian Orthodox church with the signature onion domes. I have seen these types of churches before and they tend to be small for some reason. This chapel is actually open to visitors and worshipers. There is a nice old lady who maintains the chapel and although she didn’t speak English, I was let in without any issue. As I expected, the chapel was not that big. There might be enough room for maybe twenty people inside. The inside of the chapel looks much older than than how it looks from the outside. I think this is because the orthodox branch follows what they believe is the original, true church and doctrines. I don’t know much about it but I think it makes sense they it would looks older and maybe the Roman Catholic chapels or churches.

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