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EXPLORING
KENTUCKY - October 2005 by Katherine Tandy Brown A Peace-Filled Pilgrimage Like many major metropolitan areas in the Eastern United States, the Ohio River triumvirate of Cincinnati, Covington and Newport drew hordes of 19th-century immigrants – especially Irish and German – to its labor markets. In Northern Kentucky, some of the Irish helped macadamize turnpikes and bridges, while others became tavern and shop owners, policemen and firemen. The Germans helped with bridge-building and also counted many fine craftsmen among their ranks. Both ethnic groups embraced Catholicism, erecting impressive churches. Today, a surprising number of religious attractions lure the faithful and curious to Covington and Newport. St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, constructed for the Irish Catholic community, has held Covington services since 1901 in a grand Gothic limestone structure with blatant French inspiration. The marvelous Abbey Church of St. Denys in Paris influenced its interior, with ribbed apse and nave vaults arching 81 feet, while its main façade is Mme. Notre Dame herself reincarnate. All intricately laid mosaic tile and mother-of-pearl, 14 stations of the cross were handcrafted by Venetian artisans in 1915. In the quiet Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a gold-plated tabernacle inlaid with semi-precious stones shares artistic honors with two murals painted by early 20th-century Covington master Frank Duveneck, whose works are on permanent display at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The three organs, centerpieces of the Cathedral Concert Season, include a historic Mathias Schwab tracker, vintage 1859. Of the basilica’s 82 stained glass windows, all made in Munich by Mayer Studios, the pièce de résistance graces the north transept, a 67-foot by 24-foot, awe-inspiring creation, one of the largest in the world. You can admire this treasure at a 10 a.m. Sunday mass and stay for a guided tour. Mother of God Roman Catholic Church, built for the area’s German community and an outstanding example of Italian Renaissance Revival, dates from 1870-71. It is worth a visit for its architectural attributes and important artworks alone, though Catholics will want to attend a mass to get the full experience. Non-Catholics are welcomed to drop in, if only to slide into a pew and gawk at its awesome aesthetics. The gorgeous red-brick structure is easy to spot, with twin 200-foot-high bell towers, clocks eight feet in diameter and a 150-foot-high, copper-clad dome. Inside, light pours through brilliant stained glass windows, most made by Munich’s Mayer. Johann Schmitt, a local artist and first teacher of Duveneck, painted five large canvas murals depicting the Catholic Rosary in the sanctuary. Hand-painted ceiling frescoes and stations of the cross, Carrera angels with holy water bowls, English mosaic and German mettlach tile floors and hand-carved oak communion rail and altars provide a virtual visual feast. All are sparkling thanks to a $1.2 million restoration following a major fire in 1986. “It’s almost like going to church at an art gallery,” says Ft. Wright historian Paul Tenkotte, Ph.D., a member of the congregation and of the Cathedral Foundation who leads in-depth tours of the facility. “Five or six major artists are represented. The National Trust for Historic Preservation came 10 to 15 years ago and proclaimed it one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture.” An unusual example of that genre on Newport’s town square is the 150-year-old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, with its timbered ceiling, stained glass lancet windows and acoustically splendid stone interior, put to good use during its monthly Sunday concerts. Making music outdoors, the World Peace Bell, which first rang at midnight on January 1, 2000, to usher in a millennium of peace, now chimes each day at noon. At 66,000 pounds, 12 feet tall and the same in diameter, it was cast in France by Cincinnati’s Verdin Company, Ohio’s oldest family-run manufacturing company and the world’s largest maker of bells, clocks, carillons and bronze monuments. It now ranks as the world’s largest swinging bell and its sound reverberates for miles. The Garden of Hope in Covington offers a tranquil respite on a hill just above busy I-75. Representative of the Protestant influences brought to the region from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, the shrine was a labor of love for Morris Coers. Inspired by a visit to the Holy Land, the reverend determined to create a place where folks who could not make that trip might still have a part of his inspiring experience. After years of construction overseen by the caretaker of a Jerusalem garden, the Newport attraction opened in 1958. Visitors can explore a replica of the tomb from which Jesus is said to have arisen from the dead at Easter. A carpenter’s shop simulating the type Jesus would have worked in as a boy includes a number of tools that are hundreds of years old, gifts to the Garden from David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. Intrigued? Call the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at (800) 447-8489 or log on to www.staynky.com.
Katherine Tandy
Brown is a staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2005, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
is copyright 2005, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
During World War II, the first great wave of Appalachian groups arrived to supply much-needed manpower for war industries, such as Northern Kentucky’s massive steel mills. Leaving the mountains to find work to support their families “back home,” these tenacious people embraced primarily Protestant beliefs and began numerous small churches.
Great Outdoors Fall Photo Weekend