Discover Trogen

Trogen brings together the Protestant parish church and the Via Imperii Way of St. James, which passes through the town. The church is a Baroque hall church and a Margrave’s Church; it was built in 1747 under the patronage of the city of Hof and forms the center of the parish. Its works of art date from different periods: the crucifix was created around 1500, and the altar cross in 1748/49. The parish website also offers a 3D tour of the church.

Baroque Church and Works of Art

The term hall church draws attention to the building’s design; Margrave’s Church is another name for the place of worship. To understand the chronology, it is useful to distinguish the year the church was built from the dates when individual works of art were created. The furnishings do not belong to a single period, but include works with markedly different dates.

An old crucifix created by Peter Breuer of Zwickau around 1500 hangs to the right of the altar. Breuer was a pupil of Tilman Riemenschneider. This makes the work around two and a half centuries older than the church building, which dates from 1747. The comparison makes the span of time tangible: the year the church was built is not also the year its works of art were created.

Another work dates from around the time the church was built: Wolfgang Adam Knoll carved the altar cross on the table of the pulpit altar in 1748/49. This date refers to the cross, not to the start of the church’s construction. The two works also differ in location: the crucifix hangs to the right of the altar, while the altar cross stands on the pulpit altar.

Knoll also created a baptismal angel. It wears a colorful robe, has large golden wings, and holds a baptismal bowl in its hands. The church thus features different forms of furnishings: the carved altar cross and a figure depicted with a baptismal bowl. The golden ornaments on the organ case also catch the eye.

The history of the organ case also includes the instrument originally housed inside it: it was made by the Heidenreich firm of the Silbermann school. During the church renovation of 1888/89, the former mother parish of Hof-St. Lorenz gave the instrument to Trogen parish church. This historical information about the organ complements the view of its visible golden decoration.

Further Architectural and Cultural Connections

A Neo-Romanesque tomb is located in Trogen cemetery. Its style provides a different architectural accent from the Baroque hall church. Trogen therefore offers two distinct types of buildings to explore, each with its own theme.

Another travel connection is the Burgstein–Trogen–Hof pilgrimage stage of the Via Imperii Way of St. James, which passes through Trogen. When planning your visit, you can distinguish between different interests: the parish church offers connections to architectural history and art, while the stage focuses on the pilgrimage route.

If you are looking for a hotel in Trogen, you can use these interests as a starting point for choosing your destination: are church art and architecture your main focus, or is Trogen part of your pilgrimage? This way, you can tailor your search to what brings you to the town.

Discover more destinations: Münchberg, Naila, Hof, Feilitzsch, Konradsreuth, Selbitz, Geroldsgrün, Schwarzenbach Am Wald

Go to the main travel overview: Hof.