Though its twin steeples bear an uncanny resemblance to the bat-ear embellishments on the Caped Crusader's mask, this church on the outskirts of Wilnsdorf, Germany is not, in fact, a tribute to Gotham's protector. For that, there's always one superfan's $2M Batcave-themed home theater, or the world's nerdiest erotic motel. No, the Siegerland Motorway Church is something a little bit stranger, one of Germany's many Autobahnkirche, which are roadside churches found at highway rest stops, often among gas stations and fast food joints. The Dark Knight headgear association is a byproduct of an attempt at mimicking something else; Frankfurt architects Schneider+Schumacher designed the house of worship to have a silhouette matching the "church ahead" symbol found on German highway signs.
"Whether approached from afar from the Dortmund direction, or from the motorway service area, the church represents a built version of the motorway church signage," explained architect Michael Schumacher to Dezeen. "Even though its exterior form is abstract, it still signals in an immediate and direct way, 'I am a church!'" With a warm timber interior that's meant to "come as a surprise," like Batman out of the shadows, maybe the place still has a few things in common with Bruce Wayne's alter ego. Saving souls is kind of like fighting crime, whether you're doing it in a huge concrete cross or at a rest stop in Germany. According to Schumacher, the form also suggests an origami creation, but we'll always remember it as Batchurch.
· Schneider+Schumacher's church based on motorway signage looks like Batman [Dezeen]
· All Batman coverage [Curbed National]
· All churches coverage [Curbed National]
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