Saints Peter and Paul Church (Petersburg, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Saints Peter and Paul Church
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | Jct. of C64 and X47 Petersburg, Iowa |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architect | Martin Heer |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001589 |
| Added to NRHP | January 24, 1995 |
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church is a special church located in Petersburg, Iowa. It's part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. This beautiful church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, which means it's an important historical building!
History of the Church
The first church building for Saints Peter and Paul was built a long time ago, in 1868. It was made from limestone, a strong rock. The church you see today was finished in 1906. It was built using cut-stone from Stone City, Iowa. The church was designed in the Late Gothic Revival style. This style looks a bit like old European cathedrals.
The architect who designed it was Martin Heer from Dubuque. Construction started in 1903. M.J. Mersch laid the foundation, and F.D. Schnak built the main structure. The beautiful altars and confessionals inside were made by the Hackner Altar Company. Joseph Walters created the colorful frescos (wall paintings). The amazing stained glass windows were designed in Munster, Germany. The whole church cost $85,000 to build. A large pipe organ was added in 1939. Besides the church, there's also a rectory (where the priest lives) built in 1917 and an Art Deco style school building on the church grounds.
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From the north
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Side elevation
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Rear elevation
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Rectory
Church Design and Size
The church is the biggest building in Petersburg. It's shaped like a cross. The main part is 150 by 54 feet (46 by 16 m) long. It's 74 feet (23 m) wide at the transept (the arms of the cross shape).
The tall central tower on the front of the church (the main facade) reaches 145 feet (44 m) high. Two other towers stand on the corners of the front, each 120 feet (37 m) tall. The sides of the church have six sections, each with a large, tall lancet window. Above these, there are groups of three smaller lancet windows. On the transept, you'll find Rose windows instead of the smaller window groups. At the back of the church is a rounded section called an apse, with a rectangular room called a sacristy behind it.
The Parish School
For many years, Saints Peter and Paul School was the local parish school.
In 1987, it joined with another school to form Archbishop Hennessy Catholic School. This new school had two locations: younger students (grades K-3) went to school in New Vienna, and older students (preschool and grades 4-6) went to the Petersburg campus. This school served both Saints Peter and Paul Church and Saint Boniface Church in New Vienna. At that time, over 100 students attended.
In 2013, all grades moved to the Petersburg location. The school had 60 students then. However, the number of students kept getting smaller. By 2017, only 45 students were enrolled. Archbishop Hennessy Catholic School closed in 2018.
Today, the main Catholic grade school in this area is St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Dyersville.
