Heading north of West Union, Iowa, there are a series of small towns with surprising large churches. It’s a testament to just how many more people used to live in the countryside, when agriculture was so much more labor intensive. Eldorado is first up, with the soaring St. Peter Lutheran Church, complete with an interesting refurbishment of its front façade
There are also some interesting buildings along State Street north of the church, which look abandoned, unfortunately.
Heading further up Highway 150 to Calmar, we spot St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, which is part of a consortium of four churches as has been proposed for the St. Louis Archdiocese.
On the west side of Calmar is Trinity Lutheran Church, with roots going back to 1853, the current congregation was formed in 1944. It reminds me of Spanish colonial architecture as we’ve seen in San Antonio in the belfry.
In Fort Atkinson, we come across St. John Nepomuk Roman Catholic Church, which is part of the Christ Our Hope cluster. St. John Nepomuk always make me think of the amazing Asamkirche in Munich, Germany, which I first saw back in 1992.
There is also some nice architecture in town.
