Römisch-katholische Pfarrei Liebfrauen Rheinau

The Römisch-katholische Pfarrei Liebfrauen Rheinau is the Roman Catholic parish of Rheinau, in the canton of Zurich, and its wedding page is about one building above all: the Klosterkirche Rheinau, the monastery church. The parish site also covers the town's Bergkirche and Spitzkirche and a Haus der Stille (house of silence), and it runs sections on guided tours, room reservations, music and photos. This is a parish, not an events business. The wedding page is short and practical, and it tells a couple from abroad what they need to know first: who can marry here, how many guests fit, who to call, and where to go if the Klosterkirche is not the right fit.

Who can marry in the Klosterkirche

The page opens by welcoming the interest: "Wir freuen uns, dass sie sich für eine Hochzeit in der Klosterkirche Rheinau interessieren" (we are pleased that you are interested in a wedding in the Klosterkirche Rheinau). It then sets the key condition: "Beachten Sie bitte, dass nur katholische oder ökumenische Trauungen in der Klosterkirche durchgeführt werden können". Only Catholic or ecumenical weddings can be held in the Klosterkirche. For couples for whom that does not apply, the parish recommends the Spitzkirche or the Bergkirche in Rheinau instead.

What makes a ceremony Catholic or ecumenical, and what church paperwork a couple must bring, is for the priests to explain. The page does not spell it out, and a couple from abroad, particularly one where only one partner is Catholic, should raise it in the first contact.

Guest numbers and where the ceremony takes place

The page is specific about size, and it contains one caveat that matters. It says that at present only 100 guests can be invited: "Aktuell können sie aber nur 100 Gäste einladen".

It then explains the 2 settings inside the church. If the wedding party stays under about 100 guests, the ceremony can take place in the choir (Chor) of the Klosterkirche. For larger parties, the ceremony is held in the main church, the nave with the people's altar ("Hauptschiff, Volksaltar"). Read together, the current limit of 100 guests is the figure to plan with, and the nave arrangement describes how larger weddings are normally handled. Couples with more than 100 guests should ask whether the limit still applies for their date.

Rules, dates and contacts

The parish keeps a Hochzeitsreglement, a set of wedding rules, which the page says contains all the relevant information for a wedding. It also has a Belegungsplan, an occupancy calendar for the Klosterkirche, where a couple can see whether their preferred date is still free. Both are linked from the page rather than printed on it. The wedding page itself gives no detail on fees, music, flowers, photography or timings, so those are the points to look for in the Reglement or to ask about.

The page splits the contacts by subject:

• Questions about the ceremony: the priests, Pfarrer Rolf Maria Reichle and Dr. Johannes M. Oravecz, phone 052 319 12 55, email kathrheinau@bluewin.ch.
• Questions about organization, rooms and similar: the sacristan, Beatrix Zureich, phone 052 319 31 00, email sakristei@kathrheinau.ch.

That split is useful. Liturgy and church requirements go to the priests; setup, access and the building go to the sacristan.

The 2 other churches in Rheinau

The page names 2 alternatives, both used jointly ("paritätisch") by the Reformed and the Catholic congregations:

• Kirche St. Magdalena, known as the Spitzkirche, with room for 65 guests. The page says the park in front of it is wonderfully suited to receiving guests after the ceremony ("Der Park vor der Spitzkirche ist für den Empfang Ihrer Gäste nach der Trauung wunderbar geeignet").
• Kirche St. Nikolaus, known as the Bergkirche, which the page calls very well suited to weddings, with room for 200 guests.

These 2 churches are handled by a shared secretariat, phone 052 319 12 73, email sekretariat@kirche-wm.ch, and their rules of use (Benützungsreglemente) are published on the site of the Kirchgemeinde Rheinau-Ellikon. For a couple whose ceremony is not Catholic or ecumenical, or whose guest list is above 100, the Bergkirche is the obvious one to ask about.

Planning it from abroad

The page suggests a sensible order of work. Check the Belegungsplan for the date first, since it is the one piece of information a couple can see without writing to anyone. Then write to the priests about the ceremony itself, stating the guest count, the denominations of both partners and the language the ceremony should be in. Practical questions about the building go to the sacristan afterward. The parish site also has sections on guided tours (Führungen), room reservations (Raumreservationen) and music (Musik). A couple visiting Switzerland before the wedding could ask whether a tour or a short visit to the Klosterkirche can be arranged, and whether any parish room can be reserved for a small gathering after the church, since the room reservation section suggests the parish rents space.

After the ceremony

The parish page goes a little further than most church pages. Below the wedding information it lists places to eat in Rheinau: Restaurant Augarten, Restaurant zum Salmen, Restaurant Klostergarten (marked as currently closed) and Gastro Fintan. It also has a section on boat trips to Rheinau, naming the Schiffmändli. The page does not describe any of these or say whether they host weddings, but it gives a couple a starting list for a reception or a dinner after the church.

What the page does not cover

The page publishes no fee or donation for the church. It says nothing about parking, public transport or how guests reach Rheinau, and nothing about accommodation. It does not describe the interior of the Klosterkirche. The site is in German only, and it does not say whether the priests celebrate weddings in English or another language, which is the first question an international couple should ask.

Who it suits

The Klosterkirche suits Catholic and ecumenical couples who want a church wedding in Rheinau's monastery church, with a guest list of up to 100. The clear contact split and the published occupancy calendar make it straightforward to start planning from abroad, provided someone can read the German or the parish replies in English.

It does not suit a couple whose ceremony is neither Catholic nor ecumenical; the parish itself sends those couples to the Bergkirche or Spitzkirche. It is a ceremony location only, so the reception has to be arranged elsewhere, and the restaurant list on the parish page is a reasonable first place to look.