St. Bernhard (Frankfurt am Main)
| St. Bernhard Church Frankfurt am Main-Nordend |
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|---|---|
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| length | 50 meters |
| width | 25 meters |
| Height tower | 50 meters |
| Dome height | 25 meters |
| Diameter dome | 15 meters |
| Number of bells | 4th |
The St. Bernhard Church (also Bernardus Church) is a Catholic church in the Nordend district of Frankfurt and is located in the Limburg diocese . The parish of St. Bernhard has been a parish of the cathedral parish of St. Bartholomew since 2014 .
founding
On March 1, 1860, the Dernbach sisters founded a home nursing station in Mittelweg 30. In the house chapel , the first opportunity for Catholic church services in Frankfurt's north end outside of Frankfurt city center was created.
On July 29, 1892, the order inaugurated a small hospital with a larger house chapel on the property at Koselstrasse 15 . At the end of the 19th century, the number of Catholics in the Nordend rose dramatically to around 12,000 due to structural development and the increase in the number of inhabitants. A parish with its own church was necessary. For this purpose, the property at Koselstrasse 11-13 was acquired in 1888 by the pastor at the time, Ernst Franz August Munzenberger. The church council of the cathedral parish asked the episcopal ordinariate of the Limburg diocese on December 18, 1900 to build an emergency church. From there, on January 4, 1900, the church council was commissioned to build a full-fledged church. First, however, the Antoniuskirche was built in the Westend .
On September 6, 1902, an architectural competition for the new church with 800 seats in the north end was announced. The price commission made its decision in 1903. In 1905, however, the building contract was not awarded for the first - placed neo-Gothic design by the architect Prof. Ludwig Becker from Mainz , but for the neo-Romanesque design by the Frankfurt architect Hans Rummel . The architectural style and the dome , the two towers , the community rooms and the space in front of the church on Koselstrasse were the reason for the choice of the design. On June 19, 1905, the Limburg bishop and Cistercian Dominikus Willi agreed to the proposal of the church council of the cathedral parish to place the church under the patronage of the founder of the Cistercian order Bernhard von Clairvaux . The groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 24th, 1905. On March 25th, 1906, the foundation stone was laid by pastor Joseph Hilfrich. On August 18, 1907, the church was Bishop Willi ordained .
Structure and development of equipment
The nave is oriented north-south, the chancel is on its south side, the two towers on the north side. The floor plan has the shape of the central structure approximated Cross . The pillars of the organ loft and choir are monolithically of different-colored Fichtelgebirgshalle - granite made. Their limestone shell capitals show the heads of David and Solomon , the prophets and jubilant angels .
The first pastor of the parish, Joseph Quirmbach, pushed the artistic design of the church forward. In the choir, a predominantly Gothic high altar from the collection of the parish priest Munzenberger was set up, which was different from the architectural style of the church. Colored church windows designed by the Freiburg painter August Göbel were used in the choir and in the side walls .
In 1911 and 1912, the interior was painted according to the Byzantine model by the painter Heinrich Nüttgens from Düsseldorf under the general theme "The Mystery of Redemption ". Of these, only the eight murals on the side walls, which are under monument protection , are preserved today. In 1912 a large chandelier was hung in the center of the dome .
In 1930, during the first exterior renovation above the main portal, the Bernardus mosaic based on the designs of the Frankfurt painter Georg Poppe was installed. The underlying frieze by the sculptor Hans Belz shows scenes from the life of the saint.
During the Second World War , during the air raids on Frankfurt am Main on October 4, 1943, January 29, 1944, March 22, 1944 and September 25, 1944, the church towers , the dome, the apse and the side roofs were badly damaged by aerial bombs . All windows and doors were destroyed. The interior of the church was damaged by fire , extinguishing water and weather . On March 25, 1945, the right outer wall was badly damaged by a shell from the American army .
After the war, the church was first made weatherproof again with emergency glazing and emergency roofs. On August 31, 1947, the three largest bells could be hung up again. The small angelus bell, however, was lost. In 1948 the church roof was partially re-covered with slate . and in 1950 the first loudspeaker system was installed. In 1953 an interior renovation was carried out under the direction of the church painter Paul Meyer-Speer and the architect Robert Servatius . The badly damaged old interior painting was removed except for eight murals. New church windows by the artist Ludwig Becker were installed in the choir and in the side walls of the nave .
In 1954 a Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary from around 1480 was purchased, which is now in the left side chapel. In 1955, a statue of St. Anthony of Padua by Anneliese Degen from Höhr-Grenzhausen and in 1956 a crucifix was placed in the right side chapel. There is also a statue of Bernard of Clairvaux in the church, with a model of the church on his left hand .
In 1958 the exterior was renovated and the roofs were re-covered. From 1966 to 1968 there were fundamental considerations for a redesign of the interior of the church. The reason was the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council and the consequences of the post-war renovation, which was carried out with little financial means. This was planned by the Frankfurt architects Walter and Wolfram Nicol and carried out in 1969. The entire wall plaster was renewed, a new heating system was installed and the floor was covered with light travertine . The Gothic high altar was dismantled and put up again in the St. Antonius Church in the Westend . A new altar table made of Carrara travertine was set up under the front choir arch and on 1970 by the Limburg bishop Dr. Wilhelm Kempf consecrated .
To the left of the altar the ambo and the sacrament house were set up. The new pews were placed in a semicircle around the altar. The chandelier was replaced by a "cloud of light". This consists of 1,596 light bulbs on 80 pendulums. In 1976 a large cross was hung in the apse of the choir. The new furnishings of the chancel and the cross were designed by the sculptor Hein Gernot from Cologne . The cross shows Jesus Christ in the middle as the "sun of righteousness" surrounded by the twelve apostles . 1981 W. Mellmann out was Munich designed the crossroads of bronze hung. In 1991, an Easter candlestick from Hein Gernot followed. Between 1996 and 1999 the outer walls and the roofs were renovated. Sandstone sections and the external plaster were renewed and large parts of the roof areas were re-covered with slate .
organ
In 1928 an organ with 50 registers was installed by the Johannes Klais Orgelbau company from Bonn . In 1969 and 1993/94 this organ was completely overhauled.
Bells
The four bells intended for the west tower were cast on June 29, 1907 in the bell foundry founded by Andreas Hamm in Frankenthal . Except for the smallest, these bells still exist today. The total weight of all four bells was 6,950 kg. In 1964 the original Angelus bell, which was lost in the Second World War, was replaced by a new bell from Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in Heidelberg.
| No. | Surname | Casting year | Foundry, casting location | diameter | Mass (approx.) | Chime | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Bernard | 1907 | Karl Hamm, Frankenthal | 1,740 mm | 2,857 kg | b 0 + 8 / 16 |
Lingua sum Sancti Bernardi (I am the voice of St. Bernard) |
| 2 | Maria | 1907 | Karl Hamm, Frankenthal | 1,482 mm | 1,827 kg | des ′ + 5/16 |
Voca Mariam (Call Maria) |
| 3 | St. Joseph | 1907 | Karl Hamm, Frankenthal | 1,300 mm | 1,230 kg | it' |
Ite ad Joseph (goes to Joseph) |
| 4 old | Angelus | 1907 | Karl Hamm, Frankenthal | 1,170 mm | 900 kg | f ′ |
Angelum nuntio (I proclaim the angel of the Lord) |
| 4th | Angelus | 1964 | FW Schilling, Heidelberg | 1,109 mm | 820 kg | f '+ 13 / 16 |
Angelum nuntio (I proclaim the angel of the Lord) |
Church life
As part of the reorganization of the Catholic parishes in the city center, the parishes of All Saints , St. Bernhard, Teutonic Order , Liebfrauen as well as St. Ignatius and St. Antonius with the parish Dom / St. Leonhard became the parish of a new type with the name on January 1, 2014 Parish of St. Bartholomew merged. The previous congregations will remain as church locations and should ensure an active and interesting congregation life.
literature
- Wolfgang Fahrmeier, Raimund Falk, Franz Weber: St. Bernhard Frankfurt am Main . Church leaders. Ed .: Parish Council of the Catholic Parish of St. Bernhard. Heinrich Druck + Medien GmbH, Frankfurt am Main 2007.
- Former website of the parish of St. Bernhard. Parish Council of the Catholic Parish of St. Bernhard, 2008, accessed on May 14, 2014 .
Web links
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Kath. Bernarduskirche In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
- Church place St. Bernhard on the website of the Cathedral Parish St. Bartholomäus
- Tower recording of the special bells with single bells and full bells in the Catholic parish church St. Bernhard in Frankfurt am Main-Nordend
Coordinates: 50 ° 7 '22.8 " N , 8 ° 41' 23.7" E