Adolf Clarenbach

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Statue of Adolf Clarenbach (right) on the Cologne city hall tower

Adolf Clarenbach (also Klarenbach ; * around 1497 in Buscherhof near Lüttringhausen ; † September 28, 1529 in Cologne ) died as one of the first Protestant martyrs on the Lower Rhine due to his work as a Protestant reformer .

Live and act

A plaque on the Buscherhof commemorates the birthplace of Adolf Clarenbach

Adolf Clarenbach was born shortly before the end of the 15th century on the "Buscherhof", a court that at that time politically belonged to Lennep and ecclesiastically to Lüttringhausen. The exact date of birth is not known. A plaque commemorates the “Bergische Reformer” on the house where he was born. Clarenbach, who began studying at the University of Cologne in August 1514 and was awarded a baccalaureate in June 1515, tried as a teacher in Münster and then in Wesel to spread Reformation principles and was therefore relieved of his office by the Prince of Kleve . In 1525 he went to Osnabrück and was expelled from here as well as later from Lüttringhausen, Büderich and Elberfeld because of his open commitment to Luther's teaching .

When he accompanied his friend and co-religionist Johann Klopreis to Cologne before the spiritual court , Clarenbach himself was imprisoned on April 3, 1528. While Klopreis managed to escape, Clarenbach was burned on September 28, 1529 together with another co-religionist, the "blasphemer" Peter Fliesteden , after a year and a half imprisonment . The execution site was at Melatenhof south of today's Melaten cemetery in the area of ​​the intersection of Clarenbachstrasse and Lortzingstrasse.

Memorial stone for Adolf Clarenbach and Peter Fliesteden

Petrus Medmann , an eyewitness, writes in a marginal note in one of his books about Adolf Clarenbach:

“After two years in prison, he could have escaped the cruel imprisonment if he had only wanted to admit that the laity are not entitled to one half of the sacrament. Twice I heard him argue with the so-called theologians: with an excellent memory and thoroughly aptly he proved all his teachings from the holy scriptures; and of the Church Fathers he especially quoted Augustine. "

Axel Bluhm gives Clarenbach's final statements:

“And if you have already killed me, you will still not have your will, but I will have eternal life. So this death does not frighten me either, because I know that Christ overcame death, devil and hell. "

He said these words to the judge before he was led into the straw hut that served as a funeral pyre .

Commemoration

300 years after his death, the Adolf-Clarenbach memorial was erected in his place of birth, Lüttringhausen, on today's Lüttringhauser Strasse. It bears the inscription "Adolf Clarenbach the witness of the truth, the Bergisches Land on September 28th, 1829" on the side facing the street, "born at Buscherhof burned at Cologne September 28, 1529" on the side facing the Buscherhof, as well as quotations from the Bible Rev 7,13-14  LUT , Joh 11,25  LUT , Mk 8,35  LUT and Heb 13,7-8  LUT .

His birthplace in the Buscherhof estate has also been preserved 800 meters west of the monument.

Memorial plaque on the Adolf Clarenbach monument
Adolf Clarenbach monument in Lüttringhausen

At the laying of the foundation stone on September 28, 1829, it is reported that 12,000 people were present. Since 2002, a "Musical Summer Evening" organized by the Heimatbund Lüttringhausen has been held there in the summer, the income from which is used to renovate the monument. A chandelier was also donated in his honor in 1829, and it still adorns the Protestant town church of Remscheid- Lüttringhausen today. The old people's and nursing home ("Haus Clarenbach"), a primary school ("GGS Adolf Clarenbach") and Adolf-Clarenbach-Strasse in the historic village center of Lüttringhausen are named after the Bergisch reformer.

In Berlin, the Klarenbachstrasse in Moabit's Reformatorenviertel and the bell tower of the Gnade-Christi-Kirche in the district of Borsigwalde remind of Adolf Clarenbach.

There is a memorial stone in memory of Adolf Clarenbach and Peter Fliesteden on the Melaten cemetery in Cologne. Clarenbach was taken into account when the town hall tower was refurbished with council tower figures .

In Bonn there is a Konvikt named after him , the Adolf-Clarenbach-Haus . In Düsseldorf there is the Ev. Klarenbach community with the Klarenbach Church and the Klarenbachhaus. In Remscheid there is a Clarenbach parish and an Adolf Clarenbach school. There are other Adolf Clarenbach schools in Heiligenhaus and Neuss .

The day of remembrance of Adolf Clarenbach in the Protestant name calendar is September 28th .

literature

Web links

Commons : Adolf Clarenbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Keussen, Matriculation II, 732.
  2. ^ Adolf-Clarenbach-Straße In: Reem Ouis: Well-known personalities give names to numerous streets: Who is who? In: 90 Years of Heimatbund , special publication of the Lüttringhauser Anzeiger , p. 30 (PDF; 7.1 MB)
  3. ^ André Stubbe / Borsigwalde.eu: Pictures from Borsigwalde - then and now
  4. ↑ Stu Nicholls: Evangelical Klarenbach parish in Düsseldorf. Retrieved May 17, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Adolf Clarenbach in the Ecumenical Saint Lexicon , accessed on May 25, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Clarenbach, Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Klarenbach, Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Martyrs of the Evangelical Church
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
PLACE OF BIRTH near Lüttringhausen
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1529
Place of death Cologne