Old church ladles
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The old church Kellen is located on Kreuzhofstrasse in the formerly independent municipality of Kellen , which is now a district of the district town of Kleve in North Rhine-Westphalia . The old church stands on a geest-like elevation (approx. 15 meters above sea level), at a point where the former center of the municipality of Kellen was until the beginning of the 20th century. This is not surprising, as this area offered a certain protection from the regular flooding of the Rheinaue due to its elevated position. The church is under the patronage of Saint Willibrord .
History of the Old Church
The deed of donation from the year 752
A document from the year 752 shows that the Franconian nobleman Adalard a. a. bequeathed his farm cellina ( ladles ) and the forest belonging to it to St. Peter's Church as cattle . This main courtyard Kellen (today: Reithalle on Wilhelmstrasse) formed the "nucleus" of the Kellen settlement with an area of approx. 9 hectares . Nothing is reported about the existence of a church in the 8th century.
The memorial stone of the lay Grimoldus
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A central indicator of the existence of a house of God at the point where the old church stands today is a memorial stone that is now in the tower of the old church. The stone bears the Latin inscription: "III: NON: IVNII OBIIT GRIMOLD LAICUS" ( The layman Grimoldus died on June 3rd ). Originally, memorial stones were not set into the church walls, but lay on the graves of the deceased, so they were real gravestones. During the construction and repair work on the old church, which became necessary again and again in the following centuries, the memory stones served as a welcome building material. Out of respect for the age of the stone or the significance of the deceased, the memorial stones were attached so that the inscription remained legible. In addition to the date of death (June 3), the Kellen memorial stone also shows that the deceased belonged to the lay class, i.e. Grimoldus had not received any church ordinations. Since only this memorial stone has been preserved and at that time the memorial stones were made exclusively for members of the wealthy class of the population, one can probably assume with certainty that Grimoldus was an important person. It is reasonable to assume that Grimoldus was the Vogt of the Kellenshof who - on behalf of the Echternach Monastery - administered the monastic properties around the old church. The age of the memorial stone is dated by the historian Günther Binding , after comparing it with similar stones, to the second half of the 10th century. Thus, the memorial stone of Grimoldus could be used as an indication of the existence of a church in Kellen after the year 950, based on the assumption that the deceased at that time were buried around or - as happened later in Kellen - in the church.
May 6, 1069 - First documentary mention of the old church
In a document dated May 6, 1069, Pope Alexander II confirmed the possessions of the Echternach Abbey to cattle. At that time the Rindern Church also included the dependent parishes ( appentitiis ) in Kennele (Kellen) and Millinga (Millingen / NL) listed in the document . With this document, Pope Alexander II provides the first reliable proof of the existence of a church in the Kellen community. The old church of Kellen can therefore look back on more than 1000 years of history.
The first church at this point
There are different theories about the first church in Kellen: The Klever historian, Dr. Robert Scholten, at the place of today's old church there was a baptistery (baptistery) at the beginning , which was dedicated to St. John the Baptist . However, there is no historical evidence to support this assumption. Another theory leads the founding of the old church in Kellen back to Saint Willibrord . In 691 Pope Sergius commissioned him to proselytize and took his seat as bishop in Utrecht. Since the missionary activity of the saint was not limited to the Frisian lands, the Willibrord ark in Emmerich is an indication of a possible visit by Willibrord to the city, and the old church has always been the patron saint of the saints Founding of the first church in the community can be attributed to him. But there is no historical evidence for this theory either.
The dating of the memorial stone in the church today shows that there was a church for the second half of the 10th century. Construction studies show that the oldest church must be imagined as a small chapel with a size of 5 × 5 meters. This small chapel served as a place of worship for the residents of the main courtyard Kellen and the associated side courtyards.
The small chapel was sufficient for the needs of the rural population of Kellens. Around the year 1000, however, the Schmithausen settlement in the immediate vicinity of the chapel developed into a trading center. In a document from 1142, the Archbishop of Cologne, Arnold I , confirmed that at the time of his predecessors, the customary law had already existed that the market traders (mercatores) from Rees zu Wesel , Xanten , Emmerich , Elten , Doetinchen and Schmithausen (smithusen), if they came to the market there, were exempt from market duty. The document proves that in 1142 Schmithausen had a closed settlement, an organized dealership and a market that was regularly stocked by dealers.
The Neuss customs privilege from the 12th century
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In the old church there is also the so-called Neuss customs privilege , which assured the citizens of the city of Neuss that they only had to pay one pfennig on the descent and no duty in Schmithausen on the ascent. Due to the fact that customs had to be paid near Schmithausen, which was then the main stream of the Rhine, a flourishing market square was created at this point. This also had an impact on the small chapel in the immediate vicinity. There was no longer enough space in the church for the growing number of communicants. The chapel was therefore - probably in the years between 1050 and 1125 - expanded to include the current hall of the old church. Now the Old Church - there were still no pews in the church - could provide the necessary space for the growing number of believers. Around the year 1200, a sacristy was added to the south side of the choir . The end of the economic importance of the Schmithausen market square came with the relocation of the Rhine riverbed. The customs post was moved to Emmerich. The formerly flourishing trading center Schmithausen sank into insignificance.
The old church around 1400
Construction of a church tower on the west side
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Around the year 1400 the appearance of the old church changed. In the course of the Middle Ages it became fashionable to erect towers in cities as well as in rural churches. These towers had different functions. There were escape or defense towers in which people could retreat when threatened. The tower of a church also offered a fixed point of orientation within the surrounding landscape and the elevated position of the tower provided an ideal opportunity to recognize at an early stage if a danger was approaching or if there was a fire in the area, for example. To this day there is the office of the tower keeper in some larger churches, who does his job from a high point of view. In addition, the bells found their place in the church towers and gave the population the opportunity to read the time here. Around the year 1400 the old church on the west side received such a tower. Unfortunately, it collapsed towards the end of the 16th century due to dilapidation, so that nothing can be said about its original appearance. However, a small part has been preserved to this day. When a new tower was built in the old church around 1600, the only part that remained was today's stair tower.
Construction of a Gothic choir
Another big change for the old church was the construction of the new choir. The architectural style of the Romanesque had meanwhile been replaced by the Gothic . The clear forms of the Romanesque with long, thick walls and small windows gave way to the Gothic pointed arches , ribbed vaults and broken, high walls with large windows. On the south side of the church, the two old windows were walled up and the choir was built in its current form with a ribbed vault. The former window in the south wall can now be clearly seen as a niche, the counterpart can be found on the newly built north wall of the choir opposite. The figures of the four evangelists are placed in the two niches .
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In the Gothic choir, the ribs were first built, then the vault was bricked up, but it has no static function. The so-called keystone is located at the point where the cross ribs meet. In the Gothic choir of the old church there are two keystones, each with the coats of arms of Kleve and Mark.
It is reasonable to assume that the coats of arms of the Counties of Kleve and Mark, which were first united in personal union in 1391 , are there because, with their support, these houses made it possible to expand the choir of the old church.
The Gothic choir has four large ogival windows. Nothing is known about the original design of the windows. The central window of the choir was created in 1955 by the artist Wilhelm Felix Schlüter (1902–1976), who was born in Westerholt . It shows central points from the life of Jesus such as the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension. The three other windows were designed in 1985 by the Leverkusen artist Paul Weigmann (1924–2009). Windows by this artist can be found in 300 churches, so u. a. in the domes of Xanten, Mainz and Worms.
At the beginning of the 15th century: bells for the new church tower
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After the old church received a tower around 1400, the kelleners were very quick to equip this tower with bells. Since the bells of the old church all have an inscription, it is easy to date them. And above all: All three bells, which were cast soon after the tower was erected, still call people to worship today. This is particularly special due to the fact that the Marien and Katharinen bell were dismantled during the Second World War and had already been transported to the metal smelter in Kall in the Eifel . Pastor Joseph Bullmann reported with joy in his church chronicle Licht und Schatten that the Kellen truck entrepreneur Gerd Heeck managed to bring the two 500-year-old bells back to Kellen on December 23, 1943. In 1404 the Marienglocke was cast with a weight of 775 kilograms and a diameter of 106 cm. It sounds with the tone f. The other two bells are the Willibrord and Katharinen bells, they were made in 1438.
The dates of the other two bells:
Willibrord bell: Founder: Johannes de Hintem; Diameter: 136 cm; Weight: 1,525 kg; Tone: e; Inscription: “Sanctus Clemens Patronus Ecclesie Wisschelensis, Sanctus Willibrordus vocor. Johannes de Hinthem me fecit anno Domini MCCCCXXXVIII “( Saint Clemens, Patron of the Church of Wissel, Saint Willibrord I am called. Johannes de Hinthem made me in 1438 )
Catherine bell: diameter: 96 cm; Weight: 450 kg; Tone: a; Inscription: "Caterina vocor, Anno Domini MCCCXXXVIII" ( I am called Catherine, in the year of the Lord 1438 )
Around 1600 - a new tower for the old church
A document from 1587 shows that the tower of the old church, which was built around 1400, was in such a bad state of construction after almost two hundred years that - if appropriate repair work is not carried out soon - it must be expected to collapse . Apparently, however, these warnings fell on deaf ears, as the West Tower actually collapsed a few years later. From a customs file dated April 26, 1596, it can be seen that the pastor and the church masters at Kellen were granted duty-free in Orsoy and Büderich for the transport of 180 malters of lime. The customs file also states the purpose for which the lime was to be used: it was to be used to rebuild the collapsed church tower. The west tower, built in 1596, is almost square in shape and has three storeys. The entrance portal was built on the west side of the tower. In the tower itself, the builders left openings, so-called sound arcades, which should allow the sound of the three bells to penetrate better to the outside. As already mentioned, today's old stair tower on the north side is the only part of the tower that survived the collapse at the end of the 16th century. Whether or not the old church received a spire when the west tower was rebuilt in 1596 cannot be conclusively clarified.
The old church in the 18th century
A representation of the old church has been preserved from the 18th century. During this time, people who could afford to collect drawings of cities and villages that were as accurate as possible loved it. Jan de Beijer (1703–1780) was one of the most important draftsmen of our time on the Lower Rhine and the neighboring Netherlands . Born in Aarau , Switzerland, de Beijer went to Amsterdam around 1722 to study with the most famous topographic draftsman in the Netherlands, Cornelius Pronk. The topographical draftsmen traveled through the country and made nature studies on site, which were later worked out and refined into drawings in the studio . In addition to the provinces of the Netherlands, Jan de Beijer also visited the area around Kleve and Emmerich for his studies. In 1744 de Beijer had already been to Kellen and had drawn the nearby Schmithausen castle. He returned a year later and on June 12, 1745, made a sketch of the old church, which the copper engraver Paul van Liender used as a template in 1758 . The view falls on a porch on the north side of the nave, where there was an entrance in the 18th century. Traces of this vestibule can still be seen in the church wall today. At the choir, in which there are now four Gothic windows, the drawing shows a rectangular window with a window cross on the north side. On the tower of the old church you can see two clocks, one with a dial and a sundial. Details that can no longer be found today. Isolated grave crosses in the vicinity of the old church indicate that at that time the deceased were carried to the grave around the church.
Restoration of the tower beams in 1792
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In the roof beams of the tower of the old church there is an inscription from May 20, 1792. Obviously a restoration or a new construction of the tower spire took place at this time . The inscription shows who was responsible for the Kellen parish at the end of the 18th century: Pastor Georg Joes van Zutphen (pastor in Kellen 1777–1806); Sexton R. Jansen; De Heren Schepens (lay judges) H. Fingerhoet, P. Verheien and Kerckmeister (administrators of the parish's chattels and real estate) D. Jos. H. Nuy. Carpentry work was carried out by a craftsman from neighboring Griethausen. Its name can also be found on a beam in the tower beam. It was H. Koenen.
Plans to expand the old church at the beginning of the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century there were concrete plans in the community of Kellen to enlarge the old church with an extension. This happened against the background that - in particular due to the settlement of the van-den-Bergh margarine works - the number of residents of Kellens and thus also the number of Catholics increased from around six hundred to almost four thousand in the first decades of the 20th century. The worship room in the old church was simply no longer sufficient for this number of inhabitants. However, the plans to expand the old church were discarded and the necessary space was created by building a new parish church on Ferdinandstrasse. The church consecration of the new church, which was planned by the architects Wahl and Rödel from Essen, took place on November 19th (day of penance and prayer) in 1930.
Restoration work on the old church Kellen
The fact that the house of God is very old always results in the need for more or less expensive restoration measures. A large number of measures were carried out at the old church in Kellen, especially in the course of the 20th century. Michael Kerst has made a detailed list and description in his book: The Old Church in Kellen , which was published at the end of the last major restoration in 1985. Here is a brief overview of the main measures: After Pastor Peter van de Locht died on April 24, 1934, the Bishop of Münster, Clemens August Graf von Galen , appointed the chaplain Joseph Bullmann (1885–1967) from Xanten as pastor to St Willibrord. Dechant Bullmann, who remained in the Kellen parish even after retiring, was particularly concerned with the preservation of the old church. Soon after its introduction, he began to establish contact with the secular and ecclesiastical authorities and to submit applications for support for structural measures:
1937 : Renewal of the entire church roof except for the southern nave. During the work, it was found that the wood of the roof also had to be partially replaced. Total cost: 7,000 Reichsmarks.
1939 : The grating of the cemetery wall at the old church is dismantled and sold. The new wall can be financed from the proceeds and a grant from the district. Cost: 892.81 Reichsmarks. After the Romanesque windows had been removed in the 19th century, one of the old windows was uncovered on June 13th and it was decided to restore the old state.
1942 : The old Gothic tabernacle on the north side of the choir is exposed and it is decided to use it again. The neo-Gothic altar was torn down and a new, simple altar was created from its parts.
1955 : The choir windows are glazed by the company Josef Menke, Goch. Complete painting by the Kellen master painter Bernhard Olfen. Lowering of the floor in the church hall. In retrospect, this lowering led to severe damage to the building fabric. During the work by the van den Boom company, the workers came across a burial chamber in which eight burials had taken place in the 18th century and some remains of the foundations. The plastering of the church interior was removed to allow the walls to take effect.
On February 2, 1958, Wilhelm van Ooyen, born in Keppeln in 1909 , was appointed the new pastor at St. Willibrord Kellen. The old church in Kellen was also very close to his heart and he continued the efforts - together with his predecessor - to preserve the old church.
1961 : Master locksmith Josef Geenen made a wrought-iron grating behind which the arm relic of Saint Willibrord still stands safely today.
1962: Restoration and relocation of the baroque pulpit by the Kellen sculptor Josef Kopetzky.
1963: Installation of an electrical bell system and repair of a thirty centimeter long jump in the Marienglocke. The bell has to be removed and welded in Bavaria.
1964 : Restoration of the choir stalls by Josef Kopetzky. Layers of paint were removed and the original natural wood exposed. Extensive restoration of the Anna sculpture.
The Bauhütte Old Church Kellen
On September 27, 1981 Theodor Boymann took over the office of pastor at St. Willibrord Kellen. The situation around the old church was very bad, because the masonry showed large cracks in many places in the church. More and more supportive measures were necessary to protect church visitors from danger. Finally, on October 4, 1981, the Old Church was closed. At that time, subsidies for the necessary restoration measures to save the old church could only be expected if the parish itself was able to contribute a corresponding share of the funding. This was clearly not the case in the early 1980s. The prospects for the old church in Kellen seemed extremely bad.
At this point - by eleven members of a regulars' table in the Alt-Kellen restaurant (located opposite the old church) - the old church Kellen was brought into being. Its sole purpose was to raise the necessary funds for the restoration of the old church. The founding meeting took place on November 30, 1981. Hans Kerst became chairman, Heinz Stoffele his deputy. Other board members were: Treasurer Alois Schouten, Secretary Horst van Maren, Angelika Dahms and Ingbert Evers. In the course of the next few years, thanks to the commitment of many citizens of Kellen, but above all through the cooperation of the local associations with a large number of events and initiatives, it was possible to obtain the necessary equity for the restoration of the old church. The highlight of the activities was the "Bauhüttenfest" on the fairground in front of the club house. In the meantime, the total costs for the work to secure the old church could also be quantified: a total volume of around 700,000 DM had to be reckoned with. For the parish, this meant that it had to raise its own funds of around DM 200,000. The Bauhütte Old Church Kellen was able to report after only three years stood at 180,000 DM on the donations account. Thanks to this citizens' initiative , a quick and comprehensive restoration could be tackled. It is remarkable that the Bauhütte Alte Kirche was able to activate many people across denominations and political parties for the common goal.
Restoration work 1981–1985 and reopening of the old church in 1985
The construction investigations in 1981 revealed that the greatest danger came from the wooden structure of the roof structure. The following security work was carried out at the beginning of the 1980s:
1982: Securing the east wall of the church hall by attaching stainless steel anchors. One of them is visible in the approach of the triumphal arch.
1983–1984: Securing the Gothic choir vault: Hoses were inserted into the cracks and then the masonry was grouted with liquid mortar. Laying of ring anchors in the outer walls of the choir and a cross anchor in the choir room. The beams of the church hall ceiling are supported by heavy trusses on the outer masonry and screwed to the roof structure and the ceiling beams. The outer walls of the church hall were grouted with liquid mortar.
1985: Removal of the old heating system and installation of underfloor heating. Raising the floor in the church hall. The walls of the hall and the tower were rejoined and the church received new copper gutters. The bell chamber received new floorboards. The altar was reduced in size and moved towards the community. The outdoor facilities around the old church have been redesigned. Inside the church, the pews and the pulpit needed to be reworked. The pulpit was finally placed in its original position on the south wall of the church hall.
On May 18, 1985, the Kellen Old Church was reopened with a week of festivities after extensive renovation, with a large participation of the Kellen population. Kellen's landmark was saved from impending decay.
Works of art in the old church
In the old church in Kellen you can find a variety of art objects. Here is just a small selection:
- Anna Selbdritt sculpture by the sculptor Dries Holthuys (around 1500); Carved oak; Height: 92 cm; Depiction of Anna and Maria, the original baby Jesus is missing.
- Wooden sculpture of Saint Willibrord - depiction of the saint as a bishop from the 18th century; Probably part of the Willibrord altar, which existed next to the main altar and the Liebfrauen altar in the old church; Height. 138 cm; Restoration and restoration in the old painting by Heinz Roedger (Moers) in 1962.
- Baroque pulpit , carved in 1724; Six-sided pulpit with sound cover; Willibrord sculpture on the pulpit stairs.
- Willibrordarm reliquary by Waldemar Kuhn ; Protective grille: master blacksmith Josef Geenen (1961); Contains particles from the saint's bones from his grave in Echternach.
- Tabernacle door in the north wall of the choir; Wilhelm Felix Schlueter (1950); Representation of Saint Willibrord as a bishop in bronze.
- Altar cross around 1955; Collaboration between Waldemar Kuhn and Wilhelm Felix Schlüter; Crucifix: Carving by Wilhelm Felix Schlüter; Body in silver sheet: Waldemar Kuhn.
- Oak carving from 1986 in the choir by Peter (Pierre) Theunissen .
- Church portal on the west tower from 1955; Waldemar Kuhn - representation of creation, the fall of man and redemption in copper fittings; Wooden base by Josef Kopetzky
Organs in the old church
In 1928 the pastor at St. Willibrord, Peter van de Locht, on behalf of the diocese of Münster a. a. a list of the objects that were in the old church. Under the keyword organ he notes: “In 1819 Pastor Friedrich Horstermann in Doesburg bought the new organ .” At the beginning of the 19th century , the parish in the Dutch town near Arnhem had acquired a pipe organ. Of a "Cost Estimate for the repair and enlargement of the organ for the Catholic church to Kellen" which the organ builder Bernd Tibus from Rheinberg created on 15 October, can be seen as the disposition of the organ was at this time:
- Flute travers treble 8 '
- Principal 4 '
- Drone 8 '
- Flute dous 4 '
- Viola da gamba 4 '
- Salicional 4 '
- Octave 2 '
- 3-fold mixture
- Trumpet Bass 8 '
- Trumpet Treble 8 '
This is likely to be the original arrangement of the organ from 1819. The instrument had its place on a specially constructed organ loft, which stretched over almost the entire width of the church above the entrance to the nave and rested on wooden pillars. During the Second World War, the organ in the old church suffered greatly. The small organ pipes in particular were very popular with the Allied soldiers as souvenirs . After the end of the war, the old church organ could no longer do its job as usual. Therefore a harmonium was purchased, which also found its place on the organ gallery. In the course of the extensive restoration work in 1955, the organ gallery was demolished, and with it the old organ. The Kellen sculptor and artist Josef Kopetzky created a crucifix from the wood that was left over from the demolition, which is still in the church today.
After the organ gallery was demolished, for many years an electronic organ, which was located in the rear nave on the north side, provided the musical service for the church services. For several years there has been a single-manual pipe organ in the old church. It has found its place in the rear part of the south side of the nave. Concerts are also held in the old church at regular intervals.
Around the old church
The first cemetery in the municipality of Kellen
Originally, the community cemetery was located around the old church. The oldest evidence is the memorial stone of the lay Grimoldus from the 10th century. It is also known that the owners of the knight's seat in Schmithausen had the right to be buried in the old church at Kellen. From the community's books of the dead it can be seen that in the years 1732–1756 the members of the van Goor von Schmithausen family were buried in the old church. Pastor Heinrich Haghdoorn (1714–1761 pastor in Kellen) noted in the death register of 1738: “Mevrouw van Goor in onze kerk grave”. During the restoration work in 1955, the graves in the church hall were uncovered and examined.
The tombstone of "Hendrick Verfifei" from 1618
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Some older tombs have been preserved in the shadow of the old church. The oldest is the grave cross of "Hendrick Verfifei". The heavily weathered inscription on the stone reads: "Hendrick Verfifei died on May 2nd, 1618: Pray for the soul". Behind the somewhat strange name is the leaseholder of the Viehweidshof , the Hammschen Hofe. Originally called Hendrick Verfifei therefore Hendrick from the Pasture . The language of everyday life has simplified this name to Hendrick Verfifei over time. Old documents indicate that Verfifei held the office of lay judge . The old age of the tombstone was probably the reason that it survived the leveling of the cemetery around the old church Kellen in 1930 without damage.
The new cemetery on Willibrordstrasse around 1900
At the beginning of the 20th century there was no longer enough space at the old church - due to the growth of Kellens into an industrial community - for the funerals. At today's Willibrordstraße (to the old church) the new cemetery of the community with the memorial for the fallen of the First World War was built . At the old church there are now also the gravestones of two Kellen pastors who were buried in the cemetery on Willibrordstrasse, but whose monuments are now in the shadow of the old church:
- Pastor Hubert Fasbender (1903–1925 pastor in Kellen; * February 13, 1858 in Goch, † July 6, 1927 in Tienray NL)
- Pastor Peter van de Locht (1925–1934 pastor in Kellen; born March 14, 1896 in Geldern, † April 24, 1934 in Kellen)
Burials took place in the cemetery on Willibrordstrasse until the 1960s. Then a new cemetery with a celebration hall was built on the periphery of Kellen, on Peiterstrasse.
literature
- Robert Scholten: Historical news about Cleverham, Brienen, Sombrienen and Griethausen . Cleve 1888
- Paul Clemen (editor): The art monuments of the district of Kleve . Moers 1892
- Friedrich Gorissen: Kellen - settlement and community in their historical development . Trowels 1954
- Michael Kerst: The old church in Kellen - A Lower Rhine gem . Trowels 1985
- Wolfgang Dahms: Alt-Kellen - The streets of the community tell their story . Trowels 1987
- Joseph Bullmann: Light and Shadow - Chronicle of St. Willibrord Kellen . Kellen undated
- Catholic parish of St. Willibrord Kellen: Kellen church calendar for the years 1961–1986
- Günther Binding: Memories stones on the lower Lower Rhine . In: Calendar for the Klever Land 1971 . Kleve 1970
- Kellener Heimat- und Kulturverein Cellina e. V. / Catholic parish Holy Trinity Kleve: Right in the middle - 75 years of new town center Kellen . Ladles 2005
- Wolfgang Dahms: The church choir at the old church Kellen . Trowels 1998
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 47 '58.7 " N , 6 ° 9' 59.4" E