Apostle Church (Bocholt)

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Coordinates: 51 ° 49 ′ 27.5 ″  N , 6 ° 37 ′ 1.4 ″  E

Interior view of the Apostle Church in Bocholt
Apostle Church

The Evangelical Apostle Church in Bocholt belongs to the second parish of the Evangelical Church Community in Bocholt. The parish consists of 7,650 parishioners and is a parish in western Münsterland . The Evangelical Church Community Bocholt belongs to the Evangelical Church of Westphalia . The parish belongs to the Steinfurt-Coesfeld-Borken parish .

The parish center of the Apostle Church forms a rounded center on an area of ​​8948 m² with the Apostle Church in the east, the rectory in the south, the kindergarten with playground in the west and the parish hall with day care center in the north. Surrounded by the buildings is the community meadow in the center of the site. Behind the Apostle Church, the building of the old Protestant elementary school, the former "Melanchthon School", extends to the east. Since 2008 this building has been used as a branch of the Biemenhorster School, a Catholic elementary school.

history

The construction of the Apostle Church was a consequence of the outcome of the Second World War. The population of German descent from Eastern Europe was driven from their homeland.

The city of Bocholt, almost completely destroyed at the end of the war, also had to take in part of the displaced and refugees. The proportion of the Protestant population grew. While in Bocholt in 1939 there were around 2300 Protestant parishioners with the Rhede part of the parish, in 1963 the proportion had increased to 7700 parishioners. As early as 1951 it became necessary to set up a second parish office. With the influx of new people, the settlement area expanded continuously and did not stop at Bocholt's (old) city limits. In the parts of the Liedern-Werth office belonging to the parish, the villages of Biemenhorst, Mussum, parts of Lankern and Lowick, there was also a lot of construction. In the summer of 1958, construction of the rectory on Elbestraße could begin after the Bocholt building association had acquired the Bocholt district, hall 53, property no. 147 in the size of 8948 m². The contract for the construction of the church community center was awarded as the result of an architectural competition announced in 1960 by the city of Bocholt and the church community . It was about the establishment of a church and school center . On July 12, 1960, a jury made up of representatives from the church, the city and some experts decided on the submitted designs. The first prize was unanimously awarded to the architectural community Hübotter - Ledeboer - Busch ( Peter Hübotter , Bert Ledeboer and Egon Busch ) in Hanover, the second prize to Peter Poelzig in Duisburg.

The church and the Protestant elementary school, which was under construction at the same time according to Poelzig's plans, were to form the cultural center of the district around the Rosenberg. The tower and nave with their steep copper roofs provided the structural focus.

On October 20, 1961, the presbytery decided to build the second Protestant church in Bocholt am Rosenberg according to the plans of the architects Hübotter - Ledeboer - Busch .

On January 12, 1962, the first activity began on the construction site. On June 22nd, the foundation stone was laid for the church and the school by the superintendent Brune from Emsdetten , with great sympathy from the population .

The Evangelical Apostle Church was consecrated on December 8, 1963 in Bocholt by military bishop Hermann Kunst . It thus formed the second church within the parish next to the Christ Church on Münsterstrasse.

Church and tower were completed in the first construction phase (1963–1964). The community hall (1969), the kindergarten (1966) and apartments for the community nurses and kindergarten teachers (1966) were built in the following years.

In 2003/2004 the flat roof on the buildings of the community center was replaced by a flat hipped roof with a slope of only 14 degrees.

On January 18, 2007, Hurricane Kyrill damaged the steeple of the Apostle Church. The spherical cross threatened to fall down and parts of the copper sheet had come loose from the church tower. In the summer of 2007, the copper cladding of the church tower roof was partially renewed. The ball cross was also lowered for repair. The ball of the cross was opened for the occasion. Inside the ball was a New Testament, which Pastor Meier had placed in the ball when the tower was inaugurated. The ball of the cross got a new gold decoration for this occasion. The New Testament was sighted and has since resided in the sphere of the cross at the top of the church tower.

architecture

The nave is free, only the flat extension on the north side, in which the ancillary rooms are housed, is connected to the tower and also to the parish hall by open, covered corridors. The architecture of the church should be reminiscent of a farm barn in West Munsterland or the stable in Bethlehem.

One enters the church from the low vestibule in the extension and experiences the spatial increase to the high, but sheltering nave. In harmony, the formwork made of spruce wood under the roof, together with the white brickwork and the floor made of red tile panels, exude calm in their simplicity.

Regarding the basic idea of ​​the church space, it says: “The church space determined by the central axis shows an abundance of fine asymmetries and a posture that avoids any rigidity due to the inclined roof beams. The four main pieces, the altar, the baptismal font, the wheel candlestick (Jerusalem candlestick) and the organ are aligned with the central axis. "

When entering the church, one is led past the baptismal font . It stands on the west side under the organ and choir gallery, which roofs over the baptismal area and forms a separate room within the nave. The baptismal window in the west gable with the representation of the Jonah story gives this room its own light and character. When moving into the church as when moving out, a baptismal remembrance is requested at this point.

The light falling from above through the roof, the twelve colored windows in the south wall and the narrow strip of light on the north side lead the visitor to the altar . It stands raised in front of the east gable of the nave. The chancel is crowned by an image of the heavenly Jerusalem in the form of a candlestick decorated with candles and precious stones.

Construction and building materials are selected so that they meet the design concept. The large wooden roof of the church is supported by the girders alone . The spruce wood of the trusses, gallery supports and formwork is untreated. Over time it has acquired the beautiful color of old wood. The massive walls surrounding the room on three sides are made of sand-lime brick masonry . The fourth wall is formed by the wooden wall of the church extension, which is built in half-timbered construction. The outer formwork used here consists of very resistant, rough-sawn larch wood .

Technical specifications

The nave with a length of 28 m and a width of 14.75 m accommodates 260 visitors in fixed rows of knee benches. There is still room for around 50 people on the benches on the side walls; in addition, around 200 chairs can be set up.

The room measures 11 m up to the height of the ridge. It has a volume of approx. 2900 m³. The area of ​​the illuminating windows is relatively small at approx. 14.5 m² (or 3.5% of the floor area of ​​the room). These include the dormer windows on the south side and the light band above the extension, while the baptismal font, the colored concrete glass windows and the altar windows are of liturgical importance. The church is heated by warm air, through a hot water register, which is supplied by the central heating system in the parish hall. The organ was built by Gustav Steinmann from Vlotho.

The construction management was in the hands of Paul Merkel, Bocholt, and Miss Dipl.-Ing. Imke Jansen, Bocholt. The Jerusalem chandelier, the baptismal window and the twelve concrete glass windows were designed by Franz Rickert from Munich. Arnold Rickert from Bielefeld made the crucifix and the chandelier on the altar, as well as the reliefs on the outside door of the church . He also designed the altar and the baptism. His son, the master carpenter Dietrich Rickert from Bielefeld, built the pulpit and lectern and designed the chairs. The heating system was designed by Fritz Heitmüller from Hanover, the static calculation was provided by Frederick Schroeder from Hanover. The parish and city commissioned Wilhelm Hübotter from Hanover to plan all the horticultural facilities.

Works of art

Church door

The door shows two pictorial bronze reliefs, both of which represent a vocation scene. The first representation is the calling of Moses at Mount Horeb, where the voice of God is bestowed upon him from the burning bush, instructing him to lead the people of God out of the land of Egypt. The other representation is the disciples' feet washing by Jesus. In it, Jesus calls his disciples to serve in charity. Both vocations serve as role models when entering the Church: the call to gather and the call to serve brotherly love to others.

Baptismal font

The font is round and made of basalt lava. On the copper background of the large baptismal bowl you can see the image of the Holy Spirit, the dove in silver tinning.

Baptismal window

Baptismal window in the Apostle Church in Bocholt

The image content of this window is related to the sacrament of baptism, the representation is based on the Bible passages Jonah 2, 1.2.11 and Jonah 3: 1 + 2: “But the Lord provided a large fish to devour Jonah. And Jonah was in the body of the fish for three days and three nights. And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God in the body of the fish. And the Lord spoke to the fish, and he spat Jonah out onto the land. And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying: Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach to her the sermon that I tell you. "

The almost square area of ​​the window is divided into a tectonic tracery by a frame construction, which divides the picture surface into nine almost equally large fields and in which the picture composition is arranged. The actual picture window is surrounded by a frame made of concrete slabs in which gray and brownish glasses are set in rhythmic order. In the middle of the picture above the right of the Lord is shown in the shining heavenly cloud, on the right side of the picture the water in blue and turquoise tones with small reflections of the heavenly cloud in red and orange. The rearing brown-red fish stands in the water. On the left side of the picture the country is depicted in reddish brown and yellowish tones, Jonah stands in the country in a blue robe, in his posture facing your Lord.

Christening and Easter candlesticks

In 1968 Bishop Hermann Kunst donated the Easter candlestick to the Apostle Church. At the foot of the candlestick there are three biblical representations that report and admonish the power of evil in the world: a) Cain and Abel - the fratricide b) The murder of the "innocent children" in Bethlehem - a murder for political reasons the sake of maintaining power c) The murder of Stephen - the stoning of a witness to Christ. “Right at the bottom” are the three evil deeds at the foot of the chandelier and are thus an expression of the person in need of redemption. Above them is the verse from Psalm 104:30 in Latin as a request for redemption: "Send out your Holy Spirit, O Lord, and they will be created and you will renew the face of the earth!" "Right at the top" of the candlestick, below the drip tray, three groups of figures from the resurrection story of John can be seen: a) the risen Christ appears to Mary Magdalene with the story of "Noli me tangere". b) The risen One blows on the disciple with the Holy Spirit, the pledge of peace, and sends him into the world. c) Christ and Thomas, the healing of the doubting, who, in contrast to Mary, is offered to touch the risen One. The touch is of course not shown, but only the humble gesture of the believer: “My Lord and my God.” So there are three victorious testimonies of the encounter with the risen Lord as consolation and help for all people in grief and distress in the world. “Christ is the light of the world!” - this is symbolized by the candle on the christening and Easter candlesticks.

Twelve small windows in the south wall

In this row of windows, on the one hand, a color that increases towards the altar and, on the other hand, the tectonic structure of the concrete divisions. This composed increase from dark violet through various blues and reds to orange and on to radiant yellow and red is based on verses 21 + 22 and 51 + 52 from 1 Corinthians 15. The first two windows from the west are deep purple. The blue is reminiscent of the blue in the baptismal window. It symbolizes "floods of perdition, the distance from God". The third and fourth windows shine in a few reddish glasses of hope. The fifth window is the first red and forms the center of the church. The other windows indicate a further increase with the color orange. In the ninth window, the color is yellow. The windows near the altar, the eleventh and twelfth windows, offer red and yellow tones with less and less blue - a light and radiant color that indicates what is happening at the altar.

altar

Altar candlesticks

Based on the custom of the early Christian church, the altar is formed as a stone table. It consists of Rhenish basalt lava. The plate is built on two supports.

Crucifix and candlestick

The four candlesticks on the altar are designed in such a way that the twelve apostles are represented in threes at one candlestick. Each of the figures is equipped with a so-called attribute, a typical object. So holds z. B. the apostle Simon Peter holding a key. The candlesticks on the altar next to the cross were intended to emphasize "the apostolate proceeding from the cross", according to 1 Cor. 11, 26 and Matt. 5, 14.

Jerusalem candlesticks

Ceiling chandelier (Jerusalem chandelier )

The conception and structure of the image of the holy city, the new Jerusalem , floating in the room in front of the altar are based on verses 2, 11, 12, 13 and 23 from the 21st chapter of the Revelation of John: “And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. It had the glory of God, and its light was like the most precious stone, a bright jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates and twelve angels on the gates ... Three gates by morning, three gates by midnight, three gates by noon, three gates by evening. And the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. ”The holy city is represented in the floating golden crown of the wall. The city wall forms a dodecagon, a square gate tower is inserted in each of the twelve corners.

On the golden walls of the walls and towers, luminous rock crystals in different cuts are set. The decoration of the image of the holy city is made up of candles, the holders of which are attached to the corners of the twelve gate towers. The golden and colored enameled figures of the twelve angels stand on the twelve towers, the front surfaces are white enameled, the drawing of the figure shimmers through the white enamel in green and gold. The angel figures are approx. 48 cm high and 22 cm wide. The wings of the angel figures are enamelled in strong colors, red, blue, purple, yellow and orange.

In the center above the picture of the holy city stands the lamb with a cross-staff and a flag, it shines in the light of the candles. The Jerusalem candlestick dominates the entire church space as a symbol of the expectation and hope for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The chandelier has a diameter of 1.75 m and a height of 2.70 m. He weighs about 165 kg.

Nativity figurines

The Apostle Church has nativity figurines from the company “GG. Long SEL. Erben ”from Oberammergau. The size of the hand-carved wooden figures is approx. 50 cm for the people shown. In 1963 the Holy Family (Maria, Joseph, Jesuskind) was acquired through a donation and first exhibited at Christmas 1963. Other figures were gradually acquired. In 1985 the nativity scene was supplemented by two shepherds, three kings, a page, a boy and a girl. In 2012 the figures were restored.

organ

The organ was built in 1967 by the organ building company Gustav Steinmann from Vlotho . It has 24  registers on two manuals and a pedal . Their action is fully mechanical and the pipes are mostly made of a 70% tin alloy . The lower keys of the manual keyboard are made of ebony . The upper keys and the lettering of the register slides are made of ivory . The organ has normal couplings and a tremulant for the upper work. In 2014 the Fleiter company revised and re-voiced the instrument , without fundamentally changing the disposition or the neo-baroque intonation.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
octave 4 ′
Gemshorn 4 ′
octave 2 ′
Mixture IV-VI 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Trumpet 8th'
II upper structure C – g 3
Quintad 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Nasat 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Sharp IV
Dulcian 16 ′
Vox Humana 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
Sub-bass 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Pommer 8th'
octave 4 ′
Night horn 2 ′
Rauschpfeife III
bassoon 16 ′
Clarine 4 ′

Bell tower

The bell tower of the Apostle Church with its total height of 42.5 m was inaugurated on September 13, 1964. In addition to five community rooms lying one above the other, it includes five bronze bells. These bells come from the Rincker company based on the design of the bell expert Rolf Schönstedt. The steel structure for the tower was built by the Gute Hoffnungs Hütte in Oberhausen. Each bell has its own name and each bell is adorned with a biblical verse. In order to establish the relationship to the first Evangelical Church, the Christ Church, the bells bear the names and sayings of the Evangelists and the Apostle Paul, which are on the pulpit in the Christ Church in Bocholt can be seen.

  • Names of the bells and engraved Bible verse:
  1. Bell: Paulus , mood (g 1 ), weight 697 kg, diameter 1.070 m, inscription: Ephesians 6:17: "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
  2. Bell: Matthew , mood (b 1 ), weight 426 kg, diameter 0.894 m, inscription: Matthew 1.21: "He will save his people from their sins."
  3. Bell: Mark , mood (c 2 ), weight 330 kg, diameter 0.811 m, inscription: Mark 16:16: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved."
  4. Bell: Luke , mood (d 2 ), weight 229 kg, diameter 0.722 m, inscription: Luke 2,4: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth."
  5. Bell: John , mood (es 2 ), weight 171 kg, diameter 0.670 m, inscription: John 1:14: "The word was made flesh and lived among us."

On the top of the tower is a quadruple turret that can be seen as a cross from all four directions. The cross rests on a gold-plated ball, the symbol for the globe. The cross on the ball is intended to recall the Bible verse from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that all who believe in him should not be lost, but have eternal life. "

Key data of the parish center Apostelkirche

  • 1957 Construction of the rectory on the site of the Apostle Church parish center (completion: February 1957)
  • 1963 Melanchthon School (inauguration: December 22, 1963)
  • 1963 Inauguration of the Apostle Church (inauguration December 8th)
  • 1964 Construction of the tower youth home (inauguration: September 13, 1964)
  • 1966 Construction of the Friedrich Froebel kindergarten on the grounds of the Apostle Church community center (inauguration: October 1 and 24, 1966)
  • 1969 Construction of the parish hall as part of the parish center of the Apostle Church (inauguration: November 2, 1969)
  • 1976 Construction of the day care center as part of the Apostle Church community center (inauguration: November 14, 1976)
  • 1978 Extension of the gymnastics room to the Friedrich Froebel Kindergarten (inauguration: March 2, 1978)
  • 1986 Construction of the sexton garage next to the playground (completion: November 16, 1986)
  • 1999 Complete redesign of the kindergarten with installations based on a concept by Prof. Mahlke from Würzburg.
  • 1999 Start of the work of the kindergarten with children under 3 years of age
  • 2003 The community center gets a hipped roof instead of a flat roof
  • 2006 Comprehensive redesign of the kindergarten playground
  • 2008 Friedrich Froebel Kindergarten is a family center NRW recognized
  • 2009 Reconstruction of the entrance area of ​​the parish hall with a structural connection between the day care center and parish hall
  • 2011 Installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of the community center with 104 modules and an output of 24.4 kWp
  • 2011 The Friedrich-Froebel-Kindergarten is certified as a Kneipp-Kindergarten
  • 2013 Expansion of the usable area of ​​the family center by changing the use of an apartment to a total of 436.34 m².
  • 2018 The Friedrich Froebel Kindergarten is certified with the Beta seal of approval.

The Apostle Church today

Church life

Services are celebrated on Sundays at 11 a.m. On the second and third Sunday of the month, Holy Communion is celebrated in the service. There is the possibility of a baptismal service on the fourth and fifth Sunday of the month. The fourth Sunday is designed as a family service. In parallel to the services, children's services are held in the rooms of the adjacent Friedrich-Froebel family center. On November 6, 2012, a group of the EC (Decided for Christ) was founded for children and youth work. Since then, child and youth work has taken place in cooperation with the Rhineland-Westphalia EC regional association.

Family center / kindergarten Friedrich-Froebel

In 2000 the kindergarten was redesigned for so-called U3 care, working with children under three years of age. Since then, children between the ages of 4 months and 6 years have been cared for in this facility. In 2008 the kindergarten was recognized as a family center in North Rhine-Westphalia. One focus of the work is health education based on the principles of Sebastian Kneipp . In 2011 the facility was certified as a Kneipp kindergarten. 2013 Renovation and expansion of the area of ​​the family center by 47.67 m² as part of the renovation program to promote the care of children under 3 years of age.

Pastor at the Apostle Church

  • 1963–1989: Pastor Hans Christoph Meier
  • 1989–1997: Pastor Christoph Bevers
  • 1997 – today: Pastor Christian Wahl

literature

  • Our Bocholt. Journal for Culture and Homeland Care , ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt e. V., 12th year (1961), issue 1, pp. 5–10 ( digitized version )
  • Our Bocholt. Journal for Culture and Homeland Care , ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt e. V., Volume 13 (1962), Issue 4, pp. 8-11 ( digitized version ).
  • Evangelical Apostle Church in Bocholt, commemorative publication for the inauguration of the church on December 8th, 2nd Advent 1963, published by The Presbytery of the Evangelical Church Community Bocholt, Bocholt 1963.
  • Our Bocholt. Journal for Culture and Homeland Care , ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt e. V., 15th year (1964), issue 1 ( digitized version ).
  • The Apostle Church, special print from the magazine "Unser Bocholt", issue 1/1968, ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt e. V., Bocholt.
  • Evangelical life in Bocholt: 100 years of the Christ Church. The history of the parish in the light of the Reformation, special edition of the magazine Unser Bocholt , 52nd year, issue 2/2001, ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt e. V., Bocholt 2001.
  • 50 years of the Evangelical Church District Steinfurt-Coesfeld-Borken 1953–2003 , ed. by Hanspeter Dickel, Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt 2003, pp. 63–73.
  • Josef H. Schröer: bells, tower clocks, tower crowns in and around Bocholt . Bocholt 2010, pp. 153-155.
  • Claus Bernet : Jerusalem candlesticks, Jerusalem candles and Advent wreaths (= masterpieces of the Heavenly Jerusalem, vol. 25). BoD, Norderstedt 2015, ISBN 978-3-7347-6605-3 , p. 27.

Web links

Commons : Apostelkirche (Bocholt)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The photos of the models in the architectural competition are printed in: Unser Bocholt , Heft 1, born in 1961.
  2. ↑ The certificate of the school, which bears the name Melanchthon School, reads as follows: “Mark. 10/14: Let the little children come to me and do not defend them, because such is the kingdom of heaven. ”“ From the common recognition of responsibility in the Christian faith, the city of Bocholt and the Evangelical Church Community have the planning and preparation for the new building of the Evangelical Church and School at Rosenberg carried out by mutual agreement. In coordination with the architectural community Hübotter / Ledeboer and Busch in Hanover, which is building the church, Prof. Peter Poelzig from Duisburg built the school. The local construction management is the Bocholt architect Paul Merkel. We ask God that he fill the teachers of this school with the Holy Spirit so that, together with the church and their parents, they can raise the children in Christian patience, love and discipline. School, homes, church and our whole city we command the grace of God. Bocholt, June 22nd, 1962 ” .
  3. ↑ An excerpt from the sermon of the military bishop on the consecration of the Apostle Church on the 2nd Advent 1963 can be found in: Unser Bocholt , Zeitschrift für Kultur- und Heimatpflege, Issue 1, year 1964, pp. 16-17.
  4. ↑ Compare the newspaper articles in the Bocholter-Borkener Volksblatt of June 22, 2007 and July 20, 2007
  5. ↑ Our Bocholt, issue 1/1968, p. 6.
  6. ↑ See our Bocholt issue 1/1968.