Arenberg forest chapel
The Arenberg forest chapel is located in the Hellenthal forest at an altitude of about 575 m above sea level. NHN and around 150 m south of the Lehrbach, a right tributary to the Oleftalsperre . The church is only accessible for pedestrians and is located on the daffodil hiking trail through the Oleftal, which is often visited in the spring months .
The chapel owes its creation to a hunting accident. On May 7, 1897, Count Eduard de Briey, a friend of Duke Engelbert-Maria von Arenberg , was hunting with the forester Stoll in the Hellenthal forest. Stoll fell in the rough terrain and a shot was released from his hunting rifle, the bullet pierced the count's back and abdomen. He died the following night in Hellenthal, a few kilometers away.
In the following year, 1898, Duke Engelbert von Arenberg had a chapel built on the site of the accident in memory of his friend. The construction work was done by the master mason Hassel from Reifferscheid . The sculptor Johann Heinen from Hellenthal made a carved wooden altar and took care of the painting of the chapel.
The church offers a special feature with a replica of an old hotplate from 1657 on the chapel wall. This comes from an earlier iron foundry in Arenberg.
The consecration of the house of God took place on May 2, 1899 in the name of St. Edward.
In 1977 the church was badly damaged by repeated devastation and arson. Both the altar and most of the pews as well as wooden crosses and altar items were completely destroyed. Extinguishing work was ruled out due to the remote location of the chapel. A complete renovation of the interior and the chapel windows were necessary. Since this work, a natural stone plate has covered the altar base.
In 1987 the chapel was placed under monument protection. Funding made available enabled an urgently needed restoration of the interior in 1992. In addition, the now heavily weathered slate roof was re-roofed.
Web links
source
- Information board inside the chapel (in Commons).
Coordinates: 50 ° 29 ′ 1 ″ N , 6 ° 22 ′ 45 ″ E
Arenberg Forest Chapel | St. Aegidius (Wolfert) | St. Anna (Hellenthal) | St. Antonius the Hermit (Kreuzberg) | St. Barbara (Rescheid) | St. Bartholomew (Giescheid) | St. Bernhard (Hollerath) | St. Brigida (Blumenthal) | St. Gangolf (Ramscheid) | St. Hubertus (Udenbreth) | St. Johann Baptist (Wildenburg) | St. Matthias (Reifferscheid) | St. Michael (Losheim)