Bernhard Röttgen

Bernhard Röttgen (born February 14, 1875 in Bottrop , † June 4, 1955 in Brüggen ) was a German priest and homeland researcher .

Life

After graduating from high school in Recklinghausen , he began studying at the Royal Prussian Theological and Philosophical Academy in Münster in 1895 . Among his professors are famous minds such as B. Franz Wärme , leading representative of Catholic social teaching and co-founder of the German Caritas Association, as well as the historian Heinrich Finke . Bernhard Röttgen completed his scientific studies on September 18th, 1897 and was ordained a priest on March 18th, 1899. He received his first position as chaplain in Beeck near Hamborn . This was followed by many years of pastoral work in Kleve until he became pastor of Brüggen on March 26, 1922. He worked here for many years until he retired in 1952.

In Brüggen, thanks to his commitment a. a. In 1924 the youth home or parish home was built and in 1932/33 the entire parish church was renovated in keeping with the style. The Bruges Passion Play took place a total of fifteen times under his direction. Röttgen embodied that old pastor ideal that combined social, school and cultural impulses and work with pastoral care. This made him a father figure with natural authority in the church.

Fonts

Already his first work in 1906 with the title Geschichtliche Nachrichten über Beeck reveals the connoisseur of the matter, who has mastered the methods of thorough and scientific, exact local history research. For this work, he already made use of documents and files from the state archives in Berlin and Düsseldorf . In 1934 his work Brüggen und Born was published in the Schwalmtal. Contributions to local history. which was reprinted in 1987 in an unchanged reprint.

Appreciation

On August 26, 1951, the municipality of Brüggen made him an honorary citizen. The commemorative medal of the Viersen district in 1988 was dedicated to Bernhard Röttgen.

literature

• Leo Peters : The Bruges honorary citizen Bernhard Röttgen (1875–1955). In: Heimatbuch des Kreis Viersen 1989 , pp. 27–41.

Web links

• Literature by and about Bernhard Röttgen in the catalog of the German National Library