Iconoclasm by Goch

The iconoclasm of Goch is an episode of the Thirty Years War in which the parish church Maria Magdalena in Goch was devastated by Dutch troops.

In 1625 Goch was ruled by the Spaniards. On January 28, 1625, the governor of Nijmegen , allied with Brandenburg , Lambert Charles, invaded Goch with 1,130 men. They came through the city wall near the women's gate, which had collapsed at this point some time before. They were supported by two traitors from Gocher. The attack was favored by the frozen city moat. The Spanish occupiers withdrew. Nevertheless, the Dutch managed to take 400 Spaniards prisoner and penetrate the parish church of Maria Magdalena.

In an angry iconoclasm, benches, confessionals, wooden figures, pictures as well as altars and sculptures were destroyed. In the middle of the church these items were piled up and burned. The story is told that a soldier tried to remove a cross from the wall. This broke his arm. Out of sheer anger, another soldier wanted to shoot the crucified Jesus in the face, when the rifle exploded and tore off the archer's arm. Only then did the soldiers let go of the cross that still hangs over the baptismal font today. Only when everything was burned did they move on.

This iconoclasm was the revenge of the governor of Nijmegen because 16 Gocher citizens had not been executed in Kleve in 1615 . They had been tried for defamation of the preacher Cerporinus. Lambert Charles did not benefit from this attack, because after a brief serious illness he died unexpectedly on February 7, 1625.

Literature / sources

• Hans-Joachim Koepp: Celts, church and mashed potatoes. Chronology of the 750-year history of the city of Goch. Volume II: From the Thirty Years War to the German Revolution (1615–1846) . 2006 ISBN 3-926245-73-5