Brother Klaus Field Chapel (Wachendorf)

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Coordinates: 50 ° 35 ′ 32.7 "  N , 6 ° 43 ′ 38.4"  E

Interior view of the chapel with the Brother Klaus stele

The Bruder-Klaus-Feldkapelle is a privately donated Roman Catholic chapel built between 2005 and 2007 above the village of Mechernich - Wachendorf , on the northern edge of the Eifel .

History of origin

The chapel was built between 2005 and 2007 according to plans by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor . The building owner is the farming family Trudel and Hermann-Josef Scheidtweiler, who "out of gratitude for a good and fulfilling life" intended to build a chapel on their own field and consecrate it to the Swiss saint of peace, Nikolaus von Flüe ( brother Klaus ). Brother Klaus is the patron saint of the Catholic rural people movement and the Catholic rural youth movement , in which Hermann-Josef Scheidtweiler worked for many years in an honorary position, including as diocesan chairman in the Archdiocese of Cologne . The Scheidtweiler family came into contact with Peter Zumthor when he was building the Kolumba diocesan art museum in Cologne . The chapel was consecrated on May 19, 2007 by Cologne Auxiliary Bishop Heiner Koch , today's Archbishop of Berlin , and has been the destination of numerous visitors ever since. After its completion, the chapel was transferred to the Nikolaus von der Flüe Prayer Foundation in order to ensure that it is preserved and cared for over the long term. Any surpluses go to rural development projects and support for disabled children in India.

Construction and equipment

For the construction, a tent-shaped construction made of 112 spruce trunks was erected. Around this inner construction, the chapel was made of rammed concrete , which was layered in 24 days by a volunteer tamping team together with skilled craftsmen in accordance with the old craft tradition of the region in layers from 50 cm to a height of 12 meters. In autumn 2006 a moth fire was kept inside for three weeks , which allowed the tree trunks to dry out and detached them from the concrete so that they could easily be removed. The floor is made of an alloy of tin and lead that has been heated and spread on the spot. 350 hand-blown glass plugs close the collar openings that were necessary to connect the outer and inner wooden formwork when the concrete was poured.

The result is a windowless tower building with a minimalist block-like appearance on the outside and a pentagonal floor plan. The interior looks like a cave in the tent-like shape of the inner formwork, the walls clearly show the structure of the spruce trunks. The room is open at the top, it allows a view of the sky, but also light and rain fall into the otherwise dark room. There are no electrical or sanitary installations. Because of the limited space, it is a place for personal meditation and not for church services. The chapel has no altar .

On the wall there is a cast brass wheel sign, corresponding to the meditation sign that Brother Klaus had in his hermitage. On the floor is a bronze stele with a half-length figure of Brother Klaus, designed by the Swiss sculptor Hans Josephsohn , in which a relic of the saint is set.

The chapel is open in summer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and in winter from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is closed on Mondays.

  • View from the northwest

  • The chapel in the field

  • entrance

  • Open at the top

  • Aerial photograph (2015)

Literature / media

  • Carolyn Meyding, Theresa Scheibner: Audio guide Brother Klaus Chapel . Pausanio, Cologne 2010 (app for iPhone and iPad).
  • Markus Bönsch: Open to the sky. The Brother Klaus Chapel in Wachendorf. 4th edition, Verlag Markus Bönsch, Cologne 2016, ISBN 978-3-00-027443-5 .

Web links

Commons : Feldkapelle (Wachendorf)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann-Josef Scheidtweiler: “In the Brother Klaus Chapel I become silent.” In: Continents , Vol. 54 (2019), November / December issue, p. 17.
  2. ↑ feldkapelle.de: Foundation.