Brother Klaus (Spiez)

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Access to the center and church of Brother Klaus in Spiez

The Brother Klaus Church is the Roman Catholic parish church of Spiez and belongs to the pastoral area of ​​the Bernese Oberland. It was built in 1974 as a multi-purpose church by Justus Dahinden at Belvédèrestrasse 6 and has been a listed building since 1994.

history

Today's Brother Klaus Center was built to replace the Brother Klaus Church at Kapellenstrasse 9, which had become too small. This was built in 1898 by Spiez hoteliers for their spa guests, presumably together with the former Parkhotel Bubenberg by the Worber master builder and later government councilor Karl Koenitzer . In 1937 the church was extended by two window axes and a new roof turret was added for two bells.

Since 1894 Spiez belonged to the newly established parish of St. Mary in Thun and in 1935 an independent parish . The first own pastor, Johann Cologna, moved into the newly acquired rectory in der Leimern. In 1959 the parish of Frutigen was separated.

After the new brother Klaus center was built in 1974, the parish sold the old Brother Klaus church to the Methodist parish of Spiez. The Protestant Free Church released the chapel , known as the Matthäuskirche, for sale in 2016 for economic reasons. The rectory in der Leimern had already been sold to private individuals in 1974.

Center brother Klaus

The general awakening in the Catholic Church in the 1960s led to the desire for a contemporary church center in Spiez as well. The architect chosen was Justus Dahinden, known for his pioneering buildings, who had already built several churches in Switzerland and abroad. The parish needed a larger church space on the one hand and meeting and teaching rooms on the other hand, as well as a parish apartment and office space. The new building, inaugurated in 1974 by Bishop Anton Hänggi under the patronage of Brother Klaus , covers the needs of the parishioners.

The parish of Spiez borders on the parishes of Thun St. Marien, Frutigen St. Mauritius and Interlaken Hl. Geist. It extends far into the Simmental and today includes the following area: Spiez mit (Spiezwiler, Hondrich, Faulensee , Einigen , Gwatt / Grenzweg / Seeseite), Aeschi , Krattigen , Wimmis , Reutigen , Niederstocken and Oberstocken , Erlenbach , Latterbach, Diemtigen , Därstetten , Mülenen , Oberwil and Weissenburg .

Building description

Center brother Klaus, east corner with parish apartment

The polygonal church building stands on an elevated protrusion with a clear view of Lake Thun , separated by an open courtyard and the two-story secular building for the community rooms from the Belvédèrestrasse, which leads down into the valley next to it. The low bell tower , with wide slats as a sound opening, is attached directly to the corner of the site . On the mountain side, there is a flat area with parking lots and the church forecourt. Access to the church entrance and the other rooms leads through a partly covered passage to the inner courtyard. A concrete cross on the edge of the roof above marks the building as a church.

In 2014, almost forty years after the building was completed, the roof structure had to be reinforced and better insulation installed, which meant that the church interior could not be used for a long time. The natural fiber flooring and lighting were also replaced.

Interior and artistic equipment

Interior of the church

The wide church space was planned for various uses. As in the churches in Monza (It) and Vettelschoß (D), which were soon built by the same architect, the visitors are guided inside in a spiral. The room receives daylight from light shafts in the ceiling above the visitor chairs and from the side window front. The lighting points upwards, especially in the choir , which, according to Dahinden, is aimed at “internalization”. The sisal and coconut flooring is also noticeable, with the wood paneling contributing to the subdued acoustics. Like the fountain of life, the altar base is covered with natural fiber. The altar table is supported by curved brown metal pipes and the candlesticks and the lectern are designed accordingly.

The otherwise puristic furnishings include copies of a statue of Brother Klaus, an original of which is kept in Stans from 1504, plus a late Romanesque cross, the meditation picture of Niklaus von Flüe and a baroque statue of the Madonna. The back of the worship room contains a theater stage and after reversing the seating, various events are possible.

organ

Organ of the Brother Klaus Church

In 1981 the organ was built by HJ Füglister, Grimisuat VS, with 18 stops on two manuals and a pedal . It has a mechanical tracker action , mechanical key action and slider chests . During the 2001 revision, sound changes and new intonations were carried out by organ builder Thomas Wälti, Gümligen. In the main work, the previous trumpet 8 'was replaced by a new trumpet 8'. In the swell, the whistle 1 'was replaced by a principal 4' and the Krummhorn 8 'by a Dulcian 8'.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Pointed flute 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Sesquialter 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ + 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Super octave 2 ′
mixture 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Cymbel 1 ⁄ 2 ′
Trumpet 8th'
II Positive C-g 3
Dumped 8th'
Open flute 4 ′
Principal 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Sifflet 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Dulcian 8th'
III Swell C – g 3
Dumped 8th'
Open flute 4 ′
Principal 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Sifflet 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Dulcian 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Suavial 8th'
Night horn 4 ′
trombone 8th'
  • Normal coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P. Shelf: Mixture (HW), Dulcian (SW), trumpet (HW), trombone (PED).

Status: July 2005

Bells

The bells in the tower were cast in 1971 by the H. Rüetschi company in Aarau. They sound in the following tone sequence: a ', c sharp ", e" and f sharp ". Names of the bells:

  • Bell 1: a 'Maria, 520 kg, 96 cm diameter,
  • Bell 2: c sharp ", brother Klaus,
  • Bell 3: e ", Joseph,
  • Bell 4: f sharp ", Christophorus

The bells 2 - 4 weigh between 100 and 300 kg. The bell in the choir from the old church hangs on a strongly cranked yoke with a counterweight clapper. It can be posted on special occasions. The second bell of the previous church was sold to Zweisimmen in the Simmental.

literature

  • Gabriela Hanke et al .: Catholic Bern from 1799 to 1999. A stopover . Total Roman Catholic parish of Bern and the surrounding area, Bern 1999.
  • Emil Josef Nünlist: The Catholic Church in the Bern area . Self-published, Bern 1941.

See also

Web links

Commons : Brother Klaus  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The beginnings of the parish. In: Website of the parish. Retrieved November 1, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Jürg Spielmann: Free Church has to sell its house of worship. In: Bernese Oberland. Berner Zeitung, September 23, 2016, accessed on November 1, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Grand Council resolution on the delimitation of the parishes. In: Website of the Government Council of the Canton of Bern, April 4, 2012 (PDF; 111 kB).
  4. ↑ Guido Lauper: The church roof, which is in danger of collapsing, has been patched. In: Bernese Oberland. Berner Zeitung, February 17, 2014, accessed on November 1, 2019 .
  5. ^ Peter Fasler: Organ profile of the Catholic Church, Brother Klaus Spiez. In: Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Retrieved November 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Steamship Fan: Bells in the plenary. Retrieved November 1, 2019 . on Youtube

Coordinates: 46 ° 41 '5.9 "  N , 7 ° 41' 17.4"  E ; CH1903:  619090  /  one hundred seventy thousand four hundred forty-six