ChristChurch Cathedral

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The Christ Church Cathedral in the city of Christchurch on Cathedral Square (2006)

The Anglican ChristChurch Cathedral was an important church building in the city of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand .

history

In 1856, the then Bishop of Christchurch , Henry John Chitty Harper , developed the idea of ​​building a centrally located cathedral in the Canterbury region . Its model at the time was the Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford , England . Just two years later, around 1000 British pounds were available for the construction of such a cathedral. The British architect Sir George Gilbert Scott was won over to realize the project in 1861 , and in the following years he designed the plans for the church.

The foundation stone of the building with the inscription: " strong May Christ's temple on this cornerstone was for all future years, a, beautiful, noble and conspicuous witness of faith " ( If this cornerstone of Christ house for all future years for a strong beautiful, stately and unmistakable witness of faith. ), was laid on December 16, 1864. However, financial problems in the up-and-coming city meant that construction work came to a standstill between 1865 and 1873. In 1874 the first mass was held in the church and solemnly consecrated in 1881. In the month of the blessing, an earthquake caused the first small damage, as a stone came loose from the roof structure. On September 1, 1888, an earthquake in the northern part of Canterbury resulted in the loss of the top eight meters of the steeple. Similar damage was repeated in an earthquake in 1901. In the Darfield earthquake on September 4, 2010, the church building was so badly damaged that it had to be closed for almost three weeks for safety reasons and for structural inspections. Some more damage occurred in a major aftershock on December 26th.

2011 earthquake

In the Christchurch earthquake on February 22, 2011, the church tower of the cathedral was half destroyed. Falling debris damaged adjacent parts of the building. In an aftershock on June 13, 2011, the famous " Rose Window " was completely destroyed. After another strong aftershock on December 23, the condition of the cathedral had deteriorated further, the fate of the landmark of Christchurch was controversial for a long time. On March 2, 2012 it was announced that ChristChurch Cathedral , which had also been damaged in the earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901 and 1922, would be demolished. The demolition work began that same month, but has so far only been limited to the tower, as several lawsuits have been filed against the demolition.

  • Inside view (2010)

  • The Wizard of Christchurch

  • Cathedral with collapsed tower

  • Stabilization in January 2015

Replacement structure for the parish

Heart of the Cardboard Cathedral

At the beginning of April 2013, three variants for the future cathedral were presented: the reconstruction of the building, a traditional wooden structure and a contemporary concrete structure. The Japanese architect Shigeru Ban designed a replacement church made of cardboard tubes, wood and steel girders for the time up to the construction of a new building, which should withstand earthquakes better, have a durability of at least 20 years and be affordable with only three million euros. The actual construction costs amounted to 3.7 million euros. The replacement building, inaugurated on August 2, 2013, became known across the borders of New Zealand as the Cardboard Cathedral or " Cardboard Cathedral ".

Rebuilding the church

On September 9, 2017, after three days of deliberation, it was decided to rebuild the cathedral. 55% of the 225 members of the local Synod of the Anglican Church voted in favor, after building a new cathedral or handing over the ruins to the government were options.

Original structure

The neo-Gothic structure was located in the center of the city of Christchurch and was surrounded by Cathedral Square (Cathedral Square). The church building was the seat of the Bishop of Christchurch .

The cathedral was originally designed by the British architect Sir George Gilbert Scott together with the New Zealand architect Benjamin Mountfort as the civil engineer responsible for the construction. The original plans were for a wooden construction, but were changed when local deposits of good quality masonry were discovered. Wood from the New Zealand tree species Totara and Matai from the Banks Peninsula was used for the roof construction.

The top of the cathedral reached 63 meters above Cathedral Square . A publicly accessible lookout point in the tower of the cathedral allowed a good view over the center of the city. The spire has already been damaged four times by earthquakes. After the third event in 1901, the stone construction was replaced by a somewhat more elastic surface made of weatherproof copper plates.

Former use

The cathedral was used for church purposes until the earthquake on February 22, 2011. As a symbol of Christchurch , the building was also a tourist attraction and was a must for every city tour. Taking photos inside the building was allowed for a small fee.

The Wizard of New Zealand had also made a name for itself as a tourist attraction for many years . Every day at lunchtime he appeared and proclaimed his polemics on all sorts of topics on the steps of the main portal of the church. Due to the destruction caused by the earthquake, he announced that he would no longer perform. However, when it became known that the diocese wanted to demolish the building, the wizard came back from retirement to fight it.

Web links

Commons : ChristChurch Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Decision Reached on the Christchurch Cathedral . (PDF (15.5 MB)) Diocese of Christchurch , October 28, 2011, accessed on September 28, 2014 (English).
  2. ↑ Christchurch Cathedral wrecked by earthquake . New Zealand Herald - Online Edition , February 22, 2011, accessed February 22, 2011 (English, photographs of the damaged church building).
  3. ↑ Jarrod Booker : Christchurch: Cathedral loses famed Rose Window . New Zealand Herald - Online Edition , June 15, 2011, accessed March 2, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Christ Church Cathedral to be pulled down . In: stuff - national . Fairfax Media , March 2, 2012, accessed April 5, 2018 .
  5. ^ Paul Harper : Three options for new look cathedral (+ photos) . New Zealand Herald - Online Edition , April 4, 2013, accessed April 4, 2013 .
  6. ^ After quake: Cardboard cathedral for Christchurch. Die Presse, April 16, 2012, accessed on March 12, 2019 .
  7. ^ New Zealand to rebuild earthquake-damaged Christchurch Cathedral . In: ABC News . September 9, 2017 ( online [accessed September 10, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Ben Smith : 'Wizard of New Zealand' leaving Christchurch after quake . CNN.com - International Edition , March 1, 2011; accessed March 1, 2011 .
  9. ↑ Charlie Gates : Wizard in 'save cathedral' bid . In: The Press . Stuff.co.nz, March 10, 2012, accessed October 5, 2014 .

Coordinates: 43 ° 31 ′ 51.4 ″  S , 172 ° 38 ′ 13.2 ″  E