Christ Church (Bocholt)

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Evangelical Christ Church in Bocholt. Bell tower and part of the south nave in the background.

The Evangelical Christ Church in Bocholt is part of the first parish of the Evangelical Church Community in Bocholt. The community belongs to the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the Steinfurt-Coesfeld-Borken parish .

Community and Church History

From the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century, large parts of Bocholt's population were Protestant. In the course of the Counter Reformation , which was carried out by the Prince-Bishops of Münster, the number of Protestants in Bocholt fell to less than 80 people by the middle of the 18th century. They were looked after by the Reformed and Lutheran pastors of Werth in terms of worship and pastoral care .

After the abolition of the Principality of Münster in 1803, Bocholt became the seat of government of the Principality of Salm . In 1806, Prince Konstantin zu Salm-Salm granted the Protestants freedom of religion. in 1815 the Westmünsterland was incorporated as the district of Borken of the province of Westphalia and thus the Kingdom of Prussia. During this time, the idea of ​​building a new Protestant parish with a new parish church in Bocholt arose .

In 1819 King Friedrich Wilhelm III approved . of Prussia the establishment of a Protestant parish in Bocholt. In the same year, the St. Agnes Chapel , church of the Augustinian convent on the Schonenberg, which was secularized in 1803, was consecrated and put into use as a Protestant church. The parish had acquired it from the princes of Salm-Salm.

In the period that followed, the parish increased beyond the boundaries of Bocholt. In 1837 the Protestants in the parish Rhede formally joined the community. The Protestants in the surrounding parishes, especially in Dingden and Suderwick , were also supplied .

Towards the end of the 19th century, the number of parishioners grew steadily, so that the Agnes Chapel no longer proved to be sufficient and a new building was decided. In 1901 the newly built Protestant church was inaugurated on Münsterstrasse. It was only given the name "Christ Church" in 1963, when the newly built Apostle Church was inaugurated.

The Christ Church has been a listed building since 1983.

Building description

The asymmetrical two - aisled neo - Gothic hall church with a facade tower in front of the aisle was designed by the architect Otter from Wesel. The walls are made of bright red factory bricks, the tracery and building details are made of sandstone. The ceilings are provided with ribbed vaults. The short chancel is separated from the nave by diagonally placed walls, behind which there is a gallery and a pulpit staircase to the elevated pulpit with a sound cover from the 17th century, which from the outside can be seen as stair towers. The aisle fills a wooden gallery. The organ gallery is set low. The rose window is half hidden by the organ. On the outside of the building there is a wealth of architectural decorations. The entrance is through the main gate of the nave or through the side tower entrance.

Furnishing

The motif windows are of particular importance. They were made in the course of the church renovation between 1952 and 1954 according to plans by the artist Professor Thol (Berlin). The windows show scenic representations of the Old and New Testaments, etc. a. the suspension of Moses and Daniel in the lions' den, as well as the raising of Lazarus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit . On the top of the church tower was a rooster that disappeared and reappeared and has been sitting on the sacristy tower since 2001.

organ

The organ of the Christ Church was built in 1974 by the organ building company Franz Breil (Dorsten). The slider chests -instrument has 17 registers on two manuals and pedal . The playing and stop actions are mechanical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Pointed flute 8th'
octave 4 ′
Flute 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Mixture V
Trumpet 8th'
II swelling breastworks C – g 3
Wooden dacked 8th'
Reed flute 4 ′
Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Principal 2 ′
Third flute 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Zimbel III
Schalmey 8th'
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Octave bass 8th'
Choral bass 4 ′
Open flute 2 ′
bassoon 16 ′
  • Coupling: II / I, I / P, II / P

literature

  • Evangelical life in Bocholt: 100 years of the Christ Church. The history of the parish in the light of the Reformation, special edition of the magazine UNSER BOCHOLT, 52nd year, issue 2/2001, ed. v. Association for Home Care Bocholt eV, Bocholt 2001.
  • Information about the Christ Church on the parish website

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Church on the list of monuments at bocholt.de
  2. ^ "Research Center for Glass Painting of the 20th Century eV"
  3. ↑ Information on the organ

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 50 ′ 19.3 "  N , 6 ° 37 ′ 25.8"  E