Christ Church (Cologne)

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The Christ Church with new buildings May 2016

The Christ Church is a Protestant church , originally in the neo-Gothic style according to plans by architects August Hartel (1844–1890) and Skjøld Neckelmann (1854–1903) by diocesan architect Heinrich Wiethase (1833–1893) in the Belgian Quarter in Cologne's Neustadt . In February 2014 the nave was demolished by a resolution of the Evangelical Community of Cologne, in order to then build a smaller nave and a residential and commercial property with community rooms on the site. The church was rededicated in 2016.

history

The Christ Church from the southwest 1895

After the medieval city wall was torn down, the community decided in 1885 to build a new church with 1200 seats. A nationwide competition was held for this in 1888. The first prize was awarded to the design by the German architect August Hartel and the Danish architect Skjöld Neckelmann.

The Christ Church was built from 1891 to 1894 as the first church in Cologne that could be financed by the Evangelical Church's own funds. The property for this was given to the Evangelical Congregation of Cologne by the city council meeting on July 8, 1886 on the recommendation of the city architect Josef Stübben from the city of Cologne. It was the first church in Cologne's Neustadt district.

Originally it was a magnificent, hall-like hall church in the neo-Gothic style, the style recommended in the Wiesbaden program for representative church buildings. The church room had a three-sided gallery with chairs and a total of more than 1200 seats. The 77 meter high tower, renovated in 1990/1991, offers a view from all sides from a circumferential gallery at a height of 42 meters. The tower spire above the historical clock is pierced by an open lantern at a height of 60 meters . Albert Schweitzer gave his only organ concert in the Cologne area in 1928 in the old Christ Church. Carl Jatho , who often filled the church room to the last seat, was the pastor here from 1894 until he was recalled in 1911 against great opposition in the community in Berlin.

Due to its proximity to Cologne's Westbahnhof , the church was badly damaged during the night of April 20-21, 1944 during World War II . In 1951, the architects Hesse and Schulze built a simple hall church in the spirit of New Building and based on the model of Otto Bartning's steel church as a steel structure with thin external walls in just nine months. On the 2nd Advent in 1951, the church with 520 seats was inaugurated as the first new hall in Cologne after the end of the war. Since then, the church, often called the “Old Lady”, has stood in a mixture of a neo-Gothic tower and a simple, unfinished nave from the post-war period as a solitary element between the city ​​garden and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring .

Christ Church Cologne 1951

The church tower, organ loft and the vaulted cellar were placed under monument protection on May 21, 1982 . The Rhenish Association for Monument Preservation and Landscape Protection named the Christ Church in May 2005 because of the church hall as Monument of the Month.

As early as the 1970s, there were considerations for a fundamental redesign, as the number of apartments and residents had decreased significantly as a result of the conversion into office space. In 1980 the presbytery decided to completely demolish the nave and the almost dilapidated tower. This decision was stopped by the city curator. Instead, the tower was extensively renovated and reconstructed with state grants in 1990 and 1991. After several drafts of new buildings, most of which were rejected by the city curator, the presbytery of the Evangelical Congregation of Cologne decided in May 2008 to sell the site to an investor for the purpose of building a new building on the site of the nave in need of renovation, whereby the listed components, i.e. the historic church tower , the cellar vault (the so-called "Basement") and the gallery had to be preserved. Instead of a church, an isolated room for prayer should be created without additional meeting rooms. This intention led to a strong movement in the congregation, which campaigned for the preservation of a church with meeting rooms.

After reviewing and changing the community concept due to an increasing, not decreasing, number of community members, the community decided to use the design by architects Hollenbeck + Maier as a basis for further planning. With the aim of preserving the substance for future generations, the Evangelical Community of Cologne decided to carry out the new building for around 9.1 million euros on its own. This budget was also largely adhered to.

Demolition of the interim building in February 2014

There was opposition from the citizens of Cologne and from parishioners to the demolition of the Christ Church planned by the Evangelical Church in Cologne and the new construction of the design by Klaus Hollenbeck Architects and MAIER ARCHITEKTEN. On February 12, 2014, the demolition work on the nave of the Christ Church began. On Sunday, September 25, 2016, the new nave was inaugurated with a festive service. The church space has been made smaller, because a large one, like the one that the original congregation had with its catchment area, no longer seemed justified in view of the current numbers of church attendances. To the left and right of the tower, a five-storey wing was built with mostly rental apartments, plus office space and community rooms that are oriented towards the sacred garden and provide a view of the city garden. The basic shape of the new church space is based on a rhombus with sloping walls. Four windows allow focused views in four directions. A window opens towards the television tower. Inwardly inclined walls in the church are intended to create a feeling of security, while outwardly inclined walls characterize the open sacred garden and want to act as a gesture of reception. Its height can be compared with that of the still existing nave.

Basement

The cellar under the Christ Church Cologne was since the late 1970s for decades as a basement , a popular venue for concerts, rehearsals and celebrations. Among other things, it is considered the birthplace of the band BAP . In addition, Gerd Köster , the Bläck Fööss , Zeltinger , Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Annie Lennox played here . On January 15, 1980 Joy Division had their only appearance in Germany in front of 150 spectators in the basement - besides a concert in Berlin.

organ

Along with the church, the organ by master organ builder Sauer , which had been expanded in 1927, was destroyed in 1944. After a few makeshift arrangements, a new organ came into the church in 1962: a slider organ from Willi Peter's workshop with a mechanical action and an electric setter combination in the Christ Church. Hans Klotz was responsible for the scale lengths and intonation . The organ with 23 registers , two manuals and pedal , chest mechanism with flap sill and tremulant was inaugurated on the harvest festival on September 30, 1962. The organ was dismantled before the demolition work.

Bells

Big bell

The original bronze bells were melted down during World War I. In the tower hangs today a ringing made of three cast steel bells of the Bochum Association from 1923 in the tones h, d 'and e' with a total weight of around 4.7 tons. The inscriptions are shaped by the hardship of the post-war period : TRUTH. / INSTEAD OF CAST BRONZE STEEL / THE TIME IS DIFFICULT, FATE IS HARD. (big bell), FREEDOM. / THE FATHERS WEARED CHARITY AND DEATH / THE CHILDREN SHINES MORNING RED. (middle bell), PEACE. / THE ENEMY'S POWER IS GREAT AND LIST / PRAISE YOU ARE LORD JESUS ​​CHRIST. (little bell). The clock strikes every half and full hour via the striking mechanism on the big bell . The middle bell rings as a prayer bell on weekdays at noon and in the evening. On Saturdays at 5 p.m., all the bells ring in the Sunday. The bell also sounds before the service on Sundays and feast days.

Church window

The original glazing was destroyed in the Second World War. After a competition, the Evangelical Congregation Cologne commissioned the artist David Schnell to plan and execute new colored glazing . The colored glazing of the window in the rose window of the tower was added in 2018.

local community

The Christ Church belongs with four other churches (Antoniterkirche, Kartäuserkirche, Lutherkirche and Thomaskirche) to the Evangelical Community of Cologne . Around 2400 parishioners live with their main residence in the Christ Church district. Almost two thirds of them, namely almost 1500, are between 21 and 45 years old.

literature

  • Günther A. Menne, Christoph Nötzel (Hrsg.): Evangelical churches in Cologne and the surrounding area. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-7616-1944-5 .
  • Hiltrud Kier: The Protestant Cologne. The churches until 1939. Photographs by Celia Körber-Leupold. Bachem, Cologne 2002, ISBN 3-7616-1639-2 .
  • Disposition of the organ in the Christ Church in Cologne a. Rh. , In: Urania. Music magazine for organ building, organ and harmonium playing, as well as for musical theory, church, instructive song and piano music, 52nd year (1895), No. 2, p. 13 [with detailed appreciation].

Web links

Commons : Christ Church  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Engelbert Broich: Inauguration of the rebuilt and newly built Christ Church. Article on kirche-koeln.de from October 12, 2016. ( Memento from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Hiltrud Kier: Small art history of Cologne. CH Beck, Munich 2001, p. 198.
  3. ↑ Hans-Willi Hermans: Before and After - Memories of the Christ Church. Evangelical Church Association Cologne and Region, September 10, 2013, accessed on April 23, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Monument List City of Cologne ( Memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ A level of all parts.
  6. ↑ kirche-koeln.de ( Memento from February 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ).
  7. ↑ New investor wanted.
  8. ↑ New investor found.
  9. ^ Another investor jumped out.
  10. ↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Municipality wants to submit building application. 2
  11. ^ Protestant ethics ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Only the tower remains.
  13. ↑ Online petition against the demolition of the Christ Church on openPetition
  14. ↑ Demolition work has started.
  15. ↑ Uta Winterhager: The search for the sacred expression. Article on www.koelnarchitektur from July 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ Prayer and living. Church renovation in Cologne. Article on www.baunetz.de from June 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ Evangelical Church Association Cologne and Region: New building at the Christ Church: The building project was decided with a large majority in the presbytery. November 16, 2008.
  18. ↑ bap-fan.de
  19. ^ Joy Division in Cologne - intermediate realm of post-punk. In: Spiegel Online.
  20. ^ Festschrift on the occasion of the organ inauguration. Christ Church Cologne. Self-published, Cologne 1962.
  21. ↑ Engelbert Broich: David Schnell designed the new windows of the converted Christ Church in the city garden. Article on kirche-koeln from April 27, 2016. ( Memento from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  22. ↑ Dominic Röltgen: Christ Church A Bridge to Transcendence. Article in the Kölnische Rundschau.

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 36.9 ″  N , 6 ° 56 ′ 19.4 ″  E