Trinity Church (Aachen)
The Trinity Church is the largest Protestant church in Aachen . It was built between 1897 and 1899 on the historical city limits between Burtscheid , which was independent until 1897, and the city of Aachen and is a listed building . In 2006 it was given up as a parish church in the course of the redistribution of the parish and has served as a youth church since 2015 .
history
In Burtscheid , which was originally predominantly Catholic , a small Protestant community had formed since the beginning of the 16th century, the majority of which had moved from Aachen during the Aachen religious unrest and were only allowed to build a permanent church at the end of the 19th century.
Construction of the church began in 1897 according to plans by the Berlin architect Heinrich Reinhardt . It entered service in July 1899. The building was in the historical, predominantly neo-Gothic style and the interior was strongly based on Art Nouveau . Originally, a rectory built in the same architectural style and a sexton and parish house belonged to the church . Although the ensemble was on the outskirts of Burtscheid, it was conveniently located on the way across what was then Kaiserallee in the city center of Aachen and close to the Evangelical-sponsored Viktoriaschule .
The church was badly damaged during the Second World War . In an air raid in July 1943, the roof, church stalls, altar, organ and belfry were burned. After that, the building stood empty for several years. The parish and parish houses were completely destroyed and not rebuilt.
The reconstruction of the Holy Trinity Church began in 1948 with the first safety measures on the roof, vaults and masonry. In July 1955 she was put back into service. With 650 seats, it is the largest Protestant church in Aachen. The tower is a good 62 meters high. Of the original four bells, only one, the smallest, has survived. The rest are new casts.
In the meantime, under protection of monuments Trinity church was closed due to changing structures and district divisions and problems of structural maintenance and on 1 August 2006 deconsecrated . In 2011 the tower was renovated, damage to the masonry was removed and the tower spire received new beams and a copper roof covering.
Since 2011, found in the Holy Trinity Church again maid services and in the years 2012-2013 during the restoration work on the Anna Church in Aachen regular services are held. Due to the sale of the Klais organ in 2009, however, there was no longer an adequate organ available to accompany these services.
Furnishing
Before the Second World War showed the stained glass windows in the nave New Testament scenes of the Jesus story, the windows in the choir , the Christian festivals Christmas , Easter and Pentecost . All the windows were created by the well-known glass painter Alexander Linnemann from Frankfurt . In the course of the reconstruction, new windows with abstract motifs on the theme of the Trinity were installed.
The original interior was destroyed in the war, only a mosaic in the choir and the flooring in the side aisles remain. After the reconstruction, the church initially received an organ from the Georg Stahlhuth organ building company in Aachen . The organ had 22 registers on two manuals and a pedal . In 1987 it was replaced by a Klais organ with 44 stops on three manuals and a pedal.
After it was closed in 2006, the Klais organ was sold to the Evangelical City Church Association of Cologne and Region, transported away in summer 2009 and can now be heard in the Trinity Church in Cologne.
Current usage
Since the end of 2015, after extensive renovation work, the Dreifaltigkeitskirche has been back in operation as a youth church under the name Junge Kirche Aachen (JuKi Aachen) . Under the responsibility of a team of full-time and voluntary employees, church services and other events for young people and young adults take place there on at least four days a week.
See also
Web links
- The Trinity Church in Aachen
- Information on the Klais organ ( Memento from March 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Catalog raisonné of the glass painting workshop Linnemann from 1904: "Burtscheid Dreifaltigkeitskirche all windows"
- ^ The organ of the Dreifaltigkeitskirche in Aachen (1987-2009). In: www.orgel-information.de. Archived from the original on March 27, 2011 ; Retrieved September 2, 2012 .
- ↑ JuKi Aachen. Evangelical Church Community Aachen, accessed on January 20, 2020 . ; https://juki-aachen.de/ .
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 '8.5 " N , 6 ° 5' 49.1" E