Church of the Redeemer (Langenfeld)
The Church of the Redeemer ( ) is a under monument protection standing evangelical church in Langenfeld - Immigrath / Hardt .
Brief description
Church of the Redeemer in the local situation Hardt in Langenfeld-Immigrath is the largest Protestant church in Langenfeld. Built entirely from dark gray natural stone , it has an impact on the viewer - according to the Environmental Protection and Beautification Association. V. - "like a solid castle " .
Historical description
A historical description of the then still quite young house of God can be found in the home book of the community Richrath - Reusrath . The pastor at the time, Hans Berghöfer, described his church as follows:
“ The new Protestant Church of Immigrath stands where the terrain of modern industry and the forest and arable land of the Bergisches Land meet . She has taken old and new into her way. The walls rise up in large closed areas, the window openings are simple and plain . The symbol of faith struggles victoriously and strongly from the heaviness : the cross greets from the only steep gable on the front side and the tower stretches high above the building . Here, however, the shapes of the slate-covered , curved helmet remind of the spirit of the Bergisch homeland , which this church building has also outgrown. The interior is accessed through the large portal arch . Here too, the happy attempt at an organic fusion of old and new: Romanesque ideas of form can be heard everywhere. A broad, light room is to accommodate the community ; the gaze is drawn to the choir . Here the altar and organ are combined to form a free unit. A large, bright white cross shines out of the darkness of the semicircle, which receives its little light from multi-colored glazed windows. "
History of origin
The history of the origins of the Church of the Redeemer was already mentioned in the pastor's words. The reason for their construction is technical progress , which attracted workers in droves to the emerging and rapidly growing textile and mining companies . Despite the predominant influx of Catholic workers, many Protestants also settled in Langenfeld. They quickly brought the only Evangelical Lutheran parish in Reusrath , which was sufficient until then, to the limits of its capacity . In order to relieve the Martin Luther Church , the planning of another church building in Immigrath began at the end of the 1890s . Their construction plans were submitted in 1902 and finally approved.
In addition, it should be added that in 1876 four fifths of the total of 1520 parishioners lived in Immigrath. The forerunner of the church was therefore a prayer house built by Pastor Goebel in 1877 , which stood on the site of today's parish hall . Since, moreover, the peace suffered badly from the rival groups in the community, Pastor Josten saw himself called to serious admonitions in his sermon in 1883, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Martin Luther Church . Eight years later, along with the cemetery site in Immigrath, the building site next to it for the church was also acquired. A church building association then started its activity in 1893. According to the statutes of the association , each member had to pay in 10 Reichspfennige every Sunday. In 1901 there were already 2310 parishioners in the Church of the Redeemer, but it was not until seven years later that the foundation stone for the church could be laid.
Building history
The Erlöserkirche was built according to the plans of the Elberfeld- based architect Arno Eugen Fritsche - an accomplished church building expert - based on his church building in Königsborn near Unna . On June 28, 1908, a Berliner , a local and a Cologne newspaper as well as the ecclesiastical newspaper distributed here were laid in the foundation stone . To this was added in the foundation coins of 5 Mark on down, pictures of I. Kaiser Wilhelm and Kaiser Wilhelm II. And finally one on parchment written document on the construction of the church. In the end of this foundation stone document it says: "... may a church in need of salvation always find what it is looking for in the centuries to come: comfort, peace, light and power ..." . The solemn inauguration of the church took place on November 28, 1909 under Pastor Buse.
In the years 1975/1976 preliminary considerations matured to redesign the interior of the Erlöserkirche. The background was the theological knowledge that the church community celebrates the service and that it is not held by the pastor. This idea was optically implemented in the interior renovation completed in Advent 1981 . As in many church buildings in the Rhineland, this renovation - without the effects of the war, but on the efforts of the community! - a faithfully preserved interior from the turn of the century destroyed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Environmental Protection and Beautification Association Langenfeld e. V .: A guide through the built history of Langenfeld.
- ↑ VVV e. V .: Home book of the community of Richrath-Reusrath , Hense Druck 1928, Facsimile Verlag Rheinlandia, 1986.
- ^ A b c Rolf Müller: City History Langenfeld Rhineland. Verlag Stadtarchiv Langenfeld 1992.
- ^ Friedhelm Görgens, Langenfeld , Droste, Düsseldorf 1984
Web links
- Lower monument authority of the city of Langenfeld ( Memento from February 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- List of monuments
- official website of the municipality ( memorial of August 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 51 ° 7 ′ 1.7 ″ N , 6 ° 58 ′ 6.8 ″ E