Friedenskirche (Heilbronn)
The Friedenskirche was a Protestant church built between 1896 and 1899 on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz (today Friedensplatz) in Heilbronn . The spire of the church, which was damaged in World War II, was blown up in 1947, which meant that the remaining church ruins could be secured for the time being and preserved for reconstruction. In 1952, however, the extremely controversial demolition of the remaining ruins took place.
history
In the course of industrialization , Heilbronn's population grew rapidly from the 1860s. In the city, which has been predominantly Protestant since the Reformation , there were only two Protestant churches, the Kilian's Church and the Nikolaikirche , which gradually became insufficient.
A first foundation from the citizenship to purchase a building plot for a new church took place in 1872, further foundations in the years thereafter. The city, the sole beneficiary of church income since 1855, also set up a church building fund. A church building association was founded in October 1883. In 1888, the City Plan Commission proposed a part of Mönchseeplatzes as a building site, in honor of the late Emperor William I in Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz has been renamed.
As a result of the legal change in responsibilities in 1887, it was not the city but the parish that had to bear the construction costs for new churches. The request was delayed until the cooperation between the city as the sponsor and the church as the client was clarified. In August 1890, the town and parish jointly announced an architectural competition to build a church with 1,400 seats - one of the requirements was that the building costs of the church should not exceed 400,000 marks . In 1891 the relationship between the city and the parish was clarified. The parish received the two historic churches, the parish and diaconate buildings as well as 330,000 marks from the building fund. In March 1891, the jury awarded first prize to the design by the Berlin architects Carl Zaar and Rudolf Vahl from among the 34 works submitted . In addition to a 2nd and a 3rd prize, the jury initially only awarded praise for another three designs, which, however, were not considered either as a whole or in detail for the execution of the church.
In the summer of 1891, however, the trade press reported that - completely different from the usual procedure for architectural competitions - another (up to then neither awarded nor "praised") competition design was subsequently purchased (i.e. after the regular competition procedure) and recommended for execution by the jury has been. This design came from the Berlin architect Johannes Vollmer and was further developed by him in coordination with the parish until it was ready for construction.
On May 27, 1895, the earthworks began on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz, and on September 21, 1896, the foundation stone was laid in the central pillar of the choir. Construction progressed very quickly until the knob was placed on the church tower on October 25, 1898 and the church could be consecrated on May 15, 1899. The planned construction costs were exceeded by far; the interior of the church alone cost around 100,000 marks. On March 25, 1900, the Friedenskirche received its own church district. In addition, the church served as a garrison church for the garrison stationed in Heilbronn since 1883 .
The building suffered first war damage during a bombing raid on the night of November 8, 1941. On December 4, 1944, the church was destroyed by the great air raid on Heilbronn : the roof collapsed completely and the walls burst. The ruins were further damaged during the battle for Heilbronn in April 1945. According to contemporary witnesses, the tower was "perforated like a sieve". In 1945 a storm damaged the ruins again, so that the entire square had to be closed due to the risk of the church collapsing. The peace church gave way to the Hall of Heilbronner crematorium in the main cemetery of, later than in the 1948 emergency church built Wichernhaus Church . On September 25, 1947, the octagonal pyramid was the stone on the basis of the continuing danger of collapse spire shortened by a blow to the located at its four corners turrets and the open belfry back. This enabled the church ruins to be temporarily secured. With the massive outer walls and the foundations of the church, it was initially hoped that they would be preserved and thus be able to restore the building. However, since the walls and the foundation were not made of homogeneous stone material and each stone had reacted differently to the pressure suffered by the bombing, it was ultimately necessary to demolish the entire structure. From February 17 to 23, 1952, the ruins of the Friedenskirche were completely demolished with two blasts.
The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz, which was no longer built on and converted into a green area, was renamed Friedensplatz in 1985 . Today there are still two memorials to the fallen of the regiments stationed in Heilbronn from the First World War on the once built-up area.
description
Kreuzkirche
The entrance portal of the church was under the 77 m high tower and was crowned by a gable. Side portals were in the southern and northern tower buildings. There were further entrance portals on the north and south sides of the church. The church was built on the plan of a Greek cross in the neo-Romanesque style. Cross vaults with ribs and barrel vaults formed the ceiling of the Friedenskirche. The choir itself was covered with a vaulted dome that was richly painted. The ribs of the barrel vault came to stand on foliage capitals . The cross vault in the crossing in the middle of the transept was supported on black granite columns with richly decorated capitals . The windows on the first floor were small, arched and domed, while large rose windows (7.5 m in diameter) were located in the gables of the transept . The choir also had rose windows. Christ carrying the cross and Christ as the good shepherd formed the motif for the paintings on the window reveals . The Heilbronner Friedenskirche was stylistically related to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
Numerous regional artisans were involved in the construction. The Heilbronn art blacksmith August Stotz created z. B. the door fittings.
Bells
Four bells hung in the bell-room.
- The first one was tuned to As and bore the following inscription: "A strong castle is our God", cast by GA Kiesel in Heilbronn in 1897.
- The second was tuned to C and bore the following inscription: “Honor only to God in the highest”, donated by the Faisst family.
- The third was tuned to It and bore the following inscription: "Oh, stay with us, Lord Jesus Christ".
- The fourth was tuned to As and bore the following inscription: "There is still some rest".
Altherr fresco
In 1939, when the war broke out, a fresco by Heinrich Altherr was attached to the wall behind the altar . It showed the Last Judgment. The painting showed the standing Christ in the center, flanked on the left by believers and on the right by unbelievers. He held his left hand up in peace, but looked to the right at the unbelievers. The painting was originally conceived in 1925 for the Basel jury court, but was rejected by the jury there. The art historian Wilhelm Braun-Feldweg and the pastor of the Friedenskirche Karl Völter were able to convince Altherr to leave his exile in Switzerland in the summer of 1939 and to create his monumental fresco (4 m high, 12 m wide) in the Friedenskirche.
In 1991, the Heilbronn Municipal Museums acquired a bozzetto of the painting from Zurich's private collection. This design, painted in oil on canvas by Altherr, has a size of 206 × 533 cm.
photos
Picture postcard for the inauguration of the Friedenskirche in 1899
Elevation, design by Johannes Vollmer
Floor plan, draft by Johannes Vollmer
T. Hermann: The Peace Church in Heilbronn. HN 1899.
post war period
The tower helmet was blown up due to the risk of collapse on September 25, 1947.
Ruin of the church on September 25, 1947 after the tower was blown up. The church remained in this state until the final demolition in 1952.
Remaining church tower after the nave was blown up on February 17, 1952.
The church tower was blown up on February 23, 1952.
The remaining ruins of the Friedenskirche on February 23, 1952 after being completely blown up.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the Oberamt Heilbronn. Part 2. Published by the K. State Statistical Office. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1903, p. 26
- ^ Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 25, 1891, No. 25 (from March 28, 1891), p. 156. (Note on the competition result)
- ↑ In terms of copyright law, the so-called purchase of a design allowed certain elements of this design (e.g. clever floor plan solutions or successful design details) to be included in the execution draft to be drawn up by another architect.
- ↑ Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 25, 1891, No. 62 (of August 5, 1891), p. 376. (Note on the purchase of Vollmer's design and the recommendation of the jury)
- ^ Robert Bauer: Heilbronner Tagebuchblätter. Giehrl & Co., Heilbronn 1949, p. 27.
- ↑ Uwe Jacobi: That was the 20th century in Heilbronn. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2001, ISBN 3-86134-703-2 , p. 52.
- ^ Gerhard Schwinghammer, Reiner Makowski: The Heilbronner street names. (Ed. by the city of Heilbronn) 1st edition, Silberburg-Verlag , Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-87407-677-6 , p. 72.
- ↑ Helmut Schmolz, Hubert Weckbach: Heilbronn with Böckingen, Neckargartach, Sontheim. The old city in words and pictures. Volume 2. Konrad-Verlag, Weißenhorn 1967, p. 33
- ↑ Description of the Oberamt Heilbronn. Part 2. Published by the K. State Statistical Office. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1903, p. 28
- ↑ A "picture relic" for Heilbronn - The picture bozzetto by Heinrich Altherr , in: museo 9/1994, pp. 112–119.
Web links
literature
- Wilhelm Steinhilber: The Peace Church in Heilbronn (1899–1952) . In: Swabia and Franconia. Local history supplement of the Heilbronn voice . 9th year, no. 8 . Heilbronner Voice publishing house, August 31, 1963, ZDB ID 128017-X .
Coordinates: 49 ° 8 ′ 26.5 ″ N , 9 ° 13 ′ 37.6 ″ E