Friedenskirche (Sterkrade)

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Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 45.2 ″  N , 6 ° 51 ′ 3.1 ″  E

Front view of the Friedenskirche (2012)
Interior view of the Friedenskirche (2012)

The Friedenskirche in the Oberhausen district of Sterkrade is the oldest place of worship in the local evangelical parish.

Until around 1800 Sterkrade had almost no Protestant residents, which is partly due to the influence of the Cistercian monastery that was located there in 1254 . This changed with the upswing of the iron and steel industry that began at the beginning of the 19th century. The family of the co-owner of Gutehoffnungshütte Gottlob Jacobi is said to have been the first Protestant to settle in Sterkrade. In the period that followed, the proportion of Protestants in the town's rapidly growing population increased steadily. In 1838, under the leadership of the hut director Wilhelm Lueg, a union of evangelicals was founded in and near Sterkrade , which now represented the interests of around 300 people who are still church-relatedHolten community counted, but wanted their own clergyman and church. In 1846, August Creutzberg was the first pastor to be hired for Sterkrade; In April 1848 the Sterkrade Evangelical Church Community was officially founded.

The steelworks union Jacobi, Haniel & Huyssen had made a drawing room available as a place for worship, but the capacity of around 100 people soon proved to be insufficient. After setting up their own school, the next goal of the young community was to build its own church, but it was overwhelmed by the financing of the project, which was estimated at around 10,000  thalers . 1000 thalers were made available from its own resources, 3000 thalers were donated by the smelting union. Most of the missing amount could be collected through a house collection in the provinces of Rhineland and Westphalia .

The construction of the church began in September 1850, in July 1852 the Friedenskirche was inaugurated and the parsonage could be moved into at the same time. For the exterior design of the church, the master builder Wilhelm Dahmen from Mülheim an der Ruhr combined classical and neo-Gothic elements. The slender turrets at all four corners of the nave are characteristic. The interior of the house of God presented itself as a simple hall church. The ceiling construction is reminiscent of the roof of an industrial hall. The church building is 27 m long, 13 m wide; the tower has a height of 33 m.

While the external appearance of the Friedenskirche has changed only insignificantly since its inauguration, there have been several alterations inside. By installing a gallery in 1900, the number of places for worshipers was significantly increased. In addition, the Peace Church was relieved by the opening of the Christ Church in 1914.

The last renovation of the church so far took place in 2002 on the 150th anniversary of its inauguration. The most important measures included the renovation of the interior painting and an expansion of the chancel, which was equipped with new principal pieces on this occasion . The window in the middle of the apse , which had been walled up on the inside for many years , was reopened so that the three windows at the head of the church now symbolize the festivals of Christmas , Easter and Pentecost with their pictures (nativity scene, lamb and dove) .

In the entrance area of ​​the church, a stone plaque commemorates Wilhelm Lueg (1792–1864), who played a major role in the founding of the community and the construction of the church.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fritz Gehne: Sterkrade . In: Oberhausen Heimatbuch , arr. by Wilhelm Seipp, Oberhausen 1964, p. 129.
  2. ↑ Gehne: Sterkrade , S. 131st

literature

  • Herta Zilly: Evangelical churches in Oberhausen. Evangelical parishes and church buildings in pictures and history , Oberhausen 1993.
  • Evangelical parish of Sterkrade: 150 years of Friedenskirche , Oberhausen 2002.
  • Burkhard Gutleben / Daniela Neumann: Oldest Protestant church in Sterkrade . In: Sterkrader Journal , September / October / November 2015, pp. 40–45.

Web links

Commons : Friedenskirche (Sterkrade)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files