George's Church (Aplerbeck)
The Church of St. George is a cross basilica in the Dortmund area Aplerbeck . It belongs to the Protestant Georgs parish in Dortmund. The church is the only cruciform basilica in Dortmund and is listed as an architectural monument in the city of Dortmund's list of monuments. In September 2011 the congregation celebrated a week of festivities for the 850th anniversary of the church.
history
Origins
The church was first mentioned in passing through the establishment of a usufruct on its fief in favor of the pastor Radboldus by the widow Wichburg in her donation to the St. Gereon monastery in Cologne in 899. At this time, a pastor always had his own church , so that it can be assumed that there was a church in Aplerbeck.
There are further documentary confirmations of a church from the year 1147. In a confirmation document by Pope Eugene III. In favor of the monastery in Deutz, the monastery is awarded the church and the tithe. The antipope Victor IV confirmed this in 1161 and so did Pope Innocent III. in a deed of 1207.
Traces of this previous building were found during the renovation of the church in 1963 and during test excavations in 1992. The construction of St. George's Church, however, is dated between 1150 and 1160 based on mentions in documents. Construction plans or names of builders or donors have not been preserved. The church is built as a Romanesque cross basilica consisting of a central nave, two side aisles, a transept, a tower in the west and an apse.
tower
The construction of the massive and well-fortified west tower of St. George's Church in the late Middle Ages was important for the residents of Aplerbeck. Around 1300, the tower, built from uncut swamp sandstone, was placed in front of the west facade. Originally it had no windows, just loopholes . Designed as a defense tower , it served to protect the population when enemies approached. The original tower entrance was about two meters above today's main entrance. So the tower could not be conquered.
Gothic renovation work
The end of the renovation work in the Gothic style can be dated to the year 1404 thanks to the church's altar foundation. The Romanesque apse was replaced by a square choir with a ribbed vault and a flat end. The west tower got Gothic sound hatches and a west portal. In doing so, it lost its function as a defensive tower . The previously only access via the newly created west portal was converted into a window. The south transept got a Gothic window, and a sacristy was built on the north transept next to the choir . Three pointed arches between the choir yoke and tower yoke were clamped. Despite the Gothic shape, the vaults of the central nave and the tower still appear very compact. The conversions destabilized the foundation walls of the southern transept, which was built on the rubble of the previous building. The south wall of the central nave was subsequently stabilized with counter masonry. This is still visible today.
reformation
After Pope Leo X united the Georgskirche in Aplerbeck with the Reinoldikirche in Dortmund in 1515 , disputes arose with the Deutz monastery . These could be settled in 1549. The Reinoldikirche committed itself to an annual payment in the amount of two gold guilders , in the year of the appointment of a new pastor in St. Reinoldi to a payment in the amount of four gold guilders. In return, the abbot of the Deutz monastery recognized the union of the churches, and the patronage rights to the Georgskirche changed to the Reinoldikirche. As a result, the decision of the Dortmund Council for the introduction of the Reformation in 1570 also had significance for the church in Aplerbeck. The first Reformed pastor is considered to be the cleric Johann Voss, who was appointed by the pastors and vicars of St. Reinoldi in 1577, as is customary in Aplerbeck, following a proposal by the gentlemen from Haus Rodenberg , Haus Heithoff in Schüren and Haus Sölde . In the time before and also in the time after the decision of the Dortmund Council, however, it was also customary for masses to be held in the Georgskirche “after Christ” and “according to papal law”. Nicolaus Witthenius finally signed on 2/3. October 1612 the Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Synod of the County of Mark near Unna . Thus the church became Lutheran .
Baroque renovation
The Georgskirche was badly damaged in the Thirty Years War , so that renovation measures are urgently recommended in a document from 1652. In the same year repairs were made to the tower and the altar. A new, wooden altar structure with turned columns, the state coat of arms and a large altarpiece was also built. In addition, a new font. However, a time of the word followed after the Reformation. Further construction work did not take place. Years and centuries followed in which only renovations took place, which were limited to the most necessary work.
The time of the ruin from 1872–1928
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Due to industrialization , the steadily growing Protestant parish of Aplerbeck needed a larger church. The new church was consecrated in 1869. This started the decline of the Georgskirche. After the spire was struck by lightning in 1872, no restoration work was carried out. It was not until 1887–1888 that the steep spire was torn down and the old oak beams were sold to cover the tower and nave with a makeshift cover. Parts of the church, such as historical tombstones from the interior, stones and columns were also sold by the presbytery and the pastors. The historic and listed cemetery lantern was smashed and the remains disposed of. In 1894 the Aplerbeck presbytery applied for the church to be torn down, which the Prussian government prevented. All of this was observed by the provincial curator Albert Ludorff , who on October 8, 1898 reported to the Ministry of Culture in a corresponding letter of the conditions in Aplerbeck. The attempt by the new Catholic community in Aplerbeck to buy the church was prevented by a ban from Berlin. Bismarck and the government in Berlin feared betrayal by Jesuits and political Catholicism at the time. The Georgskirche even lost its name and became a "ruin". When Aplerbeck was incorporated into Dortmund, this meant that the street name Königstrasse was changed to Ruinsstrasse.
The Georgskirche remained in ruins until 1928. The restoration of the old church, the construction of a community hall for around 800 people, a coffee shop and the house of an innkeeper are also in the planning stage, as is the construction of a local history museum on two floors in the church with the installation of a false ceiling. These plans failed because of the state curator Johannes Körner. This stipulated that the original shape of the church could not be significantly changed and achieved a building that restores the Romanesque structure. He could not prevent the erection of the war memorial next to the entrance portal of the west tower with St. Michael , which now gives the "ruin" the nickname "Michaelisbau".
The “Michaelisbau” became the “Saalbau” by decree during the Nazi era . This is made available to the NSDAP . Rooms in the tower are used by the Hitler Youth and the SA . Target practice is said to have taken place in the nave, the "Saalbau".
Even after the war, the church was used as a hall. Renovations did not take place until the church was thoroughly renovated in 1963 by the community and the state curator and was renamed Georgskirche again.
The restoration from 1961–1963
At the beginning of the 1960s, the Georgskirche was again in a very poor condition. In a newspaper report by the Westfälische Rundschau from September 22, 1959, the architect Hans P. Koellmann even speaks of “cultural shame”. Only a letter from Herta Hesse-Frielinghaus , museum director of the Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum in Hagen , to the state curator brought movement to the plans for a comprehensive renovation. Erich Riecke, who was a member of the Dortmund City Council at the time, obtained the necessary funds for the renovation of St. George's Church in Aplerbeck through the state curator.
Outside, the church tower was given a new spire, the roofs were repaired and re-covered, the windows were given lead glazing, the masonry was re-grouted and a ring drainage was created. The interior has also been completely renovated. A heating system was installed, the floor was renovated, damage to the plaster was removed, further points are painting, installations, the renovation of the tower rooms and the gallery. Also the bell house on the spire. After completing the work, which was under the direction of the State Monuments Office in Münster and the church building authority in Bielefeld, the restorer Eberhard G. Neumann stated that “after the restoration through the colored treatment, the room appears again to us today as a sacred unit ". On September 29, 1963, the work was completed and the church was consecrated with a festive service. Nevertheless, further renovations remain for the parish, for which the parish is still dependent on donations.
Finds during restoration from 1961–1963
Interesting finds were made especially during the excavation work in the floor for the construction of the church heating. The remains of an altar were found in the choir, about 30 cm below today's level. Remains of the original apse with an inner diameter of 1.70 m, wall thickness about 1.0 m and foundation depth of 0.9 m were also found at this depth. The pillars of the north nave stand on natural ground and are founded about one meter deep, while the pillars of the south nave stand about 50 cm deep on the loose rubble of a previous building. Further remains of this previous building were found under the eastern foundations, under the original apse and as a beige-colored plaster admixture in the northern area. The remains of a spherical pot were found on the north side of the eastern pillar foundation. This is dated between the 9th and the middle of the 11th century. In front of the north-west pillar, about 15 cm below the surface, a burial chamber was uncovered with the remains of a human skeleton, buried in an east-west direction. It is 1.85 m wide and 2.35 m long. It is dated to the second half of the 14th or the first half of the 15th century.
Finds from a test excavation in 1992
Further finds were made during a test excavation between the south portal and the south transept in 1992. A human skeleton, buried in an east-west direction, another burial chamber under this wall, in a north-south direction, older than the wall erected on it, filled with stones, a Franconian foundation in a raised stone position under the western transept and various Bones, scraps of wood, coffin fittings, glazed shards and pendants.
Today's exterior view
The Georgskirche received its exterior view back in 1979. After a new community center was opened southwest of the church in 1976, the extensions to the Georgskirche, which originated from the time of the "Michaelisbau", were torn down. At this point the old, still existing tombstones were reinserted.
Furnishing
altar
The originally existing block altar was replaced by a table altar in 1984. This consists of a massive plate and two massive columns. The altar, like the church, is made of Ruhr sandstone from a quarry in Syburg . The dimensions of the altar are based on the dimensions of the church. The design for the altar comes from Siegfried Liesenberg, the work was carried out by the stonemason Oberste.
Bells
A dormer window with sound openings is located on the east side of the tower hood. A small bell hangs there, which sounds as a half-hour and hourly clock bell and as a chime. Unfortunately, there is no indication of the age or the caster on it. We only know that it was in the tower before the Second World War .
Triumphal cross
The triumphal cross comes from the transition from Romanesque to Gothic and is dated to around 1250. The original is on loan from the parish in the Museum for Art and Cultural History Dortmund . In the church, as in the Catholic St. Ewaldi Church, there is a copy of the cross. On a cross colored red with a blue border is a figure of Christ with a nimbus and a crown as a living Christ with a head tilted to the right, curly hair and a beard. He shows a gentle expression. He wears a loincloth with beautifully crafted folds around his hips, knotted on the right side. The basic features of the shape, especially the pronounced rib arches and the profiling of the abdomen, indicate a Romanesque influence, while the feet, which are folded over and fixed with a toenail, show a Gothic influence.
Sacrament House
The late Gothic tabernacle is about five meters high. It was restored in 1964 based on old photos. In the middle there is a niche, with a wrought iron grille and surrounded by ogival windows. Above the niche there is a figure of Christ with a cross, scourge and a crown of thorns and in the upper part a crucifix with a body. Side columns originally carried additional figures. On top of the tabernacle is a pelican who slits its chest with its beak in order, as the legend says, to nourish its young. This is a late Gothic symbol of Christ giving himself up for people.
Baptismal font
The font of the Georgskirche dates from the 12th century with additions from 1982. Biblical stories from the life of Jesus are told on it in five scenes. These scenes are the child murder in Bethlehem , the adoration by the Magi, the birth of Jesus in the Christmas story, the baptism by John the Baptist and the crucifixion . After the baptismal font was returned to the church in 1980, it was given its new place in the choir, not in the tower as originally. In addition, a new foot made of Ruhr sandstone and a baptismal crown in which the baptismal bowl rests were necessary.
Gate of heaven
The original church has its entrance with the south portal on the south transept. Since the heavenly district is entered through this portal according to the opinion of the time, this entrance is also called the “Heavenly Gate” or the “Paradise Gate”. It was built in the 12th century, the right column was renewed in 1928. The stepped pillar portal encloses a representation of the cosmos with a dew band and two arches decorated in a checkerboard pattern . Decorated with tendril ornaments, this encloses paradise. The inner field, in which a tree of life protrudes from the left and right , shows the crucifixion scene. The middle cross shown here is on a hemisphere. It is flanked left and right by two simple crosses.
literature
- Siegfried Liesenberg: The Georgskirche in Aplerbeck . Gustav Kleff, Dortmund-Aplerbeck 1992.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ No. A 0388. List of monuments of the city of Dortmund. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: dortmund.de - Das Dortmunder Stadtportal. Monument Authority of the City of Dortmund, April 14, 2014, archived from the original on September 15, 2014 ; accessed on June 16, 2014 (size: 180 kB). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ street names. Ramhofstrasse – Rörigstrasse. In: Your information portal in the Aplerbeck district. Aplerbecker History Association, accessed on May 8, 2015 .
- ^ Hans Georg Kirchhoff, Siegfried Liesenberg (Ed.): 1100 years of Aplerbeck . Klartext Verlag, Essen 1998, ISBN 3-88474-735-5 , p. 55 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 36.6 ″ N , 7 ° 33 ′ 41.7 ″ E