Hagelkreuz (Büderich)
The Hagelkreuz in Büderich is a wayside shrine near the Rhine dike on the Hagelkreuzweg named after it.
In order to implore the blessing of God regarding good weather , processions to the hail cross were held on Ascension Day .
The procession is already occupied from the old town of Büderich. Later, Neu-Büderich - today's town of Büderich - was processed for a hail cross. In 1880, Johann Heinrich Schoofs wrote the history of the Catholic community in Büderich in his chronicle : As early as 1700, the church board asked the pastor that the parish fair procession should be held in the old fashion. [..] Then the hail cross in the field was set up again in its old place. It is true that the Reformists violently overturned it; but the court and the government of Cleve recognized the Catholics as having the right to present one, because two old Protestant men, Jan Berkerhoff and Jan Dryssen, themselves testified that the Catholics had such a hail cross in the field in their youth would have. From then on, the supplications in the week of prayer, the Frohnleichnams procession and the parish fair procession took place again regularly.
Furthermore, it says: Concerning the hail cross, Johann Driessen, of Lutheran religion, 88 years old, testifies that a hail cross was there and he saw it and it was thrown off by the Dutch. The others also know that in 1690 another one was put down but thrown off. Commissar has set: "Permittatur, one place back". [..]
“An almost even worse year than 1784 was 1787 for Büderich. On July 22nd at noon around three o'clock, a terrible thunderstorm suddenly broke out. It was associated with terrible storm winds and heavy hail. All the windows facing the west were smashed; and almost the whole harvest, because little winter barley was mowed, in the Büdericher field and in Gest. The hailstones were on average the size of pigeon eggs. Even several roof tiles were broken in two by the hail. The straw in the fields was hammered into the ground as if hundreds of people had purposely trampled it ”. To the description of this misfortune the pastor adds the words: "God save our descendants from such storms". As a result of this disaster, it has remained the custom in Büderich to this day that whoever can should take part in the procession to the Hail Cross with all zeal.
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Heinrich Schoofs: History of the Catholic community in Büderich, from the days of the Reformation to the most recent times, according to the acts of the parish archives and the dean's archives in Xanten . Romen, Wesel 1880 ( digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf )
Coordinates: 51 ° 37 ′ 56.3 " N , 6 ° 35 ′ 26.4" E