Holy Cross Church (Aachen)
Heilig Kreuz is a city church in Aachen . It was consecrated in 1902 and is located in the Pontviertel, a northern part of the city on Pontstraße near the former city gate Ponttor . It is therefore in the immediate vicinity of the buildings of the Rheinisch Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) .
history
chapel
In 1363 Gerard von Bongard donated money to build a chapel. It took an extremely long time to build for a building of this size. The church was not completed until 1372. The founder's wife donated the chapel to the Order of the Lords of the Cross from Liège , Belgium . This helped them to set up a branch in the cathedral city despite considerable financial problems.
During the city fire of Aachen in 1656, the chapel was destroyed except for the outer walls. In the first few years the church was only given an emergency roof, since the re-erection of the monastery building, which was also destroyed, was more important to the crossers than investing money in the construction of the chapel. It was not until 1678/1679 that after the Peace of Nijmegen monastery normality could take hold. Gradually the idea of building a new church arose because the church building no longer met the requirements due to its size.
First parish church
It took until July 1683 before the construction of the new church could begin. Due to wars and unrest, the building could not be completed until June 17, 1770.
The nave was a simple brick building with quarry stone walls. The coat of arms of the building sponsor Freiherr von Berghe decorated the keystone of the south portal.
Despite the improved economic situation in the meantime, the situation deteriorated significantly from 1802 onwards. The monks who had been entrusted with the care of the church and its furnishings up to that point had to leave Aachen, as a decree by Napoléon Bonaparte forced the abandonment of all monasteries.
Second parish church
While the chapel and the first church building were in the same place, the location for the second parish church was long disputed. The dispute escalated so much that the pastor resigned and only the radical action of his successor led to a decision. The foundation stone was laid in 1898 and the church was inaugurated in 1902. The church windows were made by the well-known Cologne glass painting workshop Schneiders & Schmolz .
The building that was erected first was rebuilt several times. The largest work took place after the Second World War, during which the church was severely damaged.
In a further phase in 1964/1965 rotten parts of the vault were replaced. The central nave received a completely new vault. As part of this renovation, the chancel was redesigned. a. the altar moved into the center of the church. For Pentecost in 1965, the measure was officially completed. Despite the completion of the construction work, the windows, which had only had emergency glazing since the Second World War, were only replaced by stained glass from 1966. Only two tracery windows from the original glazing could be reused. For example, the three large choir windows come from the former parishioner Anna Schneider-Lang, who designed them based on the themes of the Secret Revelation. Further windows from her and Maria Katzgrau and Hermann Gottfried ensure sufficient incidence of light. In 1976, three chapel windows and three transept windows were installed by Paul Weigmann , to which three additional transept windows were added in 2002.
From 1982 to 1987 extensive work was carried out on the church tower, which had now become dilapidated. At the same time, work took place in the interior of the church. The existing altar will be replaced by an altar by Klaus Iserlohe previously in a side aisle . The baptismal font in the entrance area up to this point will be moved to the choir room.
Today, after a comprehensive reform of the community, Holy Cross belongs to the Catholic parish association Franziska von Aachen in Aachen-Mitte , which goes back to the patroness Franziska Schervier and is supported by the poor sisters of St. Francis . The parishes of St. Adalbert , St. Andreas, St. Foillan , St. Marien, St. Peter and the youth church kafarna: um and the Neue Gemeinde Zeitfenster also belong to this parish association .
Style elements
The architect of the second parish church was Joseph Buchkremer , who planned it in the spirit of historicism . It is a church building made of German and French elements of the High Gothic . From the population, the architect was assumed to be arbitrary in choosing his style elements. Despite this fact, the Holy Cross Church is still one of the few churches in the Aachen area with an almost authentic historical church interior.
The church is a cross-shaped three-aisled basilica with a short nave. This form became necessary because the available building site did not allow any other construction method. The part of the church facade that is visible to church visitors is divided into three parts. In the lower facade area, the vestibule, there are 3 gates. Tracery wheel windows with a stone crucifix characterize the area above. This also includes sculptures of the Virgin Mary and St. John. The motto “ Stat crux, dum volvitur orbis ” (The cross stands while the world is turning), which is incorporated into the facade, is based on the Carthusian motto . The upper part of the gable is marked by a figure of St. Helena .
Particularly striking for the visitor is the single tower in the northern area of the church , a building element of the German high Gothic.
With the help of polygonal closures of the transepts and upstream chapel wings, the architect succeeded in creating the impression of a church surrounded by chapels, a width that was not really possible due to the spatial proximity of the neighboring buildings.
The sacrament chapel, which is located on the site of the former Julian chapel, arouses particular interest among visitors. The capitals of the round pillars supporting the ribbed vault of the church are decorated with vine leaves and foliage. Brabant Gothic served as a model for the wall structure of the central nave. The ceilings of the aisles are a holdover from the post-war period of World War II. At that time, temporary wooden floors were put in place. These are still there.
Art treasures
Due to its long history, the church has numerous art treasures. These include items from the 15th to 20th centuries.
Particularly noteworthy is a silver chalice from the end of the 15th century, which was gilded on the outside and provided with enamel. It has late Gothic ornamentation. The names of the donors of the chalice are preserved in an inscription.
A 57 cm high ciborian monstrance from 1515 is a two-storey sacred object. This clearly demonstrates the development from the host monstrance.
Another monstrance in rocaille style from 1754 is also one of the special features of the church treasure. She shows u. a. Pope Benedict XIV wearing his miter with a chalice and cross and the pelican as a symbol of Christ. It also shows the Virgin Mary with the Child and John the Baptist.
Two paraments from 1740 and 1750 are among the treasures of the church, as are two reliquaries from the mid-18th century or an oil painting of the Holy Family from 1657. This comes from Caspar de Crayer , who came from the school of Raphael van Coxie .
literature
- Christian Quix : The parish of the h. Cross and the former Canon of the Cross . Urlichs, Aachen 1829 ( MDZ-Munich [accessed on August 9, 2015]).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Foundation Research Center for Glass Painting of the 20th Century: Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Aachen , accessed on June 11, 2013
Coordinates: 50 ° 47 ' N , 6 ° 5' E