Holy Cross (Zurich-Altstetten)
The Church of the Holy Cross is the Roman Catholic parish church of the city of Zurich quarters Altstetten . It is located at Saumackerstrasse 83 near Lindenplatz .
history
The parish Heilig Kreuz is a daughter parish of St. Peter and Paul (Zurich) , which was built in 1874 as the first Roman Catholic church in the city of Zurich after the Reformation in 1523 and the split from the Christian Catholic Church in 1871. Since the parish area of St. Peter and Paul extended beyond the city limits of Zurich and was very large, a number of daughter parishes were founded, including the parish Heilig Kreuz. This happened in 1900 at the same time as the construction of the first church building on the area of today's church, which was built by technically experienced craftsmen without an architect.
The then Bishop of Chur, Johannes Fidelis Battaglia, elevated the parish of Altstetten to a parish in 1900 and separated it from the mother parish of St. Peter and Paul. At that time, the parish Heilig Kreuz also included other places beyond Altstetten: Albisrieden, Höngg, Ober- and Unterengstringen, Weiningen, Schlieren, Urdorf, Uitikon and Birmensdorf. From 1924, over the next forty years, these places were replaced by the Heilig-Kreuz parish and made independent parishes.
Since Altstetten experienced strong population growth after it was incorporated into Zurich in 1934, the parish of Heilig-Kreuz also grew; With 10,370 members (as of 2017) it is the largest Roman Catholic parish in the city of Zurich. Therefore the first church after the Second World War became too small and was replaced by a new building built between 1977 and 1979 by the architect Dezsö Ercsi.
The first Church of the Holy Cross
In 1900 the first church Heilig Kreuz was built in Altstetten. It was a church that was built in the tradition of late classicist architecture. Like the Church of the Heart of Jesus (Zurich-Oerlikon) , this church was located in a green area when it was built and was only surrounded by other buildings in the course of the 20th century. An architect of this first church is not known, which is why it is assumed that this church is a "teamwork of masters who remained anonymous". This first church Heilig-Kreuz initially had a roof turret in which there were two bells. The interior consisted of a hall, which was vaulted by a wide segment barrel. The five-sided choir had moved in. The organ of this first Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche was a pneumatic organ in the late romantic style of the organ builder Späth from Rapperswil SG. In 1937, after the church tower was built, the roof turret of the church was removed. When the parish grew steadily due to the building boom in Altstetten, the aging church became too small; In addition, the parish needed more halls and rooms, so in the 1970s it was decided to demolish this first church and replace it with a new building including halls and other rooms.
The shell of the first Church of the Holy Cross around 1900
The first church with a ridge after 1900
Interior of the church after 1900
Interior view around 1930
Interior view after 1957
Baptismal font in old church
Church tower and bells
In the roof turret of the first church from 1900 there were two bells that had been a gift from the St. Luzi Seminary in Chur.
When the current church tower was built in 1937 and the roof turret of the church had become superfluous, these first two bells of the Holy Cross Church were hung in the new church tower. After the church was rebuilt in 1979, the bell tower was renovated; The two old bells were replaced by four new ones, which were cast by H. Rüetschi , Aarau:
| number | Weight | volume | dedication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1750 kg | of the 1st | St. Joseph |
| 2 | 930 kg | f 1 | Our Lady Mary |
| 3 | 649 kg | as 1 | Holy Brother Klaus |
| 4th | 395 kg | b 1 | St. Titus |
In 2001 the church tower was renovated again, this time by the architect Marianne Unternährer Pickard. In contrast to the club house, which was replaced by a new building from 1997 to 1998, and the rectory, which gave way to a new building in 2014, the 48-meter high church tower has always remained and characterizes the exterior design of the building ensemble. One of the two original bells still stands at the foot of the church tower.
Church tower with old church before 1977
Old bell at the foot of the church tower 2013
The Tituskirche 1977–1981
Interior view of the Tituskirche
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The Titus Church
For the period between the demolition of the first Heilig Kreuz church and the completion of the new Heilig Kreuz church, the Catholic parish in the west of the Altstetten district in the Im Suteracher area built a so-called Fastenopferkirche . It was an emergency church that was identical in construction to the Brother Klaus Volketswil and St. Franziskus Bassersdorf churches and the larger-sized Church of St. Spirit Wetzikon. The church was consecrated to St. Titus and served as an alternative church between 1977 and 1979. In 1981 it was replaced by the church in Suteracher of the Reformed parish.
The second Church of the Holy Cross
The church, built between 1977 and 1979 by the Hungarian architect Dezsö Ercsi, was designed as an ark with the supporting pillars that are clearly visible from the outside. The vertical accent is enhanced by vertical grooves in the exposed concrete and in the copper roof. As a countermovement, the horizontal line is emphasized by the protruding church wall in the middle of the building. The actual church is located on the upper floor of the subtly designed building. On the ground floor and in the basement there are different rooms that serve the parish life. A wide staircase or a spiral staircase leads to the church on the upper floor. The pyramid-shaped structure and the lighting by means of a large, central light shaft in the copper roof give the church its atmosphere.
The artistic interior decoration of the church comes almost exclusively from Albert Wider (1910–1985) from Widnau SG and can be divided into two periods:
Older works of art
These were created for the redesign of the previous church in the years 1956–1957. The figures of the prophets and saints originate from the previous church; they were once elements of the main altar and communion bench, but are now grouped as independent sculptures in the church; Furthermore, the tabernacle and the wooden sculptures that shaped the main and two side altars in the old church (crucifix, Mother of God with Child Jesus and St. Joseph with the growing Jesus), as well as a fourth wooden sculpture depicting St. Anthony with the bread of St. Anthony represents. The Stations of the Cross, which are now in the weekday chapel, also come from the previous church and are copies after Anselm Feuerbach , the originals of which hang in the Anna Church in Munich.
Younger works of art
Albert Wider created the following bronze works for the new church from 1978 : the main and side altars, the door handles of the church portals, the baptismal font in the church and the glass windows in the larger of the two staircases. After Albert Wider's death, the artist Pablo Rossi made the ambo out of wood. The two enamel pictures "Heavenly Jerusalem" behind the altar and the baptismal sculpture behind the baptismal font were designed by Willy Charles Erismann (1920–1989), Zurich-Altstetten. The red point represents the love of God. Jesus Christ flows out of it as living water - blue elements - in the baptismal font - surrounded by the Holy Spirit, the golden elements. From the baptismal font, the golden road leads - past the Resurrection Cross - to perfection in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Access to the church from Luggwegstrasse
Forecourt of the church before the demolition of the club house 1979–1997
Red church square with meeting house after 1997
Meeting house and church tower after 1997
organ
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The three-manual organ with 35 stops and mechanical game and stop action was built in 1981 by Mathis , Näfels, and inaugurated on April 12, 1981.
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- Pair : III / II, I / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
Pneumatic Späth organ in the old church until 1977
Organ gallery with Späth organ, view before 1956
See also
literature
- Paul Kamer and Johann Oetiker: 50 years of the Heilig-Kreuz parish in Zurich-Altstetten. Zurich 1950.
- Albert Boll: Chronicle of the Holy Cross Church Zurich-Altstetten. Zurich 1979.
- Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. Chur 1980.
- Henri Truffer: Association of Roman Catholic Churches in the City of Zurich. Zurich 1989.
- Robert Schönbächler: Churches and places of worship in the city of Zurich. New Year's Gazette Industriequartier / Aussersihl, Zurich 2012.
- City of Zurich, Office for Urban Development (Ed.): Catholic Churches of the City of Zurich. Inventory of Monument Preservation of the City of Zurich. Zurich 2014.
- Peter Niederhäuser: From the mission station to the parish center. The Holy Cross Church in Zurich-Altstetten. Zurich 2015.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Catholic Church in the Canton of Zurich. Annual report 2017. p. 84.
- ^ Rainald Fischer: Hundred years of Catholic church building. , in: Guido Kolb: 100 Years of St. Peter and Paul. Anniversary publication for the centenary of the St. Peter and Paul Church in Zurich. Zurich, 1974, p. 194.
- ^ City of Zurich, Office for Urban Development (Ed.): Catholic Churches of the City of Zurich. Inventory of Monument Preservation of the City of Zurich. Zurich 2014. p. 197.
- ^ Website about the artist Albert Wider. ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) 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. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
Coordinates: 47 ° 23 '3.2 " N , 8 ° 29' 18.3" E ; CH1903: 679,269 / 248685