Herz-Jesu-Kirche (Schifferstadt)
 Glass facade central nave |
|
| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| place | Schifferstadt, Germany |
| diocese | Diocese of Speyer |
| Patronage | Sacred Heart of Jesus |
| Building history | |
| Client | Church building Herz Jesu Schifferstadt |
| architect | Wilhelm Schulte II. |
| construction time | 1960-1961 |
| Building description | |
| inauguration | October 22, 1961 |
| Architectural style | concrete |
| Furnishing style | Organ, altar cross, wall relief, statue of the Madonna |
| Construction type | Cross shape |
| 49 ° 22 '57.2 " N , 8 ° 23' 18.1" E | |
The Catholic parish church Herz Jesu is the smallest and youngest church of the Roman Catholic parishes in Schifferstadt . The church foundation was founded on February 28, 1955 by the pastor of St. Jakobus, Josef Schwartz. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 21, 1960, and the foundation stone was laid on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1960. On October 22nd, 1961, Isidor Markus Emanuel , Bishop of Speyer consecrated the new church.
Meaning and architecture
At the time the church was being planned, a liturgical movement could already be felt that a few years later emerged as a liturgical reform from the Second Vatican Council . The modern possibilities of building construction made it possible to counter the wishes of this movement. In the case of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the shape of the cross came back to the center of which is the massive altar block on a "mountain of steps" surrounded by the communion bench . This arrangement made it possible to celebrate on both sides of the altar. As a place of celebration of St. The altar stands in the middle of the congregation and can be seen from all sides.
In the conception of the church, the divine services in the crossing of the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer during the restoration period may have had an impact on the architect, in the Herz Jesu Church there are also crossing pillars like in the cathedral. Cast from reinforced concrete, they do not support a dome, but the roof ceiling dragged over four cross arms, which together with the brick walls form a “solid tent of God”. The ribs of this "Koenendecke" are visible and, cast neatly in exposed concrete, not only create the desired structure of the soffit, but also have an acoustically beneficial effect.
The north-eastern facades are not bricked, but made of colored concrete-cast-glass, which let the daylight flood through the church in different colors. The organ and sacristy side are kept in white and blue tones; the glass facade of the central nave in bright red and yellow tones. Behind the altar there is a baptistery and confessional chapel with a window wall made of yellow and red concrete glass . All concrete glass elements are made according to a design by the painter Quiente.
The choir was originally intended to be housed on a podium in the northern arm of the cross (also known as the ship). In order not to reduce the number of seats in the ship, a gallery was built for the choir. This later had to be redesigned for the new organ.
The outer shape of the church clearly shows the shape of a tent and a cross. In the style of the 1960s, the building materials used are clearly visible. The construction consists of exposed steel concrete, the walls are made of sand-lime brick and clad on the outside with hand-made clinker bricks from the Lower Rhine . The roof cladding over the reinforced concrete ceiling is insulated with cork sheets covered with concrete and covered with Alcufol. The roofing had to be renewed between June and October 1973.
Inside, marble mosaic tiles were used for the floor and cellophalt for the floor under the benches. The altar and the baptismal font are made of Roman travertine. Instead of the originally planned warm air heating, an electric radiant heating system called "Umbratherm" has been installed in the church. The sacristy and youth rooms are heated with gas.
history
Pledge to build a church
During the constant heavy bombing raids of 1944, the pastor of St. Jakobus at the time, Peter Maria Weihmann, vowed on December 8, 1944 that if Schifferstadt would be spared major war damage, he would build a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The last days of the war made it clear that the danger of destruction was very high. Schifferstadt was also threatened, as the SS had set up a locking bar between Schifferstadt and Dannstadt to defend the bridgehead in Speyer . On the night of the Friday of Sorrows, the SS withdrew through Schifferstadt to Speyer. The white flags were hoisted and that night the US troops were informed of the withdrawal of the SS. As a result, Schifferstadt was spared the bombing the next day.
Acquisition of the church building site
In the spring of 1949, Rev. Weihmann dealt with the question of the praised church building, namely with the acquisition of a 6,130 square meter site. The project failed, however, and nothing more was heard of it until November 1954. In the meantime, another site further south on the corner of “Waldseer Strasse” and “Sturmstrasse” had been found as a building site, which, due to its central location, seemed very suitable as a place for a church. On November 3, 1954, the two parish councils St. Jakobus and St. Laurentius asked the city administration of Schifferstadt in a joint letter to provide a building site with a size of 1,448 square meters. The church should be built in the foreseeable future along with the rectory and nurses' house with a kindergarten. On December 17, 1954, the city council postponed the application until the final development plan had been drawn up. At the same time it was recommended to the church administration to buy the remaining area from the neighboring owners. In the course of 1956, five landowners then signed purchase agreements with the church administration for a total of 5,240 square meters worth DM 31,440. The total area of the property was 6,688 square meters.
Meanwhile, another two years had passed. The competent government authority in Neustadt ad Weinstrasse was the last resort to reject the space on Waldseer Strasse as too narrow and not expandable for the needs of a church. Finally, the construction of a school in the church neighborhood was also planned. The city administration met the parish. The town planner, together with Mayor Adam Teutsch, proposed a building site to the church foundation about 300 meters further south on Salierstrasse. In the negotiations between Rev. Wagner (meanwhile Rev. von St. Jakobus) and the city architect Prising the following was agreed on March 23, 1959:
The Herz Jesu Schifferstadt Church Foundation receives 7,700 square meters of land on Salierstrasse from the city. By resolution of March 17, 1959, 5,000 square meters are given free of charge. 2,700 square meters will be exchanged for 3,375 square meters of the church's own premises on Waldseer Straße. The site on Salierstrasse was "ready for construction", so a surcharge of 25 percent was agreed. The church foundation then transferred 3,360 square meters of the property acquired in 1956 in Waldseer Straße to the city. The remaining 3,100 square meters remained with the church foundation. The city council decided on the donation in its session on April 28, 1959. The new building site had a total size of 7,753 square meters and was surrounded by an open field. The donation agreement between the city and the church administration was passed on September 25, 1959. On October 20, 1959, the contracts were approved by the episcopal ordinariate. On October 28, 1959, the Speyer District Office gave its approval. The building site issue, which had been the subject of many discussions and negotiations for ten years, was finally resolved. Nothing stood in the way of the start of construction.
Financing of the church building
In addition to the acquisition of the building site, the question of financing played the biggest and decisive role. Rev. Schwartz, the successor of Rev. Weihmann, and in office since November 1, 1951, was only able to deal with it in January 1955 after the extensive interior renovation of St. James' Church was completed. The great willingness to donate during the renovation of their church encouraged him to tackle the work and to appeal again to the willingness of his parishioners to make sacrifices. On February 28, 1955, at the invitation of the two pastors, 43 men from the parishes of St. Jakobus and St. Laurentius gathered in the "Zum Deutschen Haus" inn to found the church building association. Those present quickly agreed on the necessity and the name of the association: "Church building Herz Jesu Schifferstadt". For the first two-year period, Geistl. Councilor L. Gouthier elected chairman. The respective pastor of the other parish was the deputy. With the founding of the church building association, the entire financing concept had a solid legal basis. Collections were held regularly among the citizens of the city. Until September 25, 1961, the funds were invested as follows:
|
Origin of the money |
Amount in DM |
| Collective amounts | 340.801 |
| Collections | 78.226 |
| Voluntary donations and gifts | 6,599 |
| Together | 425,626 |
| Interest credit until December 31, 1960 | 27,187 |
| All in all | 452.813 |
This achievement of the 12,500 Catholics in Schifferstadt made an impression on the pastoral authority, so that Bishop Isidor Markus Emanuel sent his thanks to the clergy and the faithful in a letter. After lengthy negotiations with the church building association and the parish of St. Jakobus, the episcopal ordinariate issued the approval for the construction of the shell on June 12, 1959. The negotiations on the approval of a higher grant dragged on for two years, but were successful. On April 27, 1960, the Episcopal Ordinariate decided to take over the costs for the construction of the shell of the Sacred Heart Church of 354,000 DM.
Building the church
Preparations
At the end of 1958, the work on building the church entered the decisive stage with the preliminary planning. On April 19, 1958, a building committee was established. In 1958 he carried out several sightseeing and information trips with Diocesan Building Councilor Wilhelm Schulte. The committee decided to build a central church with the altar at the center of the church. There was still no agreement as to whether the church should have a round or square plan. After lengthy negotiations between the building committee and the episcopal building authority, the proposal of the episcopal building authority was examined on May 10, 1959 at the meeting of the church building committee and unanimously approved, the basic shape of the church is a cross shape.
Based on this decision, the architect, chief building officer Wilhelm Schulte II . On November 23, 1959, the plans were ready. On February 10, 1960, they received approval from the building authorities. The cost of building the church was estimated at 585,000 DM, for the tower (which was not built for the time being) at 70,000 DM. In response to the temporary invitation to tender for the construction work from December 1, 1959 to December 18, 1959 based on a list of services for the earthworks, insulation, masonry, drainage, concrete and reinforced concrete work, six companies submitted their offers, ranging between DM 318,000 and DM 384,000 DM moved. The construction contract was received on January 8, 1960 by the company Pirmin Netter from Otterstadt , which had submitted the second-lowest offer at DM 330,302. She immediately started work on the construction site. Dimensions, staking out the floor plan, setting up the construction machines, barriers, etc. now took place.
First groundbreaking
To celebrate the groundbreaking on Sunday, February 21, 1960, Dean Schütt, Rev. Neumeier and Rev. Wagner, Senior Building Officer Shoulder from the Episcopal Building Office, District Administrator Johann and Mayor Adam Teutsch, along with numerous believers from both parishes, gathered at the building site on Salierstrasse. In their speeches, the gentlemen praised the willingness of the faithful and the city to make sacrifices. At the point marked by a simple wooden cross, where the church's altar was to stand in future, the clergy broke the ground. The believers followed them with prayer and chants at a place provided for the foundation. The actual construction work began on February 29, 1960.
Laying of the foundation stone
Thanks to the favorable weather, the laying of the foundation stone was celebrated on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1960. Rev. Wagner read the certificate on the festively decorated building site. After the consecration of the foundation stone, the certificate was kept in a brass cover, placed in the foundation stone and walled in. After the foundation was blessed, the celebration ended.
topping out ceremony
The surrounding walls grew rapidly in the summer months of 1960. After the concrete ceiling was poured and the roof lining was completed at the end of July, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on August 1, 1960. From the highest point of the roof greeted the wooden cross with a pine wreath and yellow and white ribbons, which at the time stood in the middle of the church square at the celebration of the first groundbreaking. Carpenter Knoll climbed onto the roof and gave the verdict in the old fashion. After the celebration, the inside of the church was open to visitors. A total of 80 tons of steel scaffolding supported the 860-ton concrete ceiling.
Completion of the building
From the topping out ceremony to the final completion of the shell, it took until December 1960. The construction of the roof was particularly complex. Inside, the gallery was built, the place for the altar and the floor of the church were prepared and the walls were painted. Only the roofing and the plumbing work were still pending. 1961 was reserved for work inside the church. In September 1961, the work was finished to the point that the date for the consecration of the church could be set: Sunday, October 22, 1961.
The side rooms above the baptistery and the sacristy were not completed until 1963. The parish hall was opened on July 1, 1963. On September 1, 1963, the parish hall was occupied.
building-costs
The following construction costs were incurred up to October 1961:
|
Expenses for |
Amount in DM |
| Purchase of five properties in the original construction of the church provided grounds |
37,000 |
| Creation of the shell | 450,000 |
| Expansion of the church | 123,000 |
| Facility (without organ) | 65,000 |
| All in all | 638,000 |
The diocese's subsidy amounted to 354,000 DM; the building capital was used for the remaining expenses (284,000 DM). The surplus will be used to cover the external work including the fencing and the costs of building the planned rectory and the kindergarten. After that, the construction of the tower and the purchase of the bells and the organ remain open. The nurses house was planned, but never built.
Consecration of the Church
On October 22nd, 1961, the new church and all objects that were used to celebrate St. Mass needed to be consecrated by Bishop Isidor Markus Emanuel von Speyer . On March 11, 1962, Cathedral Chapter J. Schwartz consecrated the Way of the Cross in the church.
Art in and around the church
Shortly after the completion of the Herz-Jesu-Kirche (Sacred Heart of Jesus Church), the procurement of works of art for the new church began. An organ was also missing.
organ
As a result of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, the organ was once again placed at the center of the musical community accompaniment. The gallery was too small for the organ and choir and had to be enlarged before the new building. After almost two years of construction, the organ was consecrated on March 14, 1964 by Cathedral Chapter Josef Schwartz.
The two-manual instrument was built by the organ builder Hugo Wehr in Haßloch . The cost of the new organ was around 160,000 DM. The action is mechanical for the manuals, electrical for the pedal, and until 1990 electro-pneumatic for the stops. A clay canister was chosen as the wind chest system. The instrument has 25 registers and 1,812 sounding pipes . The arrangement was made by the then cathedral organist of the Speyer diocese, Ludwig Doerr. After a short time it was improved and the tongue register in the swell was changed from 16 'to 8' or from 8 'to 4'.
The organ was extensively overhauled in 1990 and the stop action switched to electrical operation. When it was rebuilt, the pedal tower was divided into two locations in order to improve the ventilation in the instrument. To the right and left are the pedal towers, in the middle the console, above the swell (second manual) and above the main unit (first manual).
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Altar cross
The new altar cross was consecrated on April 15, 1962. The six-part sculpture is framed with a brass band and attached to the church ceiling at a height of about 15 meters. The cross hangs exactly below the highest point of the roof and is an eye-catcher when entering the church. It shows the crucified Jesus Christ on the front, the stigmata are depicted with red glass stones.
On the reverse, in the crossing, there is the “Lamb of God” as the central figure of faith and at the ends of the cross the symbols of the four evangelists as heralds of faith. In the form of the cross these are:
- The eagle for the evangelist John
- Man for the evangelist Matthew
- The bull for the evangelist Luke
- The lion for the evangelist Mark
Wall relief
A large, bare concrete surface was visible behind the altar until 1977. There was a long discussion about how this could be decorated. No concrete sculptures were cast during the church construction, a later solution without time pressure was planned. Rev. Josef Schößer became aware of the academic sculptor Peter Roman Heid from Kaiserslautern through a relief on the Kardinal-Wendel-Haus . After a few suggestions, the decision was made to use a relief in cast aluminum. An Easter picture of the Heart of Jesus was chosen as the scene. It is a biblical scene in which the apostle Thomas finds the way to faith in the encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. The figures were worked out by the artist in styrofoam and hollowed out backwards before casting. After the casting, the parts were processed and polished by the artist and some of them were only welded in the church. The upper group of images is over 5 meters high. The screen has a diameter of around 2.50 meters. The weight is about 550 kilograms. The lower group of images shows the apostles finding their Easter faith. The total price for the pictures was about 45,000 DM. On Sunday, September 4th, 1977 the wall pictures were consecrated in a festive service.
Madonna statue
The Madonna is in the late Gothic style and was made around 1520. It was found in Switzerland and extensively restored in the Allgäu. The statue was consecrated on March 25, 1962.
Statue of St. Apostle Paul
The statue of St. The Apostle Paul found his way into the church on All Saints' Day in 1980. The statue was also acquired in Switzerland and extensively restored in Lechbruck in the Allgäu. The date of origin is assumed to be around 1700.
Statue of St. Bernhard of Clairvaux
Like St. Paul also found the statue of St. Bernhard von Clairvaux made their way via Lechbruck and Switzerland to the parish church Herz Jesu. With his sermon in front of the Speyer Cathedral in 1146, he won Konrad III over to participate in the crusade to the Holy Land. The statue was created around 1780.
Statue of St. Catherine of Siena
Also around 1780 the statue of St. Catherine of Siena . She is the last of the three saints who found their way to church on All Saints' Day in 1980.
More statues
In addition to the statues listed in more detail here, there are also:
- St. Elisabeth
- St. Antony
- St. Joseph
- John the Baptist
- Jesus of Nazareth
Adolph Kolping Monument
In 2004, a memorial for Adolph Kolping was erected in the outdoor area of the Sacred Heart Church .
More church buildings
Even when looking for a building site and planning the church, further buildings were planned on the site. From the original plan to build a rectory, a church tower, a kindergarten, a nurses' house and a school next to the church, not all buildings were realized. The nurses' house and school were discarded. A large area next to the church was used as a "field" for a long time.
Rectory
In August 1962, construction began on the rectory. The parish office is located on the ground floor, separated by a door, it leads to the kitchen and other common rooms. The private rooms are on the 1st floor. The building provided space for a pastor, two chaplains and a housekeeper. The first major renovation took place in 1988. Through a renovation in 2009 and 2010, the first floor was converted into a completely private apartment.
Church tower and bells
Also in August 1962 the construction of a church tower began. Originally it was planned to place the 32 meter high free-standing bell tower on the property side opposite Salierstrasse, but this was not done and the tower was built on the street side, where it marks the church square.
The steeple was completed in April 1963. As a tower coronation, the community decided to use an angel figure with a trumpet in addition to the tower cross. The tower and church were built in the same way. First a concrete supporting frame was made and then the partition walls were bricked up. As a special feature of the tower, the upper third is completely bricked on two sides and clad with clinker bricks. A concrete support was poured on the other two sides and later walled up with decorative stones. At this height the tower is decorated all around with crosses, which also serve as a sound opening for the bell chamber.
The belfry is not made of steel. So that the bells could be hung in their place, one side wall was left open and only later bricked up. The ring, consisting of 5 bronze bells, was made by the Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling bell foundry from Heidelberg and consecrated by the cathedral capitular Bruno Thiebes on May 3, 1963.
With the financial support of the women's community, a tower clock with a striking mechanism was purchased in 1972. The clock is struck by bells 3 and 2 alternately for the quarter of an hour, bell 1 for the full hours. There is no beating between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
|
No. |
Surname |
Nominal |
Weight in kg |
Bell spell |
| 1 | Christ the King Bell | e ' | 1,200 | Loudly, with heavy bells, I shout it out into the world: God's blessing should beckon you, peace be in state and house - you have to testify courageously for him who is the ruler of the universe, and bend your knees in humility before the king Jesus Christ ! |
| 2 | Marienbell | G' | 700 | If you want to get to the King, turn piously to Mary without fear, Queen of Heaven. Mother is she Eva's sons, Mother of Mercy listens to my voice tones in the needs of this time! |
| 3 | St. Michael's Bell | a ' | 500 | I am an iron voice of him who once defeated Satan, who did not forget faithfulness, who only served the great God. St. Michael wants to announce to you what he once proved: God's kingdom alone is eternal, serve him with word and deed! |
| 4th | St. Hildegard's bell | c " | 370 | Know the ways that lead to salvation and peace! Christ is a sure way, eternal truth and life! St. Hildegard wants to bring you the message that the glory of the kingdom: only those who are ready to follow Christ can win for ever. |
| 5 | St. Pirminius Bell | d " | 250 | He was once an apostle, the dear Palatinate region, who found his final resting place here after long years of wandering. St. Pirminius wants to teach you what he once preached: God's glory should increase your life! He will give you strength and grace. |
kindergarten
On August 8, 1965, the kindergarten was consecrated by Cathedral Chapter Bruno Thiebes after almost two years of construction. The kindergarten was designed for three groups. In 1988 extensive renovation and reconstruction work was carried out. With the renovation, the kindergarten was expanded to four groups, and a new gym and music room were set up at the same time. In order to meet the requirement of all-day care, the kindergarten was extensively renovated and rebuilt in 2012 and 2013. During the renovation, the company was moved to the parish hall.
New parish hall
It quickly became apparent that the parish hall in the rooms above the baptistery was too small. There was no kitchen and the location on the second floor was not suitable for people with limited mobility. After long negotiations, it was decided to build on the unused area next to the church (this was originally intended for the nurses' house) with a new parsonage and group rooms. On June 22, 1986 the community celebrated the first groundbreaking. The foundation stone was laid by Pastor Josef Schößer on November 28, 1986. On August 28, 1987 the house was consecrated by Domkapitular Sedelmeier.
As with the church, a clinker-clad facade was chosen for the parish hall. As a result, the entire area (with the exception of the kindergarten) appeared in a uniform style. The parish hall is laid out at right angles and thus also forms an end to the churchyard. The part of the parish hall that was built parallel to Salierstrasse houses the large parish hall with stage and control room. The other section houses the “Altenstube”, the small parish hall and a group room for the Kolping family . The bar and the kitchen form one unit. In the basement there is a group room next to the storage and pantry rooms. With the parish hall, the last building on the area of the Herz Jesu Church was completed.
literature
- Herz-Jesu-Kirche Schifferstadt. Ed .: Kuratie Herz Jesu. Geier, Schifferstadt 1961.
- 20 years parish Herz Jesu Schifferstadt. 1961-1981. Klaus Stahl (Red.), Parish Council, Schifferstadt 1981.
- 40 years of the parish Herz Jesu 1961–2001. Parish Herz Jesu, Schifferstadt 2001.
- 50 years of the Herz-Jesu-Kirche 1961–2011. Overall editor: Heiner Schmith u. Matthias Schmitt. Ed .: Parish Herz Jesu Schifferstadt. Geier-Druck-Verlag (print), Schifferstadt 2011.
