Sacred Heart Church (Falera)
The Catholic Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Falera in Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden was built in 1903/04.
history
Since the way up to the old church of St. Remigius became too difficult for older people, especially in cold and snowy winters, the desire for a new church in the village arose as early as the first half of the 19th century. The construction project was postponed again and again, probably out of fear of high costs.
On October 1st, 1900, on the feast of Saint Remigius , the parish council and the church bailiffs wished the new pastor Mathias Hemmi to seriously take the building of a new church by hand.
Through private donations, the sale of an altar from the Remigius Church and contributions from funds and the congregation, an amount of CHF 30,000 was raised. The respected architect August Hardegger from St. Gallen was commissioned with the planning . At the community meeting on May 11, 1902, the voters decided to build a church according to his plans. The construction of the tower should be postponed if the means were not sufficient. Building land and timber were provided free of charge, the stones came from the meadows in the area. Wood and stones were worked by the farmers in voluntary labor. Children and young people collected sand above the village and cleaned it in the village stream.
On May 24, 1903, the former pastor Faleras and episcopal vicar Gieri Antoni Vieli blessed the foundation stone, and construction was completed on July 11, 1904. On August 7, 1905, three altars and the pulpit were delivered by the Italian altar maker Augustin Valentin. In 1916 electrical lighting was installed, and in 1927 a second sacristy was built on the north side .
Bells
In the summer of 1904, three steel bells with stalls and a clock, cast by the Bochumer Verein , were delivered by the Protestant community of Rorschach . An anonymous donor covered the cost of CHF 2000. On Christmas Eve 1904, the bells were rung so violently that a bell rang. It hit the one hanging above it and got a crack. The Bochum company took back the damaged bell and delivered two new ones for the amount of CHF 1268.00. The bell was tuned to f, a, c, and dis and was in use until 1961.
Around 1950 they wanted to replace what was perceived as hard bells. Opposition arose to plans to sell the old bells of St. Remigius for it. A large part of the costs of CHF 36,000 were covered by donations and collections. Under Pastor Tumaisch Berther, pastor in Falera from 1960 to 1984, four new bells were delivered by the H. Rüetschi bell foundry in Aarau in the autumn of 1961. You are tuned to es, g, b, and c.
Organs
During the first year one was content with a harmonium . On November 1, 1905, Pastor Alfons Stoffel bought a small used organ from the Weggenstein company for CHF 1548.
In 1920 the parish bought a new organ with sixteen registers and two manuals from the Späth company in Ennetach for around CHF 10,000 . It was in operation until the renovation in 1968. Then Orgelbau Felsberg AG installed a new organ with ten registers and a manual.
Renovations
In July 1942 the tower clock was overhauled. The clock face on the west side was removed and attached to the north side, which is more towards the village.
In 1950 the church underwent an exterior renovation. After every rain, its beige-yellow paint looked as if the church had been doused with dirty water and was not really convincing.
At the beginning of the 1960s the church looked neglected. Apart from a new coat of paint, nothing had ever been repaired. Because the north side of the church was built on a sand base, but the south side was built on rock, the north side sank by ten centimeters; cracks appeared on the vault. In addition, the interior should take into account the liturgical changes decided at the Second Vatican Council .
Pastor Tumaisch Berther collected around CHF 400,000, which should be invested in a comprehensive renovation. In August 1964, the community assembly approved the project. On May 1, 1966, those entitled to vote also gave women the right to vote in matters of church renovation. Othmar Fetz from Ilanz was commissioned with the planning .
As a result of the renovation, the church was fundamentally redesigned. The sheet metal point on the tower was removed, the red tiles of the roof gave way to Eternit plates, the entrance hall was demolished and redesigned and the facade was painted white. Inside, the gallery was raised, new benches were installed and the vaulted ceiling was replaced by a coffered ceiling . The three altars were removed and the choir room was decorated with a cross and two baroque statues.
In 1983 the interior of the church was refreshed and the ceiling better insulated. In addition, the electrical installations and lighting were replaced.
The exterior renovation was completed at the end of August 1998, giving the church its present-day appearance.
literature
- Ignaz Cathomen / Isidor Winzap: Falera - History and Development of a Grisons Mountain Village 2002
