Bruchsal Court Church
The Hofkirche Bruchsal is a church originally built in 1724 in the south wing of the baroque palace complex in Bruchsal . The complex, which burned out in March 1945 as a result of a bombardment , was rebuilt in the 1960s - with the Hofkirche receiving modern furnishings .
history
Until 1945
Even while the palace was being built, Prince Bishop Schönborn's thoughts were concerned with the future breakdown and development of pastoral care in Bruchsal . He expressed such considerations for the first time a year after the construction of the church wing began on December 4, 1724. He wanted to divide the city into three parishes - the inner city, the eastern suburb and the residential suburb, also known as the Speyer suburb. For the inner city the collegiate church "Our Lady" was the center of pastoral care, for the eastern suburbs the Peterskirche and for the residential suburbs it should be the court church.
But he summarized his actual thoughts about the beginnings of the court parish in his “Decretum et constitutio”, which he wrote down in 1728. In this writing, Schönborn announced how seriously he took his episcopal office. He wondered what intentions a bishop should be guided by and what motives he should not have; what a good bishop is and what a good bishop is and the importance of faithful and diligent servants. He wanted to begin his official affairs with the construction of the new “court and parish church”.
Schönborn promises in this writing that he wants to take care of the church and states in 57 short sentences what still needs to be done so that a real congregation, a pastoral office, a church service can be held and a group of helpers for the congregation can be formed. The actual founding document of the court parish lies in this project. Right from the start, the Court Church had a double task: to be court and cathedral church and yet also to be a parish church for the people. She retained this position until Bishop Wilderich's death in 1810; thereafter it remained the parish church for the Catholic parish until it was destroyed on March 1, 1945. This was so total that the reconstruction resembled a new foundation; the rights of the church and the duties of the Baden state, which had to be clarified in detail in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, remained the same.
Reconstruction after 1945
The reconstruction of the court church took place between 1960 and 1966. The overall shape of the castle had to be preserved, as it was planned, so the church wing had to adapt to the chamber wing. On October 28, 1953, the parish was able to celebrate the topping-out ceremony of the Hofkirche tower, the upper half of which was destroyed on February 2 and March 1, 1945.
On July 21, 1966, the court church was designated by the pastor Alois Westermann and thus placed in the service of God. Before the consecration, however, the furnishings had to be done, which however did not bring back the old baroque church, but a completely modern design. For example, the “Way of the Cross of Reconciliation” by HAP Grieshaber from 1969 can be seen, consisting of 14 wood reliefs (woodcut printing blocks, 70 × 80 cm) in the colors white and gold. On March 8, 1970, the Hofkirche was solemnly consecrated by the Archbishop of Freiburg, Hermann Schäufele .
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 '39.8 " N , 8 ° 35' 53.2" E