Capuchin monastery in Düren

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The location of the monastery

The Capuchin Monastery was a monastery in the district town of Düren in North Rhine-Westphalia .

In 1635, at the time of the Thirty Years' War , Margarethe Brandröster had a chapel built on Kölnstrasse in front of the Kölntor , where the church of St. Peter Julian later stood. That included a house. She handed the property over to the city, which was to use the apartment for the poor and sick. The Franciscans did not want to take on the task in addition to their existing monastery and so instead two Capuchins came from Jülich to Düren. The chapel and apartment were destroyed by the war.

In a letter dated July 9, 1642, the sovereign approved the establishment of an apartment within the protective city ​​wall . The Capuchins then bought a house "on the Kalle", today's Altenteich . They built a chapel in the house and held services there. The Franciscans living nearby tried again and again to oust the Capuchins and prevent the founding of the monastery. Count Palatine Philip William approved the Order of a new building within the city walls. Baron Gimnich in Vischel gave them a piece of land on the Kalle. The Capuchins also bought the adjacent Kallerhof . The city council did not agree. But a settlement was reached.

The foundation stone was laid on September 13, 1655 by the Countess Palatine. Construction was completed the following year. On April 21, 1721, the governor of Jülich laid the foundation stone for another new building. This building was completely destroyed in the air raid on November 16, 1944 .

From 1656 until the abolition of the monasteries in 1802, 87 fathers lived in the monastery, 37 of them were born in Düren.

The monastery buildings of 1655/56 and 1721 had four wings that enclosed a rectangular courtyard open to the east towards the street. The church formed the east wing. This single-nave hall building of brick with inset rectangular choir was 62.70 meters long and 9.70 meters wide. The baroque Madonna from the church is now in the Marienkirche .

To the west of the church was the monastery building. It was a two-story brick building with a slate hipped roof . The south wing had twelve, the west wing eight and the north wing nine axes .

The city bought it in 1820 and converted it into a high school. From 1891 to 1904 the grammar school moved to Zehnhofstrasse . On May 3, 1904, the Stiftisches Gymnasium was inaugurated at its current location on Altenteich .

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