Church desolation St. Barbara

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Church desolation St. Barbara "Alter Markt"

The church deserted St. Barbara in Langenfeld - Reusrath is located on the 'Old Market' in the middle of the district .

history

The former standing here, dating back to the 1791 church was due to disrepair canceled in 1913th As early as 1895, a St. Barbara church, also dedicated to St. Barbara , was built as a replacement for this old building around 300 m away . While nothing was known about earlier church buildings of St.Barbara, the dependency of the community as a branch church of St. Aldegundis in Rheindorf was proven by sources . Both parishes also have a women's patronage , which shows their close ties. Since earlier church buildings and the beginning of an independent congregation at St. Barbara in Reusrath are hidden in the "unscriptural darkness" of the Middle Ages , excavations were carried out on the site of the desert in 2008 by the Office for Land Monument Preservation in the Rhineland . In addition to new knowledge about the development of the parish, it was hoped to find out more about the founding of Reusrath.

Architectural history

Floor plans of the old Barbara churches in Reusrath

During the excavation work, the foundations of two churches were uncovered. Inside the walls of the larger, modern church were the remains of the foundations of a smaller Romanesque hall church , in whose choir parts of the altar foundation could still be identified. The following construction phases were identified:

  • Phase 1

Has begun construction of a Romanesque chapel of 12.60 times 6.80 m floor area . This chapel had a square choir and a featured three-story tower with a basic dimension of 4.60 by 4.60 m square .

  • Phase 2

This first church was extended by a side aisle 2.80 m wide on the north side of the church and an extension on the south side ( sacristy or baptistery ?).

  • Phase 3

After laying the old church was a much larger baroque church built, which was used until the 1913th

The foundations uncovered during the excavations consisted of local rock. (There is evidence of a quarry for Schelthoven in Reusrath .) Hand blocks made of tuff stone in the foundations of the younger church building indicate that the rising masonry (walls of the church) of the Romanesque hall church could have been made of the same stone material.

Several - without gifts - burials within the foundation walls allow the conclusion that the hall church (first church) was built in a burial ground. Possibly at the same time as the construction of the tower, a burial took place inside. Parallel to the wall and through foundation stones projecting over the coffin at this point , a 50 to 60 year old man was buried in a tree coffin . The age determination with the radio-carbon method allowed a dating of the burial for the years 978 to 1046 AD. The archaeologists then concluded that the church was built around the year 1000.

This put a damper on the expectations of an earlier ( Christian ) settlement of Reusrath than previously assumed , especially since nothing was reported about a wooden previous building. The burials within the hall church allow the conclusion that the Romanesque stone church might not have been the first place of worship on the 'Old Market' after all .

Tree coffin burials often refer to specially placed people. They are particularly known from the field of shamanism , where the shaman can determine the tree for his burial himself beforehand. However, the circumstances of the find do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a background in this regard.

Description of the last church

Probably the only black and white picture of the old St. Barbara Church at the 'Alter Markt'

The black-and-white picture on the information board on the deserted church shows the old church as a low, flat-roofed building with a small tower. Presumably it was shown for the first time in the book Langenfeld 2 of the former mayor and local history researcher Friedhelm Görgens . The depicted church was described by the Rhenish art historian Paul Clemen in 1894 as a Romanesque building from the 11th century. Its arched portal , facing west, measured 1.20 m. It led through the tower built in the west to the nave of the church in a 2.50 m wide arch . The nave itself had three large windows on each side and the heavily anchored, three- storey , square tower of 4.40 m on a side had three bells from the 12th, 13th and 15th centuries.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Information board on the deserted church, set up by the Lower Monument Authority / City of Langenfeld in July 2009
  2. ^ A b c Rolf Müller: City History Langenfeld Rhineland . Verlag Stadtarchiv, Langenfeld 1992, ISBN 3-929365-01-4 .
  3. ↑ Stephan Meisel: Reusrath probably older than expected. In: Rheinische Post. Edition Langenfeld from May 9, 2008.
  4. ↑ Stephan Meisel: Reusrath much older than expected. In: Rheinische Post. Edition Langenfeld from October 25, 2008.
  5. ↑ Klaus E. Müller: Shamanism. Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-41872-4 .
  6. ^ Friedhelm Görgens: Langenfeld 2. Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-1031-0 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 5 ′ 15 ″  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 31 ″  E