Klein St. Arnold (Arnoldsweiler)

Klein St. Arnold in Arnoldsweiler

Baptismal font in the ruin

Klein St. Arnold , also called Arnoldus Chapel , is a Roman Catholic branch and pilgrimage church in the Düren district of Arnoldsweiler in the Düren district in North Rhine-Westphalia . In it is the grave of St. Arnold von Arnoldsweiler , to whom it is also dedicated. Every year in July it is the destination of pilgrims to the Arnoldus grave (commemoration day July 18). Between 1159 and 1902 it was the local parish church .

The structure is entered under number 13/1 in the list of architectural monuments in Düren .

location

The church building is located in the center of Arnoldsweiler on a slightly elevated position on Vikar-Klein-Straße. Right next to it is the New Parish Church to the south. The outdoor area is partly still surrounded by the old churchyard wall, in which the seven footfalls are incorporated. The war memorial has been located in the west in front of the entrance portal since the First World War.

history

In 922 a church in Arnoldsweiler, which at that time was still called Ginizwilre, was first mentioned in a document. From this first mention until the French occupation of the Rhineland, the patronage of Arnoldsweiler owned the Ursulastift in Cologne . Around 1159 Arnoldsweiler was raised to an independent parish .

The old church was supposed to be demolished in 1895. As early as 1893 it was decided to build a new church. The Cologne Vicariate General with Cathedral Chapter Arnold Steffens and the Conservator of the Rhine Province , Paul Clemen , campaigned for the preservation of the old church. Instead, the parsonage was demolished to make room for the new church . Between 1899 and 1902 the new church Groß St. Arnold was built according to plans by Theodor Roß .

Building history and description

Klein St. Arnold is an irregular three-aisled complex dating from the 11th to the 18th century, of which the tower, the west section and the south aisle have been completely preserved and the choir and the north aisle are partially preserved as ruins.

The oldest parts of the Arnoldus Chapel and Klein St. Arnold date from the 11th century. The previous church was named in a document dated August 11, 922 together with a second church. But it can also be one and the same church. The three lower floors of the tower date from the 11th century. At that time, a simple, flat-roofed hall church was attached to it, parts of the south wall still date from this time. In the 12th century the tower was raised by a fourth floor and received the west portal, which is now a window. In addition, a larger nave was placed on the north side of the hall church, probably in the 12th century, which resulted in a two-aisled complex. This probably happened in the course of Arnoldsweiler's uprising.

Ruins of the central nave

The church was rebuilt in the 15th century. The south aisle received the present-day, unevenly three-sided closed choir and a vault with ribbed vaults . The main nave, built on to the north, also had a choir closed on three sides and probably also a vault. These changes were carried out in the Gothic style. The church was badly damaged by a fire in the 17th century. The central nave collapsed to a large extent, the western part of the vault in the south aisle also collapsed and the bell tower was also badly damaged.

Interior of the Arnoldus Chapel

Around 1671 the church was rebuilt and changed. All of the leftovers were reused. In the south aisle, today's large window openings were attached to the south wall, which still has an early Romanesque structure with pilasters, and the vault that had collapsed in the western part was replaced by a groin vault. The Gothic ribbed vault in the eastern part remained. The central nave was rebuilt with a larger choir closed on three sides and a wooden barrel vault. In addition, a north aisle in Baroque forms was added to the north side of the main nave . This resulted in a three-aisled, uneven structure. It is interesting that the new choir was built in the Gothic style, although all other changes were made in the Baroque style typical of the time. A rectangular vestibule was also added to the west of the main nave.

Towards the end of the 19th century the old church fell into disrepair. After 1902 , the Cologne cathedral capitular Arnold Steffens, who was born in Niederzier , personally supported the renovation of Klein St. Arnold. The Provincial Curator of the Rhine Province Paul Clemen and the Cologne entrepreneur Arnold von Guilleaume also used their financial support for the preservation of Klein St. Arnold. The former central nave, built around 1700, with a crypt rediscovered in 1978 and a grave slab from before 1600, was saved as a ruin. The grave of Arnold von Arnoldsweiler is located in the church, which was renovated in 1906/07 according to plans by Ludwig Arntz . The church was badly damaged in World War II. Presumably due to the shock of a nearby bombing, the church tower leaned and threatened to collapse, which luckily could be prevented by a renovation in 1947. Nevertheless, the tower has been crooked since then, which is why there are no more bells hanging in the tower.

In December 1961 the roof of the nave burned and was completely destroyed. The vault paintings in the interior were also damaged by the extinguishing work. A new roof structure had to be erected and the paintings restored.

Painting by Peter Hecker

Frescoes in the Arnoldus Chapel

Angel dance over the high grave

Arnold at a source

In 1913 and 1914, the Cologne artist Peter Hecker painted the vaults of the Arnoldus Chapel, which means the nave and former south aisle, with frescoes from the life of St. Arnoldus for the first time. It was the artist's first major work. The biography of St. Arnold, which is said to come from the 12th century. These paintings were badly damaged and partially destroyed during World War II. The then Arnoldsweiler pastor Johannes Dautzenberg asked him to paint the interior again. In 1952 Peter Hecker painted Klein St. Arnold again, using the leftover paint as the basis for the new pictures. Hecker also added scenes from the National Socialist era. The following pictures can be seen:

1. Arnold in his native Greece
2. Arnold arrives at the court of Charlemagne
3. Arnold kneels before the Mother of God , playing his harf
4. Forest workers
5. Needy population (reference to war)
6. Revolting population and devils with a freedom flag (reference to war)
7. Arnold is sitting on a water-drinking horse, which is molested by little devils
8. Arnold teaches children
9. Forest workers come to Arnold pleading
10. Arnold visits prisoners and brings them food
11. Arnold plays the harp in front of animals in the forest
12. Hunting scene
13. Arnold plays the harp in front of resting hunters
14. Arnold kneels pleadingly in front of Charlemagne at lunch
15. Arnold hands his coat to a poor man
16. Arnold notches markings in the trees with his sword while riding around the Bürgewald
17. Burial of Charlemagne
18. Arnold had the Arnoldsweiler church built
19. Arnold makes a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
20. Arnold throws his ring into the Gironde River
21. A wounded man is helped (reference to war)
22. Man gives Arnold a ring that was found in a fish
23. Arnold sits on the sickbed and distributes his possessions, including the harp, to the poor
24. Arnold in heaven, he's surrounded by angels
25. Above the high grave in the middle: Angels making music.

Frescoes in the baptistery

Pilgrimage of the Duchess Magdalena from Jülich to Arnoldsweiler 1613

In the baptistery, which is located in the tower hall and adjoins the Arnoldus Chapel to the west, frescoes by Peter Hecker from 1952 can also be seen. In contrast to the Arnoldus Chapel, these are painted on the four walls. There is also a self-portrait of the artist from 1913, which he painted over a little in Secco in 1952 . Otherwise, on the west wall is Abraham and his nephew Lot , on the north wall David playing harp with Saul , on the east wall the prophet Elijah and the widow of Sarepta and on the south wall Tobit and his son Tobias . These four scenes are all from the Old Testament . Here the life and work of St. Arnold compared to biblical figures.

In the passage to the war memorial chapel, Duchess Magdalena von Jülich is depicted on the east wall during her pilgrimage to Arnoldsweiler in 1613. Hecker also painted an old pilgrimage saying. On the opposite side there is a portrait of the former Arnoldsweiler pastor Johannes Dautzenberg.

Frescoes in the war memorial chapel

After Hecker had painted the Baptistery and Arnoldus Chapel in 1952, he was also commissioned to paint the war memorial chapel, which is located in the western part of the former central nave. As early as August 1954, preliminary drafts for the design of this room were available. In 1955 he finally painted the fresco The Woman and the Dragon from the Revelation of John on the south wall and Jesus crucified, who takes care of the fallen of the world wars, on the north wall. Furthermore, the four horsemen of the apocalypse , also from the Revelation of John, and the signs of the zodiac on the ceiling can be seen in the war memorial chapel .

Furnishing

High tomb of St. Arnold

In addition to the paintings by Peter Hecker already mentioned, there are numerous other pieces of equipment inside the old parish church. In the middle of the Arnoldus Chapel is the Tumba of St. Arnold from the first half of the 15th century. It is made of sandstone and St. Arnold is shown with a harp in hand and a lion at his feet. This sandstone figure is the oldest surviving depiction of the saint.

pulpit

The baroque pulpit is a simple work of the 17th or 18th century. After a fire that took place before 1671, it was purchased together with two baroque altars, which have not been preserved. In 1911 the baroque high altar was replaced by today's high altar. It is a foundation of the Cologne Cathedral Chapter Arnold Steffens. The frame of the new retable was made to a design by the Cologne architect Heinrich Renard and Peter Hecker made the altarpiece with the depiction of the dying Arnoldus. This new altar was consecrated on May 30, 1912.

Pietà by Josef Jansen, 1973

There are also two donated paintings in the interior. Hugo Kohl created one in 1889. It shows St. Arnold with a forest worker and his son and was donated by Arnold Janssen , the founder of the Steyler missionaries . The second painting shows the crucifixion scene. It is a foundation of the Arnoldsweiler pastor Johannes Baumeister from the year 1627. Probably the most important work of art in Klein St. Arnold is the Anna Selbdritt group, a figure by an unknown artist from 1480.

In the baptistery there is a Romanesque font from the 12th century. It was originally located in Anna's Church in Düren and was replaced by a new one in 1911. Domkapitular Arnold Steffens had it given to him and set up in the tower hall of Klein St. Arnold. Heinrich Renard designed the brass lid together with Peter Hecker, who designed the pictorial representations of the streams of Paradise. This work was carried out by Konrad Rech from Elberfeld .

Arnold Steffens also donated a candlestick from 1907. It enclosed the high grave until 1952 and was then moved to the east wall of the war memorial chapel and slightly changed. Steffens donated the candlestick as a reminder of the wax interest of the Bürgewald communities. Landbauinspektor Ludwig Arntz designed the candlestick.

The risen Christ in the war memorial chapel

The stained glass windows were all designed by Peter Hecker in 1952 and made available by the Dr. H. Oidtmann from Linnich made and used. In the war memorial chapel there is the eternal light window on the north wall and in the east there is a large semicircular window depicting the risen Christ . They are closely related to the paintings.

The windows in the actual Arnoldus Chapel depict the sun song of Francis of Assisi , angels, nature and Jubal , who is considered the progenitor of all musicians. The window in the baptistery shows a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit .

organ

The organ was built in 1963 by the company Josef Weimbs Orgelbau in Hellenthal for the chapel of the Franciscan convent St. Arnold in Arnoldsweiler (today the Bürgersaal). When this was closed in 1990, the Franciscan Sisters from Salzkotten donated the organ to the parish. The instrument has seven registers distributed across a manual and pedal .

I Hauptwerk C – g 3 Dumped 8th' Octave 4 ′ Reed flute 4 ′ Gemshorn 2 ′ Zimbel II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ Pedal C – f 1 Sub bass 16 ′ Dacked bass 8th' Coupling : I / P, Sub Playing aids : trigger, hand registration, free combination, tutti

literature

• Paul Hartmann, Edmund Renard: The art monuments of the Düren district. In: The art monuments of the Rhine province. Volume 9, edited by Paul Clemen, Düsseldorf 1910.
• Josef Wolff (Ed.): Arnoldsweiler. Libertas Verlag Hubert Baum, Wiesbaden 1968.
• Dorothea Eimert: Peter Hecker's monumental painting. Early frescoes and later additions. In: The Minster. Journal for Christian Art and Art History. Volume 27, issue 4/5, Regensburg 1974.
• Iris Nestler (Ed.): Masterpieces of 20th Century Glass Painting in the Rhineland, Volume I, Mönchengladbach 2015, pp. 17 and 19.

Web links

Commons : Klein St. Arnold  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• St. Arnold parish on the website of GdG Düren-Nord

Individual evidence

1. ^ Paul Hartmann and Edmund Renard: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kreis Düren. In: Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz Volume 9, Ed. Paul Clemen, Düsseldorf 1910, p. 18
2. ^ Paul Hartmann, Edmund Renard: The art monuments of the Rhine province. Volume 9: The art monuments of the Düren district . Published by Paul Clemen, Düsseldorf 1910, p. 18 ff.
3. ↑ on the activities of the Provincial Commission for the Preservation of Monuments in the Rhine Province and the Provincial Museums in Bonn and Trier XIII. 1908, Düsseldorf, 1909, p. 18 ff.
4. ^ Wilhelm Arnolds: Arnold von Arnoldsweiler. History and lore . In: Libelli Rhenani. Volume 61. Archbishop's Diocesan and Cathedral Library with St. Albertus Magnus Library, Cologne 2015, p. 412 ff.
5. ^ Rudolf AH Wyrsch, Kilian Inden: Church leaders through small and large St. Arnold . Arnoldsweiler 2012 (unpublished)
6. ↑ http://www.kirche-dueren-nord.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=65
7. ↑ Dürener Zeitung No. 281 - 89th year. Monday, December 4, 1961, article: Arnolduskapelle in flames. Roof fire caused great damage - paintings damaged
8. ^ Dorothea Eimert: Peter Hecker's monumental painting. Early frescoes and later additions. In: The Minster. Journal for Christian Art and Art History. Volume 27, Issue 4/5, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1974, pp. 249-253.
9. ^ Wilhelm Arnolds: Peter Hecker. The Te Deum - frescoes in the Arnoldus Chapel . Düren 1983
10. ^ Dorothea Eimert: Peter Hecker's monumental painting. Early frescoes and later additions. In: The Minster. Journal for Christian Art and Art History. Volume 27, Issue 4/5, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1974, pp. 257-258.
11. ^ Paul Hartmann and Edmund Renard: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kreis Düren. In: Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz Volume 9, Ed. Paul Clemen, Düsseldorf 1910, p. 20.
12. ↑ Dürener Zeitung No. 65 - 39th year. Tuesday, March 21, 1911. Article: From the city and the district.
13. ^ Reports on the activities of the Provincial Commission for the Preservation of Monuments in the Rhine Province and the Provincial Museums in Bonn and Trier XIII. 1908, Düsseldorf, 1909, p. 25.
14. ^ Rudolf AH Wyrsch, Kilian Inden: Church leaders through small and large St. Arnold . Arnoldsweiler 2012 (unpublished)
15. ^ Düren-Arnoldsweiler, Arnoldus Chapel. In: Internet site Forschungsstelle Glasmalerei des 20. Jahrhundert eV Retrieved on January 12, 2018 . 
16. ^ Opus list. (No longer available online.) In: Internet site of the Weimbs Orgelbau company. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015 ; accessed on January 12, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 19.7 ″  N , 6 ° 29 ′ 38.2 ″  E