Lichtenplatz Chapel
The Lichtenplatzer Chapel is a small Protestant church in the Lichtenplatz residential area of the city of Wuppertal near Lichtscheid . It was inaugurated in 1904 and is today one of the two community centers of the Evangelical Church of Unterbarmen Süd.
history
In the first half of the 19th century, the area on the Barmer Südhöhen was gradually settled by peasant families, who were later joined by ribbon weavers. Towards the end of the century, the villa district " Toelleturm " and, in connection with the Vorwerkschen rubber factory, settlements for their workers. In 1866 an evangelical “toddler school” was built on the site of today's Lichtenplatzer chapel, which already had its first church service room.
With the number of community members and the evangelical club life, the desire for a church building grew. At the beginning of the 20th century, the presbytery of the United Evangelical Congregation Unterbarmen, which looked after this area, commissioned the building of the chapel. The plans came from the Barmer architect Friedrich Schulte , whose company also carried out the construction. On November 11, 1904, Valentin Umbeck (1842–1911), the General Superintendent of the Rhine Province , inaugurated the Lichtenplatz Chapel.
Stylistically, the Lichtenplatz Chapel belongs to the group of club house architecture that was widespread at the time . In addition to the church service room (today a maximum of 330 seats), the red brick building has sufficient ancillary rooms for community activities, as well as a residential wing. A chime with two bells was placed in the roof turret.
In 1968 it was redesigned according to the ideas of those years. The furnishings of the chapel were completely removed. The Paul Faust organ was replaced by a small organ from Walcker (9 registers), and a concrete glass window by Elisabeth Altenrichter-Dicke ("Light of Creation") was installed in the altar area . A further parish room or an extension of the worship room was created through a small extension.
In the 2000s, the Lichtenplatz chapel was structurally renovated and further artistic accents were set. In 1999, Cyrus Overbeck created a provocative ensemble of three crib figures. Another church window was installed in the entrance area and futuristic-looking lighting (designed by Katja Garbe) was installed in the church service room. In the anniversary year of 2004, the Wuppertal sculptor Hans-Jürgen Hiby created a sculptural church portal with two large hands as door handles.
Also since 2004, the community has been running the so-called "display wall" as a communication project with changing messages and bold graphics (designed by Heinz Velten and Thomas Sänger , among others ), giving passers-by at the busy intersection food for thought.
In 2005 the CD “Capella Musicale” - music from the Lichtenplatzer Kapelle was released (Melanie Anker and Thomas Voigt, saxophone; Ulrike Boller, piano and organ).
The "Church Square" in front of the Lichtenplatz Chapel was redesigned in September 2016. The center of the complex is a mosaic with the motifs of fish and cross (design: Ina Neumann from Kaspers Galabau, Wuppertal).
Lichtenplatzer chapel, church portal
the "display wall"
the "display wall"
literature
- History of the United Evangelical Congregation Unterbarmen from 1822 to 1922. Compiled by Pastors Thümmel, Schreiner and van den Bruck, 1922
- Sigrid Lekebusch: Churches and places of worship in Barmen, contributions to the history and local history of the Wuppertal 43, 2008
- Sigrid Lekebusch: "When I look at Luther and his actions". Georg Schulz - an extraordinary theologian at the Lichtenplatz Chapel in Wuppertal, 2006
- Jochen Streiter: The crib of the Lichtenplatz Chapel, 2003
- Jochen Streiter: The Lichtenplatzer Chapel 1904-2004, 2004
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 14 ′ 54.6 " N , 7 ° 11 ′ 33.7" E