Luther Church (Essen)
The Luther Church in Essen 's Frohnhausen district is the oldest church in the west of Essen.
history
At the time of industrialization towards the end of the 19th century, the owner Friedrich Krupp AG , Alfred Krupp , needed a Protestant church for his workers, who lived in the neighboring workers' settlements of Schederhof and Kronenberg . It was supposed to stand exactly between these Krupp colonies and was connected to Kronenberg by a barred level crossing at what was then Altendorf Essen-Süd station, the predecessor of today's Essen West station. As a workers' church , the Luther Church was built for the many foreigners who came from Hesse and East Prussia , for example . Because these people found work in the then up-and-coming Ruhr area , especially in the many large and small collieries and in what was then the Krupp cast steel factory in what is now the Westviertel . At that time, the Luther Church was located in the middle of the Altendorf mayor's office , which was founded in 1874 and which included Altendorf , Frohnhausen and Holsterhausen . With around 66,000 inhabitants, it was considered the largest Prussian rural community and was incorporated into the city of Essen in 1901.
The Luther Church was built according to plans by the architect August Hartel, true to the Eisenach regulation . Alfred Krupp, himself a Protestant, in whose works around three quarters of the parishioners worked, provided the building site, building materials and 15,000 marks in an aid fund for the construction of the Luther Church in 1879 . Overall, the building was estimated at around 109,000 marks. The foundation stone was laid on July 24th, 1881. The church was built as a brick shell (i.e. unplastered using shaped stones for the profiles) in the Gothic style. The choir was given a ribbed vault , with the church hall offering space for 1,100 parishioners. For the first time in the Essen area, industrially manufactured steel supports were used for a church, which here supported an English wooden vault. On December 3, 1882, the church was consecrated with around 2500 people attending the service. On February 14, 1893, the inauguration of the separate parish hall followed. In 1885 the church received an organ. In 1903 the building of the church was expanded to include the Lutherhaus to the north at the expense of the Krupp company.
During the First World War , the bronze bells and the tin organ pipes were melted down as raw materials essential to the war effort in favor of armaments production. After the war, the community again received support from the Krupp company in order to be able to repair the war damage. In the time of National Socialism , the church experienced two sides, namely pastors of the regime-loyal German Christians and pastors of the Confessing Church , who were in opposition to National Socialism. During the Second World War , on April 3, 1943, the church burned down completely after being hit by bombs, so that only the outer walls were left after the end of the war.
In 1957, the removal of the rubble from the destroyed Luther Church began. In September 1958, the Lutherhaus on Kerckhoffstrasse from 1903 was inaugurated again. At this point in time the new bell storey of the church tower had already been erected, and the nave followed within four years. The rebuilt Luther Church was dedicated on September 30, 1962. This new building is deliberately based on the original design from the 19th century, but now no longer had any galleries and was given a flat coffered ceiling and colored glazing by the artist Ursula Hirsch .
The church today
The Lutherhaus to the north is part of the church, which was newly built in 1962, as a parish hall. There is a large ballroom with a stage and an adjacent kitchen on the upper floor. The Luther daycare center can be reached from Kerckhoffstrasse.
On September 6, 2009, the last Protestant service took place in the Luther Church. For financial reasons, the church itself is no longer used for services.
Since the church was closed in 2009, services have been held in the neighboring Luther parish hall on Kerckhoffstrasse. Since its closing with the last service on December 1, 2013, the congregation members have had to resort to the services in the Apostle Church and the Christ Church .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b T. Kellen: The industrial city of Essen in words and pictures. History and description of the city of Essen. At the same time a guide through food and the surrounding area. Fredebeul & Koenen, Essen 1902.
- ^ Community newsletter of the Evangelical Luther Church Community Essen-Altendorf from February / March 2008, 47th edition, page 20
- ↑ DerWesten.de of December 2, 2013: The last service in the Lutherhaus in Essen
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 11.8 " N , 6 ° 59 ′ 0.4" E