Marienkirche (Kaiserslautern)
 Marienkirche seen from the northeast |
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| place | Kaiserslautern, Germany |
| diocese | Diocese of Speyer |
| Patronage | Maria |
| Building history | |
| Client | Church building association St. Maria |
| architect | Heinrich von Schmidt |
| construction time | 1887-1892 |
| Building description | |
| inauguration | September 8, 1892 |
| Architectural style | Neo-Gothic |
| Construction type | monumental sandstone block construction, three-aisled hall, side aisles with transverse alpine roofs |
| 49 ° 26 '30 " N , 7 ° 45' 41" E | |
The Marienkirche is a Roman Catholic church in Kaiserslautern and with its 92.5 m high tower it is the tallest building in the Kaiserslautern city center. The Marienkirchen congregation includes around 5200 Catholics.
Building history
Around 1880 there were already around 10,000 Catholics in Kaiserslautern with a steadily growing population of around 26,000. The medieval Martinskirche , at that time the only Catholic church in the city, could not believe this number, but the original plan to demolish the Martinskirche and rebuild it had been rejected by the city council . For this reason, a meadow area on the Ziegelbach was acquired and the parish church of St. Marien was designed on the basis of the city expansion plan by Eugen Bindewald as the axial center of the Königsstraße west of the city center.
On November 10, 1878, the St. Maria Church Building Association was founded. The church was built from 1887 to 1892 in neo -Gothic style according to plans by the architect Heinrich Freiherr von Schmidt from Munich . The construction costs amounted to 430,000 marks , they were earned , among other things, through a lottery . Most of the construction work was done by local companies. The glass paintings on the windows were made by the Oidtmann glass painting company in Linnich according to a picture scheme that the parish priest Lorenz had designed with the approval of the building committee .
On September 8, 1892, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Speyer , Joseph Georg von Ehrler . The feast of the Assumption is the patronage . From 1892 until the dedication of the Speyer Memorial Church in 1904, the tower of the Marienkirche was the highest church tower in the Palatinate.
Within a few decades, the city expanded around the building that was originally free-standing in the area. The densely populated Kottenviertel in particular is still inhabited by many Catholics, mainly from Portugal and Italy , who have worked in worsted yarn spinning since the 1950s and integrated into the Marienkirche parish.
building
The church stands free on St.-Marien-Platz and shows the shape of a Latin cross as a floor plan. The choir faces west for urban planning reasons. The main portal with staircase and the 92.5 m high central tower with pointed helmet and flanking stair towers are located on the eastern front of the nave . A narrow roof turret can be seen above the crossing . The eyelash above the main portal is adorned with a statue of the Virgin Mary by sculptor J. Stolz in Munich, while reliefs with biblical representations can be found in the pediment.
The neo-Gothic building has a total internal length of 40.54 m and is made of light sandstone . The interior of the three-aisle church hall is about 12 meters and by circular pillar with buds capitals divided that a ribbed vault wear. Under the choir there is a very spacious crypt that is only accessible from outside the church. To the left of the choir is a side chapel, to the right a sacristy arranged symmetrically to it. The organ gallery in the east, resting on three cross vaults, has a tracery parapet . The gallery can be reached via spiral stairs in the two corner towers. The tower contains a vestibule from which the bells used to be operated by hand.
Original interior
The neo-Gothic original furnishings are only partially preserved today. It was only gradually acquired by the community for the initially sparsely equipped church. The altars, a two-winged rosary altar completed in 1895 as a high altar and a Joseph altar erected in 1906 in the south side chapel, were made by the sculptors Port Brothers in Münstermaifeld according to designs by Pastor Stiff from Oberwinter am Rhein .
In 1901 a triumphal cross was hung in the choir arch, which the artist, Linder from the Gewerbemuseum, gave to the community. The sandstone pulpit with wooden sound cover, made by the Erfurt and Wüst company in Stuttgart , is still striking today .
The baptismal font was originally located in the back of the left aisle under the gallery and had a tall ornate copper lid.
Particularly striking are the panel paintings (triptychs) created by the painter Matthäus Schiestl above the side chapels, which were donated to the Marienkirche by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in 1906. On the left transept wall is the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, on the right “Mary, Queen of All Saints”. The same artist also created the statue of Mary in the left side niche and the statue of Anthony opposite .
In 1905 the large Klais organ was completed.
The floor of the nave was covered with red and gray sandstone slabs, the rest of the building was lined with Mettlach tiles, which showed ornaments and lily ribbons as well as a richly decorated cross in the choir , the symbols of the four evangelists and a pictorial representation of St. George in the transept . The panels in the choir and in the Marienkapelle are still preserved. The floor soon sank in the transept and had to be replaced in 1904. At that time it was already foreseeable that only a concrete floor would help in the long term, but it was not installed until 1970.
Damage in the First and Second World War
On March 17, 1918 , an aerial bomb fell on the south side of the church, killing two people. Some windows and the left triptych were damaged. Overall, however, little repair work was necessary. Only the bells melted down for war purposes was replaced in 1921 (see below).
During the Second World War , the doors were torn down during the air raids on September 28, 1944, the colored glass windows were completely destroyed and parts of the roof were damaged. However, the building of the Marienkirche itself survived both world wars almost unscathed and, in contrast to the nearby Apostle Church, which was hit by fire bombs, was not completely burned out. Because the sisters of the nearby Franciscan Institute had been bombed out, they were allowed to temporarily store their rescued furniture in the crypt of St. Mary's Church, while they themselves were divided into the surrounding convents.
In the course of renovation work in 1936, the high altar was sent back to the delivery company in Münstermaifeld. However, he was destroyed there by an air raid. This altar was replaced in 1944 by a new St. Mary's altar, which was created by the sculptor Karl Baur (sculptor) from Munich based on a design by the architect Klostermann . It shows scenes from the life of Mary on two high reliefs and a statue of the Virgin.
The bronze cover of the baptismal font was lost in World War II; The sources do not reveal whether it was melted down or damaged in the bombing.
Stained glass window
The lead glass windows in the nave originally showed various German saints and scenes from the life of Mary in the Marienkapelle and in the choir room. Symbols from the Lauretan litany were inserted into the tracery rosettes . However, these windows were lost to destruction in World War II after the bombing raid on September 28, 1944 destroyed all windows. This hard blow from the British Royal Air Force devastated the west and north-west of the city. Emergency glazing was carried out in the Marienkirche.
The windows that can be seen today in St. Mary's Church were completed in 1954. Pastor Engel commissioned the new windows from the Munich artist Wilhelm Pütz in 1952 . Pastor Engel contributed to the design and coloring, he also designed windows himself. In the years 1952–53 the side windows were installed first, then the windows in the choir were renewed in 1953–54. The three main windows in the choir contain scenes from the life of Mary. The headboards of the windows in the transept show the mystery of the Immaculate Conception or Mary as Mother of the Church . In the tracery rosettes of the nave, Marian symbols from the Bible and the Lauretan litany have again been designed. The tracery of the windows above the organ gallery shows motifs from church music. The remaining part of the nave window consists of ornamental glass.
Changes to the interior
The renovation in the years 1972 to 1973 served to redesign the interior after the liturgical reform and to stabilize the floors by inserting a concrete ceiling between the crypt and transept or choir. This measure was solemnly concluded with the consecration of the altar on September 8, 1973. The floor covering in the transept was adapted to that of the nave, as many of the panels were broken. Only in the choir and the side chapel have the tile patterns been preserved.
Between 1952 and 1956 the sculptor Carl Caire from Kaiserslautern made the Stations of the Cross . The four full sculptures made of limewood for the side altars were made by Karl Baur (sculptor) from Munich in 1955 and are still attached to the transept wall today, but the side altars themselves were dismantled after the liturgical reform. The sculptures show the Holy Family, a representation of the Sacred Heart , St. Pius X and St. Aloisius von Gonzaga .
Organ and church choir
An organ building association was founded as early as 1891, but a harmonium was initially used when the church was inaugurated. The organ building fund raised the cost of 20,000 Reichsmarks until 1902, and the Bonn company Johannes Klais was commissioned to build a romantic organ . In 1904 the prospectus was finished, the entire construction then took place by February 1905. On February 26, 1905 the organ consecration took place.
In 1917, the tin prospect pipes were confiscated for war purposes and temporarily replaced by zinc pipes. Fortunately, the organ was not damaged by the air raids of World War II. In 1994 the listed instrument was renovated with the help of the newly founded organ building association and with subsidies from the diocese , after the increasing air pollution in the area around the church, caused by the increasing traffic in the Königsstraße, had corroded the wind supply. Therefore, the lead pipes that connect the organ pipes to the pneumatic console had to be cleaned and the leather bellows replaced. The organ prospectus was again equipped with new tin pipes donated by sponsors. Today the air for the organ's pneumatics is extracted from the interior and led outside.
The romantic Klais organ has 47 sounding stops on three manuals and a pedal . The actions are pneumatic. The high pressure registers in the swell system are a specialty. The instrument has the following disposition:
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Couple
- Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
- Super octave coupling: I / I, P / P
- Sub-octave coupling: II / I
The parish organist was head teacher Josef Depré from the inauguration of the church in 1893 until his death in 1954. In 1947 he was appointed church music director for his services .
Since the 100th anniversary of the large organ in 2005, the church has had a second, small organ that was built in 1986 by the Zimnol company. It has five stops on a manual with an attached pedal
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The church choir , founded on November 21, 1893, was directed by Bittlinger until 1937, his successor was Gregor Sand. 1946–1950 the musician Emmerich Smola worked as a choirmaster in St. Maria, who also founded the music school in Kaiserslautern and worked for the radio. His brother Alfred Smola took over the choir until 1952, and Franz Zöller until 1957. Organist Raimund Mattern has led the church choir since 1958 and was appointed church music director in 1978. The choir has performed an Advent concert every year since the early 1970s. In 1995 Mattern retired, and the church musician Siegmar Junker took over the position of organist and choir director.
Maximilian Rajczyk has been organist and choirmaster at the Marienkirche since 2019. He is responsible for training at the branch of the Episcopal Church Music Institute of the Diocese of Speyer and artistic director of the Junge Kantorei St. Maria, which was founded in 1995 and currently has around 140 members between the ages of 3 and 21 years. As Dean's Cantor, he also looks after the part-time organists and choir directors of the Kaiserslautern Dean's Office.
Tower and bell
The tower of the Marienkirche is with 92.5 m the second highest church tower in the Palatinate. (The highest church tower in the Palatinate is in Speyer; the tower of the Memorial Church is 100 m high, 7.5 m more than the tower of the Marienkirche.) See also the list of the tallest sacred buildings . The tower of the Marienkirche is also 8.5 m higher than the town hall and thus the tallest building in the Kaiserslautern city center. As the center of Königsstrasse, it stands out as a landmark. In the first years of the 21st century the tower was renovated, stabilized and its black discoloration was removed.
The first four bells were made by J. Gg. Pfeiffer made in Kaiserslautern. Initially only two small bells were purchased, the Marienglocke and the Magdalenenglocke. In 1904, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria donated two more bells, the Sacred Heart Bell and the Joseph Bell. The two old bells were then poured over and their pitch matched the new ringing. The solemn consecration of the bells took place on July 17, 1904. The chimes had the notes h ° - dis' - f sharp '- g sharp'.
During the First World War , the three largest bells were melted down for war purposes, only the Marienbell remained. The tin pipes in the organ prospectus were also confiscated, and in 1920 they were replaced by zinc pipes painted in silver .
The bell was completed again in 1921 and matched to the bell of the neighboring Evangelical Apostle Church .
During the Second World War, the three largest bells had to be returned for war purposes. It was not until 1952 that they were replaced by six new bells from the bell foundry Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock in Gescher (Westphalia). The new chime has the tones b ° - des' - es' - f '- as' - b'. The bells were consecrated on September 7, 1952 by Vicar General Haußner.
On December 9, 2010, after a construction inspection, it was found that the tower of St. Mary's Church was in danger of collapsing from a height of 60 meters. Marienplatz and the parking lot on it had to be closed, the rotten beams inside the church tower had to be propped up and replaced. Renovation work in this area was initiated on December 16, 2010. All church activities, church services and upcoming Christmas concerts had to be completed by at least 23.12. canceled.
Today's church life
In the Marienkirche there are usually two services on weekends and three services during the week. Full-time employees of the parish community (St. Maria, St. Konrad, Heilig Kreuz, St. Theresia, St. Rochus Hohenecken, St. Peter and Paul Dansenberg) are a pastor, a cooperator, two deacons, a pastoral officer and a parish officer, who are supported by volunteer workers are supported.
The parsonage with parish office was built at the same time as the church and is opposite on Marienplatz. The parish hall was built in 1986 and inaugurated on December 13, 1987. The community includes various youth, women and men groups, some of which are supported by the Kolping Family , as well as a house group , a prayer group and a church choir . The parish also hosts the Kolping Youth and the branch of the Episcopal Church Music Institute of the Diocese of Speyer . The parish, together with the Evangelical Apostle Church and the local editorial office of the newspaper Die Rheinpfalz, is the initiator and sponsor of the " old-poor-alone " campaign to care for lonely and impoverished senior citizens in the city area. The campaign is now secured for the long term by a registered association , every year in Advent a new fundraising campaign is launched. In the first 10 years of its existence (2006/07), over 1.6 million euros were collected for the benefit of the campaign. In addition, the association “Mothers in Need” is active within the parish, collecting money and donations in kind for women in need due to pregnancy and distributing them through the Caritas advice center.
In 2007 a support association was founded to collect donations for the urgently needed renovation work.
literature
- 100 years Marienkirche Kaiserslautern 1892–1992, commemorative publication
Web links
- Internet presence of all parishes in Kaiserslautern
- Parish website
- Tower recording of the full bells in the Catholic parish church of St. Maria in Kaiserslautern
Individual evidence
- ↑ Festschrift 100 years Marienkirche Kaiserslautern 1892-1992
- ↑ http://www.klais.de/m.php?tx=74
- ↑ Rheinpfalz Kaiserslautern: New Dean of the Dean: Maximilian Rajczyk. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Rheinpfalz of January 25, 2007
- ↑ Rheinpfalz of December 16, 2010
- ↑ Rheinpfalz, September 8, 2007