Martinikerk (Venlo)
The Martinikerk , dedicated to Saint Martin , is a Roman Catholic church in the center of the Dutch city of Venlo .
history
Around the year 1000 a Romanesque church replaced a wooden predecessor of the Martinikerk. This was replaced in 1410 by a three-aisled Gothic hall church, which was consecrated in 1430 and still exists today.
In 1480 the church was given a 90 meter high tower, but it collapsed in 1532 in a severe earthquake. A new building took place only in 1776 at a height of only 49 m with an onion hood.
In 1879, Pierre Cuypers changed the baroque tower in a historicist neo-Gothic style ; he added a floor to it and provided it with a spire and four corner pinnacles .
The church was badly damaged in the Second World War , and the Cuypers tower collapsed in 1945. In 1953, today's church tower was completed in simpler forms.
In 1959 a carillon with 53 bells was hung in the church tower, which is one of the largest in Europe.
In 2018 it was announced that the church would be raised to the status of a minor basilica .
Furnishing
The church contains a number of Gothic sculptures, for example a seated Madonna and Child (2nd half of the 15th century). Furthermore a Saint Martin on the horse at the moment of the coat division. This comes from Gregorius Schissler from the 1st half of the 17th century.
According to legend, the so-called “ Black Madonna of Venlo” - a not really black limestone Pietà around 1450 - came to Venlo from Liège on a coal ship stranded on the banks of the Meuse . The captain, who could no longer get his ship from the quay, discovered a portrait of Mary in the hold, which he wanted to throw overboard first, but his wife stopped him and convinced him to bring it to the Venloer Kreuzherren . But when he got back to his ship, he found the picture in the same place. This was repeated a few more times, until the captain understood that he had to dedicate a worthy procession to the Kreuzherrenkirche for the portrait. Only then could he continue his journey unhindered. The sculpture has been in the Martinikirche since 1814.
The Gothic choir stalls date from the 15th century.
The high altar, which has the life and passion of Christ as its theme, is a neo-Gothic winged altar (Josef Windhausen, 19th century).
In 1793 Bishop Philipp Damian von Hoensbroech (Roermond) was buried in the church choir ; the grave was rediscovered in 1945.
organ
The organ was built in 1952 by the organ building company Verschueren and has the following disposition .
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Web links
- Parish website (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deken tijdens nachtmis: Martinuskerk Venlo wordt basiliek. In: Nederlands Dagblad . De Persgroep Nederland , December 24, 2018, accessed December 25, 2018 (Dutch).
- ^ Dutch PDF document, p. 147
- ↑ More information about the organ and its disposition
Coordinates: 51 ° 22 ′ 15 ″ N , 6 ° 10 ′ 19 ″ E