New Apostolic Church Heilbronn
The New Apostolic Church at Pfühlstraße 6 in Heilbronn is a historic church building that was built in 1932, destroyed in World War II in 1944 and then rebuilt. The church was given its present form through extensive renovations in 1983/85. The parish initially comprised Heilbronn and the surrounding area, but today it is limited to parts of the city due to the establishment of subsidiary parishes.
history
A New Apostolic congregation was formed in Heilbronn in the summer of 1901 when two young men from Stuttgart who belonged to this faith, Otto Metzger and Max Csechtinsky, held their first evangelistic evenings at Dammstrasse 46 . On December 8, 1901, a New Apostolic Last Supper service was celebrated in Heilbronn for the first time . The community quickly gained popularity and in 1902 moved into a larger room in the basement of the Mönchseestrasse 2 building and in 1903 the adjoining room of the inn at Gutenberg on the corner of Oststrasse and Wollhausstrasse. In the same year the congregation then moved to Stähles Säle at Sülmerstraße 15. In the autumn of 1903 Otto Metzger was ordained a priest and chairman of the congregation. A little later the community moved into a room at Karmeliterstraße 34a, in the so-called Nehr'schen property , which the community soon acquired in its entirety and rebuilt several times. The congregation built its first church at Pfühlstrasse 8. This church offered 500 parishioners space and was consecrated on May 14, 1922.
As the congregation continued to grow, the first church became too small for the congregation within a few years, so the decision was made to build a new building on the neighboring plot of land on Pfühlstrasse 6. The new building corresponded to the clear design language of the time and caused a sensation in the public and in specialist circles. The church had room for 1200 people and was consecrated on March 6, 1932. The time of National Socialism then brought some restrictions for the up-and-coming church, since missionary work was forbidden at that time. During the air raid on Heilbronn on December 4, 1944, the church and the entire Heilbronn city center were destroyed. Many believers died in an air raid or during war missions or fled the war-torn city, so that only a small number of parishioners were left at the end of the war.
After the end of the war, the remaining parishioners first gathered in a room at Sontheimer Strasse 5, then the anteroom of the destroyed church was restored as a provisional church service room and the entire church was rebuilt in roughly its old cubature by 1949. The church was rededicated on April 30, 1949. At the beginning of the 1950s the community again had well over 1,000 members.
In 1965 the church was extensively renovated, with the structural damage caused by the shortage economy in the post-war years being repaired and the main entrance being relocated to the street side.
In the years from 1983 to 1985, a major renovation of the church followed, in which the courtyard was built over in favor of a large foyer and some useful rooms, the gallery was enlarged and the characteristic window front was created on the street side. The renovation was completed on May 19, 1985.
Mother Church for daughter congregations
The New Apostolic Church in Pfühlstrasse initially served as a church for New Apostolic Christians from the near and far area. In order to shorten the way for the believers to the church services, separate communities were founded in the surrounding area (Öhringen, Schwäbisch Hall, Crailsheim) over time.
Since the size of the community within the city of Heilbronn has increased steadily over a long period of time, further communities were also founded within the city:
- Heilbronn-Böckingen: independent parish from 1923, first church building from 1949 in Keilstraße, new construction of a church building in 1964/66 in Kastellstraße 49.
- Heilbronn-Neckargartach: independent parish from 1923, own church building from 1951 at Römerstraße 73 (today secularized and converted into a residential building).
- Heilbronn-Horkheim: independent parish from 1929, own church building since 1952 in Talheimer Straße.
- Heilbronn-Frankenbach: independent parish from 1937, own church building since 1963 in Aachener Straße.
- Heilbronn-Klingenberg: independent municipality 1948 to 2004, then merged with Nordheim. The church building at Heilbronner Strasse 36 (later Theodor-Heuss-Str.) Was used from 1959 to 2004 and then decommissioned (meanwhile converted into a residential building).
- Heilbronn-Süd: Independent municipality from 1952 to 2010, then merged with Horkheim. The church building at Wielandweg 11 was used from 1960 to 2010 and then de-dedicated.
- Heilbronn-Biberach: the believers there with the previous town of Bad Rappenau-Bonfeld in 1982 and renamed the church in Heilbronn-Biberach, from 1981 temporarily use of the former sports home today secularized and again in Biberach as a church (Association as a clubhouse of the Hells Angels used ).
literature
- New Apostolic Church Baden-Württemberg (Ed.): 100 Years of the New Apostolic Church in Heilbronn , Heilbronn 2001
Individual evidence
- ↑ NAK Stuttgart, review 2004
- ↑ Closing and integration service in Heilbronn-Süd on August 5, 2010, on cms.nak-hn.de
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 8 ′ 41.6 ″ N , 9 ° 13 ′ 51.4 ″ E