Pauluskirche (Essen)

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Pauluskirche in Essen before 1902

The Pauluskirche in Essen's city ​​center was a Protestant church building built in the neo-Gothic style from 1866 to 1872 , which was destroyed in the Second World War and the remains of which were torn down in the 1950s.

history

prehistory

The Protestant community of Essen used the market church since 1563 . However, due to heavy immigration of workers, their premises were no longer sufficient for the up-and-coming coal mining industry and the expanding Krupp cast steel factory during the period of industrialization in the Ruhr area . In 1863, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the introduction of the Reformation in Essen, it was decided to build the Pauluskirche as the second Protestant church, followed in 1896 by the Kreuzeskirche as the third church.

construction time

In the architecture competition held in 1864 for the new construction of the evangelical Pauluskirche with rectory, whose judges included the architect Conrad Wilhelm Hase and the Cologne cathedral builder Richard Voigtel , the design by the Essen architect Julius Flügge emerged as the winner in 1865 .

The laying of the foundation stone for the brick building took place on April 26, 1866. The construction costs were initially estimated at 85,000  thalers , but ultimately came to around 144,000 thalers. Since the construction took place at the time of two German Wars of Unification , the German War in 1866 and the Franco-German War from 1870 to 1871 , construction had to be interrupted several times. Most of the work was carried out by the large company Funke & Schürenberg . In 1871, the St. Paul's Church, which had about 1,500 seats, was finally completed, so that the inauguration followed on February 28, 1872.

particularities

Interior of the Pauluskirche before 1902

A statue of the Apostle Paul by G. A. Waldthausen was placed  above the portal of the Pauluskirche . The bells were donated by the industrialist and entrepreneur Friedrich Grillo and his wife, and the altar by the Association of Women and Virgins. Furthermore, families from Essen donated the silver altarpieces and the church windows.

Due to the coal mining in Essen, the construction of the church suffered mining damage from the start . Repairs from 1878 did not withstand the ongoing ground movement. The architects Julius Flügge and Carl Nordmann, who were commissioned to do this, spoke out in a report dated March 31, 1892 for immediate and comprehensive repairs. This work took place in the years 1894/95, which in addition to the church itself also included the interior decoration. This work cost around 20,000 marks .

The Protestant community of Essen-Altstadt granted the Old Catholic community the joint use of the Pauluskirche as a place of worship from November 1873 to 1876. After the dilapidated Church of St. Johann Baptist was temporarily closed in April 1882, the Old Catholics were again granted hospitality rights in the Paulus Church until November 1887. In 1916, the Old Catholic Church of Peace, its own church building, was completed in Essen.

On September 2, 1877, Kaiser Wilhelm II took part in a service in the Pauluskirche.

Gustav Heinemann was one of the presbyters of the Paulus community until the presbytery was dissolved by the National Socialists in 1934 .

Destruction in World War II

In 1943 and 1944, the Allied air raids destroyed the Pauluskirche except for the tower, the remains of the nave were demolished in 1953 and the tower was blown up on September 21, 1958.

On the site of the Pauluskirche, the house of the Evangelical Church was built from 1962 to 1965 , which was converted into a commercial building, the so-called Kennedy Tower , in 2008/2009 . Between 1957 and 1959, the New Paulus Church in Essen- Huttrop was built to replace the Pauluskirche in the city center .

literature

  • Werner Franzen: Worship sites in transition. Protestant church building in the Rhineland 1860–1914 . Dissertation University of Duisburg 2002, part 3, pp. 103-104 ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Announcement: Draft for a new church and parish apartment in Essen . In: Journal of the Architects and Engineers Association for the Kingdom of Hanover 11, 1865, p. 127 ( digitized version ).
  2. ↑ a b c d Tony 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.
  3. ↑ www.alt-katholisch.de ; Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  4. ^ Hermann Vinke : Gustav Heinemann . Lamuv-Verlag, Bornheim-Merten 1986, ISBN 3-88977-046-0 , p. 42.
  5. ↑ picture of the demolition of the tower ; Retrieved September 5, 2015, offline.
  6. ^ Pauluskirche: Entry in the list of monuments of the city of Essen ; accessed on February 22, 2020.
  7. ^ New Pauluskirche: Entry in the list of monuments of the city of Essen ; accessed on February 22, 2020.

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 19.8 ″  N , 7 ° 0 ′ 36 ″  E