Provost church of St. Gertrude of Brabant
The Provost Church of St. Gertrud von Brabant is a Catholic church in Wattenscheid , a district of Bochum ( North Rhine-Westphalia ).
History and architecture
The building is in the center of the town of Wattenscheid, which was independent until 1974. It was built on the foothills of a hill stretching from east to west, in a dominant position, as a fortified church . The facility was used as a refuge in times of need. Archaeological finds point to three church buildings that go back to the 9th century . According to tradition, the church goes back to the early days of Christianization . The patron saint is Gertrud von Nivelles . The first Carolingian church was built around 800. It was a flat, arched hall building with a width of 8 meters. It was probably one of the first parish churches on the Frankish-Saxon border after Christianization. The church must have had the right to baptize, and the remains of a very old well were found below the foundations of the tower. The building was demolished in the 12th century and replaced by a larger Romanesque basilica. This church, about 12 to 13 meters wide, was destroyed in a fire in 1435. An 18-meter-wide Gothic hall was built on the site. After a city fire in 1635, it was increased and after 1800 it was given a new roof in the shape of a donkey's back cross-section. The church was demolished because the number of parishioners had risen sharply, and replaced by the current one.
Today's church is a five-aisled church building in the neo-Gothic style . It was built between 1868 and 1872 according to the plans of the cathedral builder Arnold Güldenpfennig and thus belongs to the era of historicism . In front of the choir is a transept that is the same height as the nave, it is equipped with a multi-part ribbed vault. A few years after the construction of the building, severe damage that was attributed to mining became visible. In 1890 tie rods were installed criss-cross at the expense of the mine. During investigations from 1974 to 1975 it was found that not mining, but excessive soil loads, such as B. the tower increase and too small and bad foundations were responsible. In order to stop the tower from sinking continuously, strong foundation reinforcements were pressed in from 1976 to 1977.
Furnishing
- The stone baptismal font , which is over 1000 years old, represents the life of Jesus. It is carried by four lions.
Steeple
The church tower in Romanesque style was built in the 12th century, it has a height of 65 m. It is much older than today's church and Güldenpfennig included it in the building. The tower was used as a defense tower in earlier times. It was increased several times, the last time in 1895, and with the four framed gable triangles it was given an almost classicistic finish.
Bells
The bell of the Provost Church is the heaviest and most extensive bell in the city of Bochum.
| No. | Surname | Nominal | diameter | Weight | Casting year | Caster | material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suitbert | g sharp ° + 8 | 2,119 mm | 4,780 kg | 1948 | Bochum Association for
Cast steel manufacture |
Cast steel |
| 2 | Gertrud | h ° + 8 | 1,782 mm | 3,715 kg | |||
| 3 | ? | c sharp '+ 7 | 1,587 mm | 2,765 kg | |||
| 4th | c sharp '+ 6 | 1,470 mm | 1,940 kg | 1779 | Christian Voigt | bronze | |
| 5 | dis' | ? | ? | 1948 | Bochum Association for
Cast steel manufacture |
Cast steel | |
| 6th | f sharp '+ 7 | 1,189 mm | 1,220 kg | ||||
| 7th | g sharp '+ 9 | 1,059 mm | 912 kg | ||||
| 8th | large quarter bell | c '' | 920 mm | ? | 1898 | ||
| 9 | small quarter bell | e '' | 630 mm | ? | |||
| 10 | Roof bell | cis '' + 8 | 683 mm | 211 kg | 1994 | Petit & Edelbrock | bronze |
Source: Bell catalog of the Diocese of Essen.
literature
- Franz-Werner Bröker (with the collaboration of Ralph Eberhard Brachthäuser and Johannes Schnieders): Wattenscheid. About the history of the church and the city. 90 years Propsteikirche and its thousand-year-old baptismal font. Wattenscheid 1995.
- Manfred Mauring: Provost church St. Gertrud von Brabant, Bochum-Wattenscheid . In: Heinz Dohmen (ed.): Image of the sky. 1000 years of church building in the diocese of Essen . Verlag Hoppe and Werry, Mülheim an der Ruhr 1977, pp. 46-49.
- Eduard Schulte (edit.): Documents and files on the history of Wattenscheid , Vol. 1: The Propsteiarchiv Wattenscheid . Busch, Wattenscheid 1930.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gerhard Hoffs: Bell catalog of the diocese of Essen . Ed .: Diocese of Essen. Essen, S. 419 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 28 '50.3 " N , 7 ° 7' 56.7" E