Reformed Church Altena

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The reformed church in Altena
Reformed Church, tower view

The Reformed Church is a listed church building in Altena in the Märkisches Kreis ( North Rhine-Westphalia ).

History and architecture

Old church

The former Katharinenkirche , also called the old town church, was finally passed on to the Lutherans in 1624. The Reformed congregation often brought Reformed pastors to the town on high holidays, and services were held in private homes. According to tradition, church services were also often held in a small vaulted room in Holtzbrinck Castle , the small chamber. After a while, the small communion society felt like an independent congregation and was looking for a suitable place of worship. The chapel pension and donations formed the major part of the parish income. Since the Lutherans wanted to thwart the purchase of a house, a house across from Holtzbrinck Castle was acquired through a straw man. The Lutherans litigated the purchase for several years, but were unsuccessful. This house, which was acquired in 1667, was thoroughly renovated in 1683 and 1724; it remained a church of the Reformed community until 1907.

During paving work from 1802 to 1803, the building was damaged by a severe crack, which meant that the church door could no longer be closed. It was threatened with collapse, and in 1808 the French government granted 46 thalers for the repair work.

The industry in the area experienced a great boom in the last quarter of the 19th century, with many workers from Siegerland and Hesse moving there. The congregation now had around 1,800 parishioners. The structural condition of the church was no longer good and the building was too small; In 1901 it was decided to build a new church. The last service in the old church took place on March 17, 1907, the demolition began the next day.

New Church

The neo-Romanesque building made of quarry stone was built over the basic shape of a Greek cross. The architect Schwalfenberg created the construction plans, Heinrich Hutze was in charge of construction from 1907 to 1908. The construction costs were estimated at 84,000 marks, they were financed by church collections, loans in the province of Westphalia and a gift of grace from Kaiser Wilhelm . The foundation stone was laid on June 30, 1907, and is visible behind the pulpit.

The neo-Romanesque hall church closes in the east, and an Art Nouveau chandelier hangs down from the central vault. There is space for around 450 people in the building, and the foundations for the installation of side galleries have been prepared. The west facade is symmetrically structured by two semicircular stair towers and in the basement by the community hall. The bell tower on the side can be entered through a portal.

Furnishing

The interior is mostly from the construction period.

  • A church clock with a bell hung under the gable roof of the previous church. There were no other bells in the building as there was no tower.
  • For the inauguration of the church on November 15, 1908, Empress Auguste Viktoria donated a silver studded Bible with a personal dedication.

organ

The baroque organ front from 1737 is labeled Theodorus Kohl, it comes from the previous building. A teacher at the comprehensive school was also an organist. The instrument was possibly built by father and son Kleine, who also built the organ in the Luther Church (1763–66). The inscription "1838 - Emil Hammer - Hanover" is on the console . In 1976 the organ was renewed by the Hammer company, but the prospectus was retained. Apparently the console was moved to the front of the organ, which is still on the left in an old photo in Hannalore Reuter's book. Sub-bass 16 'and principal bass 8' of another predecessor organ by Ibach from Barmen also remained in the pedal. The keyboard has black wooden keys and white half-tone keys. The register and game action is mechanical. Hauptwerk, Schwellwerk and pedal with swell step and coupling as footsteps. After the church was closed and merged with the Luther parish, the organ was sold to a parish in Krakow.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
01. Principal 08th'
02. Reed flute 08th'
03. Gemshorn 04 ′
04th Nazard 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
05. octave 02 ′
06th Mixture IV
Tremulant
II Swell C – g 3
07th Wooden dacked 08th'
08th. Principal 04 ′
09. Forest flute 02 ′
10. third 01 3 ⁄ 5  ′
11. Fifth 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
12. Scharff III
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
13. Sub-bass 16 ′
14th Principal 08th'
15th recorder 04 ′
16. bassoon 16 ′

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prehistory
  2. ↑ Decision to build a new building
  3. ↑ architect
  4. ↑ Dehio, Georg , under the scientific direction of Ursula Quednau: Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. North Rhine-Westphalia II Westphalia . Deutscher Kunstverlag , Berlin / Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-422-03114-2 , page 9
  5. ↑ Dehio, Georg , under the scientific direction of Ursula Quednau: Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. North Rhine-Westphalia II Westphalia . Deutscher Kunstverlag , Berlin / Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-422-03114-2 , page 9
  6. ↑ Gocke
  7. ↑ Dehio, Georg , under the scientific direction of Ursula Quednau: Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. North Rhine-Westphalia II Westphalia . Deutscher Kunstverlag , Berlin / Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-422-03114-2 , page 9
  8. ↑ Hannalore Reuter: Historical organs in Westphalia-Lippe. Ardey-Verlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 978-3-87023-245-0 , p. 16.
  9. ↑ http://www.altena.ekvw.de/ueber-uns/kirchen/ref-kirche/
  10. ↑ Oral information from Luther Cantor Köstlin June 2016.