Süsterkirche
The Süsterkirche of the former Augustinian convent Mariental is today the parish church of the Evangelical Reformed community in the East Westphalian city of Bielefeld . It is located in the northern old town on Süsterplatz of the same name and thus in the Mitte district .
Building history and architecture
The construction of the church goes back to the foundation of the Mariental monastery by the Augustinian sisters in 1491. The “Süstern”, Low German for sisters, settled in Bielefeld's old town and built a plot of land with a church and some monastery buildings. The church was initially a single-nave, four-bay building in the late Gothic style with a polygonal choir. The windows show tracery forms from that time; the net vault in the church interior also fits this . The completion of the other buildings, the Süsterhaus and the Monastery of the Mariental, is estimated to be 1514, the year on one of the bells. Süsterplatz 2 remained of the monastery buildings . The square two-storey building with a gable roof was built between 1500 and 1600 and now serves as a rectory. In the 18th / 19th In the 19th century, it was thoroughly rebuilt while changing the original storey heights. The front gable facing the Süsterplatz was decorated in neo-Gothic forms.
In 1616 the monastery was taken over by the city of Bielefeld. After the Evangelical Reformed Congregation was founded in 1657, the church became the property of the congregation in 1671 as a gift from the Elector.
The urban environment had grown significantly in the 18th century, and the single-nave church also had to cope with an increasing number of parishioners. First the 28 meter high west tower was built in 1861 according to plans by Christian Heyden, and the entrance was relocated to the west. In 1892, the church was expanded in neo-Gothic shapes to include the choir and the transept , so that the cross-shaped floor plan of the church was created. The building also received heating and gas lighting.
For the first time with electric lighting, services could be celebrated in 1925; a few years later the church was redesigned.
During heavy bombing raids on Bielefeld in autumn 1944, 72% of the Süsterkiche was destroyed on September 30th, and the entire roof structure burned down. During the subsequent reconstruction, a new organ gallery was built. New church windows were installed in 1950/51. The last renovation for the time being took place in 1971 in the form of a new interior painting, a parquet floor and new church stalls.
Equipment elements
organ
The Kleuker organ purchased in 1971 replaced an organ made by E. F. Walcker & Cie. and has had twenty-five registers and 1654 pipes since 1987. It is already the fifth organ of the church, it has the following disposition:
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- Coupling : II / I, HW / P, BW / P
The church music accompaniment has been supplemented by a grand piano since 2004 .
Further inventory
Instead of a baptismal font, the church has a silver baptismal bowl, which it claims to be the most valuable possession of the community. The work, created between 1680 and 1690 by the Hanoverian court blacksmith, is decorated with two chubby, facing angel heads with thick hair. The two supper bread plates are equally remarkable. The Flemish altar table dates from the early 18th century.
The pulpit was assembled from old parts in 1891 and is decorated with some angel heads.
In line with the Reformed tradition of the community, there is no altar in the Süsterkiche. You also look in vain for a cross, flowers or candles. However, the choir is decorated with a large mosaic that the Bielefeld artist Georg Tuxhorn (1903–1941) made in the summer of 1929.
Two memorial plaques in the entrance area commemorate the fallen parishioners from the First and Second World War .
Bells
A total of three cast steel bells, cast in 1921 by the Lauchhammer foundry in Torgau, hang in the tower of the Süsterkirche. They have a complementary inscription.
| inscription | FROM SIN AND DEATH | OUT OF SHAME AND EMERGENCY | SAVE GOD |
| Diameter (mm) | 1434 | 1174 | 1003 |
| Weight (approx kg) | 1574 | 1000 | 677 |
| Chime | f '+ 9- | as' +9 | ces "+7 |
local community
The church belongs to the only Evangelical Reformed parish in Bielefeld. The parish, which has around 3,100 members, had 4,872 worshipers in 2004. The community collects voluntary church money to improve the financial situation. The congregation offers numerous groups and circles for all ages, such as a Bible discussion group, a crawling and scout group and a senior group.
See also
- List of architectural monuments in the Bielefeld-Mitte district
- List of religious buildings in Bielefeld
Web links
- History of the church on the website of the Evangelical Reformed Church Community of Bielefeld ( Memento from April 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
References
- ^ Florian Matzner, Ulrich Schulze: Baroque in Westphalia. Ardey-Verlag, Münster 1997, p. 48.
- ↑ Harald Propach: The bells of Bielefeld. Voice of the Church. Cultural asset and work of art. Bielefeld 2008, ISSN 1619-9022 , p. 148.
- ^ Reformiert-bi.de: Facts and Figures ( Memento from October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed April 23, 2007
Coordinates: 52 ° 1 ′ 21 ″ N , 8 ° 31 ′ 52 ″ E