St. Antonius Basilica (Rheine)

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St. Anthony's Basilica

The St. Antonius Basilica is a neo-Romanesque church building in Rheine - Eschendorf . The church was built between 1899 and 1905 in the style of a Romanesque imperial cathedral and consecrated to St. Anthony of Padua . It is located on the right of the Ems on Osnabrücker Straße and is the parish church of the Catholic parish of St. Antonius (also called parish on the right of the Ems ) in Rheine. The representative building with 650 seats, a total length of 90 meters and a maximum width of 39 meters is the largest church in the city and dominates the image of the district thanks to its imposing dimensions. The St. Antonius Basilica is considered to be one of the most elaborate and important church buildings of late historicism in Germany.

Building description

St. Antonius is a three-aisled basilica with a retracted, wooden flat ceiling, an east and a west transept, two crossing towers , four flank towers and two choirs . With the two side aisles and the main nave windows in the upper storey , it meets the architectural requirements for classification as a basilica . It is the work of the German-Dutch architect Franz Klomp .

Floor plan, St. Antonius Basilica, Rheine

The architect was largely based on the Hildesheim churches of St. Michael from the 11th century and St. Godehard from the 12th century. The west tower was designed based on the tower of Paderborn Cathedral . With a height of 102.5 meters, it is the highest church tower in the Münsterland and thus towers over the towers of St. Lamberti in Münster (90.5 meters), St. Nikomedes in Borghorst (99 meters), and the provost church of St. Ludgerus in Billerbeck (100 meters). At the four corners of the crossing tower there are three- dimensional representations of characters from the history of the Rhineland: Charlemagne , Bishop Ludwig II , Bishop Christoph Bernhard Graf von Galen and Johannes von Grüter, geographer in Rheine in the second half of the 15th century.

  • The eastern (and smaller) of the two crossing towers with one of the corner figures

  • Bishop Christoph Bernhard Graf von Galen

  • Johannes von Grüter

  • Bishop Ludwig II.

  • Charlemagne


Portal hall

The richly ornamented portal hall is in front of the west choir ; it resembles medieval portal buildings with the function of a legal place in every detail . In the interior of the basilica - in contrast to the imperial domes - the west choir does not appear. It houses the Baptistery / Antonius Chapel in the north and the sacristy in the south.

Furnishing

The predominantly white space is structured by the alternating red and gray arches between the parts of the room and above the columns. In the east choir, which is surrounded by an ambulatory , is the high altar , created between 1925 and 1929 in the workshop of Ferdinand Langenberg ( Goch ) based on a design by Joseph Windhosen. It is crowned with the image of the crucified, in the reredos below, four other biblical scenes from the Passion , up to the event of Pentecost . The central reredos represent the mercy seat ( God the Father , Son and the Holy Spirit ). Despite considerations after the Second Vatican Council , as in many other churches, to remove the high altar from its place and to place the picture panels elsewhere in the church, remained he in his place because of protests from the community.

The location of the side altars is a little strange; The Marien Altar stands on the eastern front of the southern aisle, which was traditionally reserved for men. Accordingly, on the opposite side in the north aisle (i.e. the original women's aisle ) is the rest of the Joseph altar. Another eye-catcher in the choir (and almost the only figural decoration on the walls of the interior of the church) is the image of Christ the King in the apse. Originally planned as a mosaic , a painting by the artist Peter Hecker from Cologne was created for cost reasons . However, he added a few pieces of the mosaic to his picture. In contrast to the outside, plastic architectural jewelry can only be found very rarely in the interior, e.g. B. in the form of angels in the spandrels of the choir arches.

  • Cross of the high altar (partial text: "King of kings, Lord of lords" according to 1 Timothy 6: 13-16 )

  • High altar retable with the Easter event (text: "On the third day rose from the dead" .)

  • Mercy seat at the high altar

  • Plastic wall decorations: angels in the choir

  • St. Antonius by Bernhard Meyering

  • Vespers by Heinrich (Enrico) Meyering

  • Typical glazing of the side aisles on the theme of the Holy Spirit (text: Guest of the soul from the Pentecost sequence )

  • Remainder of the Marian altar with the assistant figures of St. Elisabeth (left) and St. Ida (right)

Particularly noteworthy are the crypt (modeled after Roman catacombs) under the choir, designed by Friedrich Stummel and the baptistery in the west choir, painted by Karl Wenzel , a student of Stummel. In addition to a large room for church services, the crypt also houses the basilica museum with a large collection of old liturgical equipment and textiles as well as devotional objects , as well as a large number of documents on the architectural history of the church. In addition, the grave of the builder of the basilica, Dechant Pietz, can be found here, which (against his will) was secretly prepared by the builders in honor of the priest in “his” basilica here. The baptistery houses a baptismal font that rests on eight spherical feet and eight round arches. It is richly carved in relief and covered with a Byzantine bronze dome with eight corner towers. The basin was created in 1920 based on a design by the architect Josef Franke .

The construction of the basilica, with its cathedral-like dimensions, reflects the structural change that took place in the north of Münsterland at the end of the 19th century, when large industrial companies emerged in the formerly agricultural region and the old parish church of St. Dionysius was no longer sufficient. The motto of the builder dean Bernhard Pietz (1840–1915) has been handed down: "Up the chimneys - higher the church towers!" According to his idea, the church tower should be at least twice as high as the surrounding chimneys of the textile factories.

  • tower

  • Looking east

  • Baptistery

  • Baptismal font by Josef Franke

  • crypt

  • Choir organ in the ambulatory

Bells

After its consecration, the church had to wait 15 years for a bell that was appropriate for the size of the church. As a first provisional arrangement , in the year of consecration in 1904, the parish received a loan , consisting of three smaller bronze bells, from the bell foundry Petit & Edelbrock in Gescher . This bell was hung (also provisionally) in the stump of the still unfinished tower. In 1919 7 large bells were delivered, designed by the bell founder Heinrich Humpert from Brilon in Sauerland , made by the Buderus iron foundry in Wetzlar .

The aforementioned foundry already suggests a peculiarity: this bell (like the tower with its unique height in the region) is an exception in the region, as all seven bells are made of steel and for reasons of cost are not, as in all other places of worship in the Münsterland, made of bell bronze . The bell clappers are made of bronze to allow a pleasant and full sound. The bells with the names Aloysius, Agnes, Maria, Antonius, Franziskus Heinrich and Georg Franz-August are mostly named after their donors, mostly members of the wealthy textile dynasties of the city. Due to the turmoil of the First World War , the official consecration of the bells did not take place until 1921. Due to the unusual material combination of steel and bronze, the bell is of impressive power, fullness and homogeneity. The expected sharp sound of the steel was balanced by a particularly pure tone tuning.

During the Second World War , the bells were confiscated in many places and melted down for weapons production. This had already happened during the First World War with two of the three bronze bells of the provisional peal. Bell bronze could be used in the armaments industry, but steel was not. So the bells of the basilica stayed in the tower. The anecdote that for the National Socialists the tower was too high for the bells to be removed and therefore the bells were spared, belongs in the realm of legends. The bells are the only completely preserved original bell from the time before the Second World War in Rheine.

No.
  		Surname
  		Diameter
(mm) 		Mass
(kg, approx.) 		Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 )
1 Franz-August 2125 3960 a 0 +9
2 George 1790 2250 c 1 +8
3 Franz-Heinrich 1590 1660 d 1 +5
4th Antony 1400 1000 e 1 +4
5 Maria 1180 600 g 1 +5
6th Agnes 1050 450 a 1 -1
7th Aloysius 900 270 c 1 +9

organ

The lobback organ on the west gallery

In 1906 the church received a small organ on loan from the organ building company Anton Feith, which was placed on the ground floor in the ambulatory. The first large organ, an instrument made by the Eggert & Feith (Paderborn) organ building firm in 1908, had 44 registers . Because of the acoustically unfavorable position high up on the west gallery, it did not have a prospectus that would only have further dampened the sound.

In 1969 this organ was electrified by the Kreienbrink company from Osnabrück, a new console was installed and the front side redesigned. In addition, almost half of the registers were replaced. Ten years later, an appraisal revealed that further repairs to the organ would not be worthwhile. After a tender for a new instrument, the organ builder G. Christian Lobback (Neuendeich) was commissioned with the new construction.

This new organ was completed in 1984 and, like its predecessor, was placed on the west gallery. The instrument has 54 registers and loop windchests . The key action is mechanical, the key action electrically.

I Positive C – a 3
1. Principal 8th'
2. Dumped 8th'
3. Quintad 8th'
4th Principal 4 ′
5. Dolce 4 ′
6th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
7th Schwegel 2 ′
8th. Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
9. Sharp IV 1'
10. Cor anglais 16 ′
11. Cromorne 8th'
Tremulant
II main work C – a 3
12. Pommer 16 ′
13. Double principal 8th'
14th Reed flute 8th'
15th Gamba 8th'
16. octave 4 ′
17th Night horn 4 ′
18th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
19th Principal 2 ′
20th Grand Cornet V 8th'
21st Mixture VI 2 ′
22nd Zimbel III 1 ⁄ 2 ′
23. Trumpet 16 ′
24. Trumpet 8th'
25th Clarine 4 ′
III Swell C – a 3
26th Drone 16 ′
27. Flûte harmonique 8th'
28. Salicional 8th'
29 Beat 8th'
30th Violin principal 8th'
31. Principal 4 ′
32. Reed flute 4 ′
33. Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
34. Flageolet 2 ′
35. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
36. Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
37. Seventh 1 1 ⁄ 7  ′
38. octave 1'
39. Fittings V. 2 ′
40. Bombard 16 ′
41. Hautbois 8th'
42. Clairon 4 ′
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
43. Principal 16 ′
44. Sub-bass 16 ′
45. Fifth 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
46. octave 8th'
47. Beard pipe 8th'
48. Chorale bass 4 ′
49. Pointed flute 4 ′
50. traverse 2 ′
51. Backset VI 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
52. trombone 16 ′
53. Trumpet 8th'
54. zinc 4 ′

crib

The holy family

The large nativity scene in the basilica, which has been set up annually in the crypt since 1981 and can be visited from December 24th ( Christmas Eve ) until the end of January, achieved national fame . In several scenes with more than one hundred figures, the nativity scene not only depicts the birth of Christ, but e.g. B. also the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary, St. John as a caller in the desert, the Three Kings on their journey to Bethlehem and many other secondary scenes. This is done with partly historical figures from the 19th century, set in scene with wide views, artificial rock formations and partly "pettable" sheep. A reference to Jesus' death on the cross is always part of the manger. A team of several employees starts every year at the beginning of November with the preparations such as maintenance and repair of the figures in order to be able to offer the visitors an extensive "nativity scene" just in time for Christmas. For interested groups, especially for children, guided tours are offered, which are very popular. It is always pointed out that the makers of the nativity scene are not interested in the folkloric aspects of the Christmas story, but in a well-founded and vivid way of preaching the Gospel .

  • The three kings on their way to the manger.

  • Core scene with the cross in the background.

  • The shepherd's camp with the angel of the Annunciation (in the foreground the 'petting sheep').

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Franz Greiwe: Rheine - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Edition 1/2004
  2. ^ Rheine, Die Kunst- und Kulturdenkmäler, Part I. Tecklenborg Verlag, 2003.
  3. ↑ Bruno König: Rheine yesterday - today - tomorrow. Issue 1/1979
  4. ^ Johannes Bernard: Friedel Theismann shows Kreuzkeller in Rheine . In: Kirche + Leben , April 21, 2019, p. 13.
  5. ^ Ingrid Reuter: Baptismal font in St. Antonius of Padua. In: Architektur-Kolloquium Bochum (Hrsg.): Josef Franke. Buildings in Rheine. Rheine 2001, p. 12f.
  6. ↑ St. Antonius Basilica, Rheine , Citymap Steinfurt. Retrieved September 5, 2010
  7. ↑ Rheine.de , accessed September 10, 2010
  8. ^ Rudolph Breuing: Rheine; The art and cultural monuments in Rheine: Part I: The church monuments. Tecklenborg Verlag, 2003, pp. 290ff
  9. ↑ Klaus Dierkes: A very special chime: The steel bells of the St. Antonius Basilica in Padua will be 100 years old this year In: Münsterländische Volkszeitung, edition of April 19, 2019
  10. ↑ Video / sound recording of the ringing, with further information about the bells
  11. ^ Rudolf Breuing: The art and cultural monuments in Rheine, Part I: The church monuments.
  12. ↑ Organ ( Memento of the original from August 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Website of the builder company) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lobback-orgel.de
  13. ↑ https://www.sankt-antonius-rheine.de/die-krippe-in-der-basilika
  14. ↑ https://www.wn.de/Muensterland/Kreis-Steinfurt/Steinfurt/2016/12/2640988-Friedel-Theismann-baut-die-Krippe-in-der-St.Antonius-Basilika-auf-Keine-Erfindung -of the advertisement

Web links

Commons : St. Anthony's Basilica  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 16 ′ 55.5 "  N , 7 ° 26 ′ 57.6"  E