St. Catherine Cathedral (Utrecht)
The St. Catherine's Cathedral ( ndl. Sint-Catharinakathedraal , mostly simply Catharijnekerk , "Katharinenkirche") in Utrecht is the episcopal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht .
At the beginning of 2019, the Archdiocese of Utrecht decided to close Catherine's Cathedral and look for another bishopric, be it in a parish church in Utrecht or in Apeldoorn . In view of widespread opposition, Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk suspended this decision on March 2, 2019.
History and architecture
The church with the patronage of St. Catherine of Alexandria was originally a monastery church of the Carmelites and later the Johanniter . It was completed in 1560 in the late Gothic transition style as a three-aisled basilica with a transept.
The convent buildings have largely been preserved and house a museum for Dutch church history.
Just twenty years after its completion, the Katharinenkirche was profaned as a result of the Reformation and then served various purposes. From 1636 it was used again as a Reformed Church for worship. During this time, famous Utrecht people such as the Calvinist theologian Gisbert Voetius and the painters Abraham Bloemaert and Gerrit van Honthorst were buried in the church.
In 1795 the restrictions on Catholic worship in the Netherlands were lifted and the Catholics of Utrecht looked for a suitable place of worship. In 1815 the Katharinenkirche was given to the Catholic Church, initially as a garrison church , from 1842 as a parish church .
In 1853 the Roman Catholic hierarchy was restored for the Protestant parts of the Netherlands. As in the Middle Ages, Utrecht became the seat of a Catholic archbishop , and the Katharinenkirche became a cathedral.
In 1900 the nave was extended by one yoke to the west under the direction of Alfred Tepe . The new gable with Renaissance decorative forms is a copy of the original. At the same time, the 53 meter high tower was built based on the model of the Kampen town hall tower.
Furnishing
From 1859 the cathedral was given a neo-Gothic interior by Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg and his workshop . This was removed around 1960; after drawings by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam the equipment from 1636 was reconstructed. After the neo-Gothic gained new appreciation towards the end of the 20th century, several pieces from this period were brought back to the church, including Mengelberg's 14 Stations of the Cross from 1898.
Under the main altar is the shrine of the cathedral's second patron, St. Willibrord ; it was created in 1939.
organ
The organ above the main portal was built in 1903 by the Utrecht organ builder Michaël Maarschalkerweerd as a two-manual instrument with a pedal . In 1939 it was expanded to include a few stops and a third manual. A restoration took place in 1996.
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- Coupling : II / I, III / I (also as sub-octave coupling), III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
Web links
- Website of the cathedral (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Remco van Mulligen: Kathedraal van Eijk mogelijk naar Apeldoorn. De Catharinakathedraal in Utrecht moet tight. In: Nederlands Dagblad , January 9, 2019.
- ↑ Press release of the Archdiocese of Utrecht: Catharinakerk in Utrecht blijft kathedraal , March 2, 2019, accessed on March 4, 2019.
- ↑ More information about the organ (Dutch) ( Memento from September 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
Coordinates: 52 ° 5 '15.5 " N , 5 ° 7' 26.9" E