St. Augustine (Cloppenburg)
The St. Augustine Church in Cloppenburg is a Catholic church and part of the St. Andreas parish. It was built from 1958 to 1959. The simple brick building with a short nave , transept arms of equal length and a wide semicircular apse in the south has a mighty, square bell tower in the north-west corner, which offers space for five bells. But there are currently only four bells in the bell cage.
Naming
The holy bishop Augustine is the namesake of the Augustine Church. Already when planning the church he was chosen as patron, because as an important doctor of the church he symbolizes a connection between church and school, between faith and education. The neighboring Clemens-August-Gymnasium also has St. Augustine as its patron saint , in addition to its namesake .
Building history
The construction of the third Catholic church in Cloppenburg after the St. Andrew's Church and the St. Joseph's Church became necessary due to the rapid population increase due to the expulsion from the east after the Second World War . Ludger Sunder-Plassmann from Cloppenburg received the order for the planning. The church was completed in one year from 1958 to 1959. From the outside it should resemble a "heavenly castle". The foundation stone was laid on October 28, 1958 and blessed by official Heinrich Grafenhorst . At the beginning of 1959, the construction work was interrupted due to severe frost. On March 5, 1959, a simple but worthy topping-out ceremony was celebrated in Bahnhofsstraße.
Design of the interior
The interior was designed primarily by the well-known sculptor Paul Dierkes .
Dierkes not only created the impressive altar cross, which was replaced in 1996, but also the wooden relief Mary and Child , the mahogany Way of the Cross in 14 stations, the wooden figure of St. Joseph and the stone sculpture of St. Augustine, who stands today in the forecourt of the church. In addition, the bronze sculptures of the twelve apostles and the wooden angel sculpture have adorned the Augustine Church since 1991 . The works of Paul Dierkes were supplemented by the ambo (1983) and the Apostle chandelier , all created by master goldsmith Herbert Feldkamp from Cloppenburg, as well as the bronze Easter chandelier , made in the workshop of the sculptor Joseph Krautwald from Rheine . In 2000 the artist Leonhard Klosa from Varrelbusch created the life-size bronze sculpture of St. Augustine and in 2004 a Mary with the young Jesus . The glass windows were based on a design by Manfred Espeter from Münster . The interior should be a place of silence. In 1968 the church received a new organ with 23 registers after the simple electronic organ no longer met the requirements.
Peal
The bell tower of the Augustine Church is equipped with four bells. They hang on a wooden frame on the third floor of the tower and are controlled by an automatic bell. All bells are made of bronze and cost 25,813.75 DM when they were purchased.
Bell 1
On June 2, 1960, the Whitsun festival , the first bell was solemnly consecrated by official Heinrich Grafenhorst. It weighs approx. 860 kg, has a diameter of 1.11 m and is tuned to the F sharp . She bears the name Augustine . Bell 2
The second Elisabeth bell was consecrated on August 15, 1961, the feast of the Assumption of Mary , by Dean Joseph Meyer. It weighs approx. 600 kg, has a diameter of 0.98 m and is tuned to the G sharp.
Bell 3
The Monika bell , also consecrated on August 15, 1961, weighs approx. 400 kg, has a diameter of 0.86 m and is tuned to the tone A sharp .
Bell 4
The Bernhard bell , which is tuned to the tone Dis , was consecrated in time on April 15, 1962 for the upcoming Easter festival by Dean Joseph Meyer. It is 1.32 m in diameter and weighs 1,500 kg.
Bell 5
The fifth bell, which should contribute to the full 5-part ringing, is still missing today. It should be tuned to the tone C sharp , weigh approx. 2,150 kg and have a diameter of 1.50 m; it would be the largest bell in the church.
Parish
The parish of St. Augustine was a parish rectorate from 1959 and became an independent parish in 1964. In 2010 the town of St. Andreas was re-established, in which the previous parishes of St. Andreas, St. Augustinus, St. Bernhard and St. Josef were combined.
literature
- Richard Haker, St. Augustinus Cloppenburg, in: Stadt Cloppenburg (ed.). Contributions to the history of the city of Cloppenburg, Vol. 2, Cloppenburg 1988
- Klaus Deux, 50 years St. Augustinus Cloppenburg 1959 - 2009 p. 335-342, p. 91, p. 61-79, p. 129-131 Cloppenburg
Web links
- St. Andreas Cloppenburg - St. Augustine parish
- Official district of Oldenburg - St. Augustine Church
Coordinates: 52 ° 50 '38.9 " N , 8 ° 3' 12.1" E