St. Bernward (Hildesheim)
St. Bernward is a Catholic church in downtown Hildesheim . It is named after St. Bernward (* around 960, † 1022), who was Bishop of Hildesheim from 993-1022 and is one of the most important bishops of the Diocese of Hildesheim .
location
St. Bernward rises in the northern part of downtown Hildesheim at Linkstrasse 19, corner of Bischof-Janssen-Strasse.
history
The strong growth in the population in Hildesheim during the founding period also made it necessary to build additional church buildings. As early as 1896, Bishop Wilhelm Sommerwerck reserved the sum of 35,000 marks that he had been given on the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest for the construction of a St. Bernward Church in Hildesheim - around a third of the subsequent construction costs.
St. Bernward was built in 1905-07 according to plans by cathedral builder Richard Herzig (1851-1934), who at the same time built St. Elisabeth in the east of the city . According to Herzig's plans, 43 churches were built in the Diocese of Hildesheim between 1885 and 1913. The consecration of the style of Romanesque Revival church built building took place on November 3, 1907 Bishop Adolf Bertram . On September 1, 1917, the establishment of the parish of St. Bernward followed.
During an air raid on Hildesheim on February 22, 1945, St. Bernward was badly damaged: the vault of the western aisle, all windows and the roof were destroyed. The church had to be closed because of the risk of collapse. On March 22, 1945, St. Bernward was hit again by high explosive and incendiary bombs during the heaviest air raid on Hildesheim and now completely destroyed, only the surrounding walls and part of the tower remained.
Reconstruction began in November 1948, and the church could be used again from August 15, 1949. The church council and congregation acted against the diocese leadership's plans, because St. Bernward had lost most of its parish area due to the construction of St. Johannes Evangelist in the northern part of the city and, on the other hand, is very close to the historically important Catholic churches in the city center. St. Bernward was the first of the destroyed Catholic churches in Hildesheim that could be used again for worship. The new consecration was carried out by Bishop Joseph Godehard Machens .
From August 1, 2004, the church belonged to the parish " Zum Heiligen Kreuz ", the St. Bernward parish was dissolved in this context. Since November 1, 2014, the St. Bernward Church has belonged to the parish " St. Godehard ".
architecture
The Romanesque western part of St. Andreas and the westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral served as models for the construction of the church from natural stone blocks in 1905–07 and for the reconstruction in 1948/49 . At the time the Bernward Church was built, it still had its neo-Romanesque double tower front. Only since the reconstruction Hildesheim has two very similar churches in close proximity.
In contrast to the medieval churches of Hildesheim, St. Bernward is not oriented to the east due to the layout of the elongated property: the choir and altar are to the north.
Furnishing
St. Bernward houses an important medieval altarpiece . It comes from the Hildesheim Trinitatis Hospital and was created in 1430. In a simple garment , it shows carved full sculptures of various saints. The center is a depiction of the coronation of Mary by Christ.
See also
literature
- Willi Stoffers: Diocese of Hildesheim today. Hildesheim 1987, ISBN 3-87065-418-X , p. 14
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hans Freter: Treasury Hildesheim , p. 49. Hildesheim 1993.
Coordinates: 52 ° 9 ′ 25 ″ N , 9 ° 56 ′ 57 ″ E