St. Castor (Alsdorf)
St. Castor is the Roman Catholic parish church of the city of Alsdorf in the Aachen city region in North Rhine-Westphalia .
The church is dedicated to St. Castor consecrated by Karden . In addition to Alsdof-Mitte, the parish has since 2010 also included the subsidiary communities of St. Barbara / Ofden, Christ King / Busch, Herz-Jesu / Kellersberg, St. Josef / Alsdorf-Ost and St. Mariä Visitation / Schaufenberg.
history
Predecessor churches
Already in 1295 there was a church in Alsdorf. Alsdorf was probably already an independent parish at that time . Initially, the church was a single-nave hall church . Around 1480, the small church was extended by a north aisle to form a two-aisled complex in the Gothic style.
In 1861 the keystone of the choir vault loosened and fell, which led to a subsequent debate about a restoration of the church or a completely new building. In 1869 the old church was closed by the police due to the danger of collapse. Then a wooden emergency church was built. In 1878 the demolition permit was finally granted, which excepted the bell tower and the choir of the north aisle. But it was not until 1894 that the nave and the bell tower were finally laid down amid popular protests. Thus only the northern side choir remained, which is used today as a war memorial chapel.
At the end of the 1870s, construction began on a new parish church to replace the emergency church. The building site was opposite the old parish church on the street "An der Mariensäule". After the foundation walls had already been built, cracks suddenly appeared, which is why the construction work was stopped immediately. A new church was not possible on this property due to damage in the mountains . Now a new search for a suitable building site began, but the parish did not own any other land within the village. On May 17, 1882, Baron Karl von Blanckart donated part of the "Burgweide" that belonged to him to the parish. The only condition was that the construction of the church had to start within three years. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on May 16, 1885 , even before the Archbishop of Cologne received the building permit , which was only granted on December 17, 1886. The first mass in the new church could already be celebrated on January 17, 1887. The consecration finally took place on September 28, 1889 by the Cologne auxiliary bishop Antonius Fischer .
This building was a three-aisled, five-bay hall church in the neo-Gothic style with a three- story bell tower in front of it in the west and a one-bay choir with a three-sided choir closure in the east. The building plans came from the two Aachen architects Wilhelm Wickop and Eduard Linse . The special thing about the building was that it was not built entirely from bricks. Only the lower parts of the surrounding walls were made of solid bricks up to the window sills. The rest of the building consisted of half-timbering, which was clad with zinc plates. The branch turrets on the tower and nave were made of sheet metal. The reason for the half-timbered construction was that in the event of a massive brick building there was a risk of mountain damage. Thus the Alsdorf church was probably quite unique in the entire Rhineland . However, the design also had some disadvantages. It was very cold in winter and very warm inside the church in summer.
During the Second World War , the church building remained largely undamaged, but in the early 1960s it became too small for the rapidly growing congregation. Repairs have also become more and more expensive. So it was decided to demolish the church, which took place in October and November 1962.
Today's church
Today's church was built on the same site as the previous building built in the 1880s. The foundation stone was laid on October 28, 1962 and the new church was ready for occupancy on May 3, 1964. On February 15, 1965, the ceremonial consecration finally took place. The plans for today's church came from the Mönchengladbach architect Wilhelm Decker . Decker planned a three-aisled church made of concrete that opens to a transept in the east, which also houses the chancel. The interior is spanned by a wooden ceiling. The floor-to-ceiling window walls, which are structured by concrete tracery, are characteristic. There is a crypt under the nave .
Furnishing
In the church there are still some pieces of equipment from the previous building. Of these, the crucifixion group in the choir room should be mentioned. The stained glass windows are works by the Hinsbeck glass painter Johannes Beeck . The organ has 40 registers distributed over three manuals and pedal and is a work of the Aachen organ building institute Karl Bach .
Bells
|
No. |
Surname |
Diameter (mm) |
Mass (kg, approx.) |
Percussive ( HT - 1 / 16 ) |
Caster |
Casting year |
| 1 | Christ | 988 | 610 | as ' -6 | Johannes Mark, Eifeler Bell Foundry Mark, Brockscheid | 1975 |
| 2 | Maria | 886 | 430 | b ' -6 | Johannes Mark, Eifeler Bell Foundry Mark, Brockscheid | 1975 |
| 3 | - | 710 | 220 | of the " -5 | Hans Hüesker, Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock , Gescher | 1950 |
| 4th | - | 658 | 170 | it " -4 | Martin Legros , Malmedy | 1775 |
Motive: Christ has risen
Individual evidence
- ^ Albert Kraemer, Friedrich Schmitz, Rudolf Bast: The parish church of St. Castor. In: Alsdorf - History of a City (PDF). 1971, accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ^ Alsdorf, Catholic Church of St. Castor. In: Forschungsstelle Glasmalerei des 20. Jahrhundert eV Accessed on December 29, 2016 .
- ^ Albert Kraemer, Friedrich Schmitz, Rudolf Bast: The parish church of St. Castor. In: Alsdorf - History of a City (PDF). 1971, accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ^ Norbert Jachtmann: Bells in the Aachen-Land region, p. 11.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 52 '43 " N , 6 ° 9' 49.4" E