St. Christophorus (Wangen an der Aare)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Church of St. Christopher
Steeple
Exterior view from the northeast

The Church of St. Christophorus is the Roman Catholic parish church of Wangen an der Aare . It was built between 1961 and 1962 according to plans by the architect Walter Moser , the glass windows are by Max Rüedi . In addition to the Christ-König church (Biel) , it is the only church building designed by Aargau architect Walter Moser in the canton of Bern.

History and parish structure

In the 1920s, the clergy from the neighboring Solothurn village of Deitingen began to give religious instruction to the few Catholic children from the traditionally reformed Bernese Wangen and the surrounding area. So that the Catholics of Wangen could attend the Catholic Sunday service in Deitingen in the 1930s, the SBB district management was asked whether they could take a bus for this. Since this was not permitted, a special solution had to be found: a shunting locomotive pulled a single wagon with around 40 Catholics on the tracks every Sunday for the distance of around three kilometers there and back again after the service. When fuel was rationed during the Second World War , this special train had to be stopped again. That is why the Catholics in Wangen rented an empty factory hall, which was converted into an emergency church with financial support from the domestic mission, the diocese of Basel and the parish of Langenthal . The first mass was celebrated in this hall on May 21, 1944. The retired clergy, who lived in the St. Ursula children's home in Deitingen, took over pastoral care in Wangen and the surrounding area for a few years until the Deitingen parish took over pastoral care itself again.

On June 2, 1944, a Catholic association was founded to build up the parish of Wangen. The future canon Josef Eggenschwiler worked as a pastor in Deitingen for 22 years from 1933 before he became the episcopal personnel officer in Solothurn. In Wangen he created the basis for the development of the parish and for the realization of the Church of St. Christophorus. It was also he who arranged the purchase of the property in 1945, in which the emergency chapel was set up, and in 1955 secured the building site of today's church. On January 29, 1956, the Bishop of Basel, Franziskus von Streng , merged ten parishes to form the parish of Wangen and appointed Willy Portmann as the parish rector and then the first pastor of Wangen. Up until the start of construction in 1961, he put together the financial basis, primarily through “begging sermons” from abroad, sending out “begging letters” or through events such as bazaars. Although the money was not yet enough, on September 1, 1960, Pastor Portmann proposed to the Catholic Association to start building the church as soon as possible, as suitable rooms were urgently needed for the further development of the parish and the price increase was always a part of the accumulated capital. On September 28, 1960, an extraordinary general assembly of the Catholic Association took place, which approved the planning of the church building. Instead of a competition, four architects were directly commissioned to work out a project each. These were Hansjörg and Otto Sperisen (Solothurn), Hans Bernasconi (Solothurn), Walter Moser (Zurich) and Fritz Metzger (Zurich). The jury declared the project of the young Walter Moser the winner, according to whose plans the church was finally realized.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 29, 1961 , and excavation work began on September 13. On December 3rd, the community celebrated the laying of the foundation stone . On Sunday, 23 December 1962 consecrated the Bishop of Basel, Francis of speaking, a church. The patronage in honor of St. Christophorus continues that of the medieval, later reformed church of Wangen . It can be assumed that the possibility of crossing the Aare at Wangen may have led to the fact that the church of Wangen was consecrated to St. Christophorus in the Middle Ages, as, according to legend, he once carried the baby Jesus across a river.

The interior of the church was renovated in the summer of 2005 and consecrated again on the Christophorus Festival. In 2009 the exterior was renovated, including the tower renovation.

Today the parish consists of the following eleven parishes: Attiswil (which is pastoral care by the parish Flumenthal SO), Farnern , Niederbipp , Oberbipp , Rumisberg , Walliswil bei Niederbipp , Walliswil bei Wangen , Wangen a. A., Wangenried , Wiedlisbach , and Wolfisberg . The parish includes around 2000 Catholics from 27 nations. Parish life takes place around the two churches of St. Christophorus in Wangen and Heiligkreuz in Niederbipp. Since November 16, 2016, the parish has been part of the Oberaargau pastoral area, which also includes the parishes Herzogenbuchsee , Langenthal and Huttwil .

Christophorus statue in the outdoor area
Way of the Cross, detailed view in the outside area

Building description

Church tower and exterior

Walter Moser set the church apart from the Beundenstrasse to the north, so that a forecourt was created between the street and the church , which rises slightly towards the church portal via seven low but very wide steps and a ramp to the right . In order to make good use of the area, the parish center was built into the basement of the church, while the parsonage and bell tower were built on the street . Between this and the actual church there is a concrete wall on the eastern border of the area, which underlines the courtyard character of the forecourt. One challenge was that the concrete reliefs by the sculptor Jean Hutter had to be poured at the same time as the wall , so that the wall could only be erected in segments. The 14 stations of the cross show some life-size figures. The idea of ​​building a wall along a ramp leading to the church, on which the stations of the cross are attached, was also taken up a few years later by the architect Justus Dahinden when building his church Herz Jesu in Buchs SG. There the entrance with the Way of the Cross is covered.

The fact that Walter Moser had worked for the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto for a few years before he took over his father's office in Zurich can be seen on the front facade of the Church of St. Christophorus: a wide glass front was let in under a flat roof , which is rhythmic through lamellar , narrow concrete pillars becomes. On the eastern side of the front facade protrudes a semicircular round body in which the baptistery is housed. A niche is set in the facade between the two entrance gates, in which the bronze statue of the church patron Christophorus is placed. From his name (Christophorus = Christ bearer) the legend has developed that he carried the Christ child on his shoulders across a river. The bronze sculpture on the church facade takes up this legend by depicting the saint carrying the baby Jesus. The weekday chapel can be seen as the second round porch to the west of the front facade.

To indicate the location of the St. Christophorus Church, Moser placed the church tower at the northeast corner of the building site directly on Beundenweg . The concrete wall adjoins the tower, which delimits the forecourt and leads to the church.

A four-part chime is hung in the church tower and consists of the following bells:

number Weight volume dedication
1 1075 kg c 1 Trinity
2 1010 kg it 1 Christ the King
3 750 kg f 1 Mother of God
4th 550 kg g 1 St. Christopher

The bells were cast in 1962 by the H. Rüetschi company in Aarau.

inside view

inner space

Inside the church it is noticeable that the floor slopes down a lot, namely by approx. 7%, towards the altar . This enables the faithful to have a good view of the liturgical events in the sanctuary from all seats . The design of the building means that the choir is no longer separated from the nave as in earlier churches , which illustrates the community of priests and believers. A rounded choir wall rises behind the altar, facing southeast and into which the tabernacle is set in a niche . The ambo is to the left of the chancel, and the organ gallery is built onto the sacristy to the right. On the wall behind which the door to the sacristy is hidden, there is a relief with Our Lady.

The church ceiling has a large, round light dome above the altar, which allows daylight to fall on the altar. The cladding of the ceiling is made of natural wood rods that radiate apart from the light dome. The church floor is made of clinker . The pews are placed in a semicircle around the altar. It is interesting that this church, which was built shortly before the Second Vatican Council , i.e. in the time before the liturgical reform, no longer had a pulpit from the beginning and the altar was not placed against the choir wall. Conversely, however, a communion bench has been set up to this day , which closes the choir from the rows of pews.

The stone carvings , i.e. the baptismal font and the tabernacle as well as the bronze objects, namely the cross set up in the choir room and the Easter candlestick in the baptistery come from Jean Hutter . The glass paintings were created by the Zurich artist Max Rüedi .

Stained glass window in the church interior

The large glass window that was built into the western wall of the church shows the profane , modern world below . In the middle you can see the head of a woman who closes her eyes and wears a precious jewelry chain around her neck , both signs of her wealth and her self-satisfaction. The gray area behind the woman's head suggests an asphalt road , on the edge of which a car is parked in front of a pleasant house. This profane scene is flanked on the right by two cows and on the left by a camel. To the right of the camel, a narrow gate can be seen in the background, which blocks the path that winds up through the entire picture. This representation is reminiscent of the parable of the eye of a needle , in which Jesus Christ said: "A camel is more likely to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man enters the kingdom of God." (e.g. Mk 10, 25) Max Rüedi also depicted this parable in Zurich on the portal to the basement of the church of St. Martin Zurich-Fluntern . It is a reminder that wealth - in the depiction of Max Rüedi on the stained glass window, also complacency - can obstruct the path to paradise .

The upper two thirds of the glass window are dedicated to the sacred dimension. If you follow the path with your eyes, you can see a figure carrying a cross upwards. Rüedi leaves open whether it is about Jesus (the long, light dress speaks in favor of it, but the fact that three empty crosses can already be seen on the mountain.) Either way, this depiction reminds us of following Jesus : «Who me who wants to follow, take up his cross and follow me »(Mk 8:34). This path leads past fields and fields and finally ends on the Golgota hill . (Mk 15, 22) Max Rüedi does not depict the Good Friday scene with the crucifixion of Jesus at the top of the picture , but the resurrection and ascension to heaven : the three crosses are empty, a ladder to heaven leads out of the picture. This ladder is flanked by two angel wings, which in turn can be read as symbols for the resurrection and for the ascension. Finally, in the center of the picture, the Christmas scene is shown, reduced to a nativity scene with the baby Jesus , saved in a grotto (the sheeppens outside Bethlehem were often built into caves).

Baptistery and weekday chapel

Two round structures are attached to the north flank of the church, each with one of the two. In the baptistery, the floor clinker placed concentrically around the baptismal font direct the view of the baptismal font . On the ceiling, next to the light dome over the baptismal font, a dove of the Holy Spirit can be discovered, which, like the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan , appears to appear over the newly baptized child, combined with the words: «This is my beloved son. I found my liking in him. " (Mt 3, 17) This representation proclaims that the biblical promise also applies to every child newly baptized in this chapel. The stained glass window by Max Rüedi in the baptistery shows the pierced hand of the crucified Jesus in front of a dark blue cloud, above which a sun is depicted. This window illustrates the connection between the sacrament of baptism and the promise of eternal life (Romans 6: 4).

In the weekday chapel, the wall of which can be opened to the main room of the church, there is another window by Max Rüedi. It is designed in three parts: the snake and the fruit of the tree of knowledge can be seen below . (Gen 3, 13) As a contrast to the Fall of Man in Paradise, the middle section is dedicated to the Virgin and Mother of God, Mary. This is also based on the play on words Eva - read in reverse Ave (Maria) . In the middle field, next to the word Maria, a white rose is shown, which refers to the virginity and innocence of Our Lady. Above it, the Holy Spirit is depicted in the form of a dove, which is reminiscent of the Annunciation of the Lord (older: Annunciation). (Lk 1, 26-38)

Metzler organ from 2012

organ

The company Späth , Rapperswil, created the first instrument for the newly built church in 1962. It had 17 registers , divided into two manuals and a pedal .

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the church, today's organ with 20 registers was commissioned from Metzler , Dietikon. Bishop Felix Gmür consecrated the new instrument on August 19, 2012.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Bourdon 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
Super octave 2 ′
Mixture III-IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Dulcian 8th'
II Swell C – g 3
Viol 8th'
Voix céleste (from c 0 ) 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Transverse flute 4 ′
Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Duplicate 2 ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Sharp IV 1'
Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Octave bass 8th'
bassoon 16 ′

literature

  • Parish Wangen (Ed.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. Wangen 1962.

See also

Web links

Commons : St. Christophorus (Wangen an der Aare)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Willy Portmann: The beginnings of the parish Wangen aA in: Parish Wangen (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the dedication of the Catholic Christophoruskirche in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. P. 3.
  2. ↑ Josef Eggenschwiler: History of the parish of Wangen. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. P. 3–4.
  3. ↑ Willy Portmann: The beginnings of the parish Wangen aA In: Pfarrei Wangen (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophoruskirche in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. P. 2.
  4. ↑ Josef Eggenschwiler: History of the parish of Wangen. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Ed.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. p. 4.
  5. ↑ Willy Portmann: The new parish since it was founded on January 29, 1956. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophoruskirche in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. P. 7.
  6. ↑ Josef Eggenschwiler: History of the parish of Wangen. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Ed.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. p. 4.
  7. ^ Willy Portmann: Prehistory of the church building. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophoruskirche in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. pp. 8–9.
  8. ^ Gian-Vittorio Broggi: The church construction begins. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Ed.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. pp. 11–12.
  9. ↑ Catholic parish St. Christophorus (Ed.): Welcome to the Roman Catholic parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Wangen 2017, p. 1.
  10. ^ The parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Website pastoral area Oberaargau. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Website Pastoralraum Oberaargau.Retrieved on August 5, 2019.
  12. ↑ Website of the pastoral area Oberaargau.Retrieved on August 6, 2019.
  13. ^ Gian-Vittorio Broggi: The church construction begins. In: Pfarrei Wangen (Ed.): Festschrift for the inauguration of the Catholic Christophorus Church in Wangen an der Aare BE on December 23, 1962. pp. 13-14.
  14. ^ The parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Website pastoral area Oberaargau. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  15. ^ The parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Website pastoral area Oberaargau. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ Information from YouTube.Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  17. ↑ Catholic parish St. Christophorus (Ed.): Welcome to the Roman Catholic parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an er Aare. Wangen 2017, p. 1.
  18. ^ The parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Website pastoral area Oberaargau. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  19. ^ The parish church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Website pastoral area Oberaargau. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  20. ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein section Roman Catholic Church of St. Christophorus in Wangen an der Aare. Retrieved August 6, 2019.

Coordinates: 47 ° 13 '53.3 "  N , 7 ° 39' 7.2"  E ; CH1903:  616 158  /  two hundred and thirty-one thousand one hundred and ninety-five