St. Elisabeth (Rheine)
The Catholic parish church of St. Elisabeth in Rheine is a building of the New Objectivity by the Gelsenkirchen architect Josef Franke . Since the merger of all originally independent parishes on the left of the Ems in 2013, it has been one of five churches (including smaller chapels) in the parish of St. Dionysius. Since 1982 it has been under monument protection as an ensemble together with the attached rectory (also by Franke) .
In terms of construction and furnishings, St. Elisabeth is considered to be the highest artistic church in Rheine, along with the city's large churches, St. Dionysius and St. Antonius. It deserves this reputation, among other things, due to the fact that it is the first new church building in Rheine to deviate from the long tradition of historicism and to establish a new formal language in the city's sacred architecture. Thirty years earlier, one of the most typical examples of neo-Romanesque, the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua , was built in Rheine . It was accordingly difficult for the architect Franke to convince the community of his courageous design.
history
19th century
Since the middle of the 19th century, textile and metal processing companies had settled on the right (eastern) bank of the Ems. A similar development on the western side of the river was made difficult by difficult soil conditions. In addition, the railway line built in 1853 cut off the area of today's Dutum and Dorenkamp from the historic old town on the right side of the Ems. This resulted in a distribution of progressive industry on the one hand, and traditional agriculture on the other side of the Ems (a fact that still today - in popular terms - means a difference for the population living in Rheine: the citizens live on the right bank of the Ems, on the left the pawns).
20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, this structure softened a little with the settlement of industry in the so-called “Hinter der Bahn” district. In 1906, the population in this part of the city had grown so much that even the main church of the city of Rheine, St. Dionysius on the market square, became too small for the Sunday services of the entire congregation to the left and right of the Ems. The pastor of St. Dionysius and builder of the St. Antonius Basilica , Dechant Pietz, therefore initiated the establishment of a separate parish for the area “Behind the Railway”. Somewhat delayed by the First World War , this establishment took place in 1933. The planning of a parish church for the approximately 4,000 parishioners of the new pastoral care district began immediately. An interest group of citizens behind the railway suggested the name St. Elisabeth for the newly created community. This patronage was very popular at that time because of the 800 year anniversary of the death of St. Elisabeth on November 17, 1231. The building plot that was found to be suitable was owned by the city of Rheine and was located on today's Darbrookstrasse. It was exchanged for the old cemetery on Salzbergener Strasse.
The enthusiasm of the population about the new parish of St. Elisabeth was reflected, among other things, in the specially composed patronage song "In honor of St. Elisabeth, let's sing jubilees!" Based on a text by the teacher Johanna Wrede and a composition by Josef Smets. The song was introduced to the community for the consecration and is still very popular today.
Construction planning
After a competition among three architects, the architect Josef Franke in Gelsenkirchen, who was already known in Rheine, was commissioned to design and build the church. A few years earlier he had built the new Dionysianum grammar school and the St. Peter's school church . He was also known to Dechant Pietz for the addition of a chapel to the Dionysius Church and the design of a baptismal font for the St. Antonius basilica . Franke received the order in March 1928 and presented the first plans the following month. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in July 1929, and the foundation stone was laid by Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Scheifes in October of the same year .
The rapid progress in construction came to a standstill due to the global economic crisis and the associated uncertainty regarding the financing of the new building. Franke was asked to simplify his plans in order to reduce costs. The inauguration of the new church took place on the feast of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia , November 19, 1931, by titular and auxiliary bishop Johannes Poggenburg from Münster .
Building description
After two detailed drafts in a clearly expressionistic language of form, it was only the third draft of Franke that met the approval of the church council. This plan, judged to be too costly, also had to be simplified before Franke's fourth draft was finally implemented. The motifs of the first two drafts, which were perceived as a bit too angular, had been weakened, but were still able to give rhythm to the building and make Franke's handwriting clearly legible. One of the most conspicuous details was an onion dome designed based on the Baroque model as the end of the tower attached to the west of the building. This construction detail also fell victim to the cost reduction in favor of a flat pyramid roof with an approximately five meter high cross on its top. The planned tower clock was also not implemented. As a result of the reconstruction work after the bombing of the Second World War, the end of the tower apparently represents the greatest change in the exterior: Instead of the flat pyramid roof, a copper lantern with a cross was placed on the top. The topping-out ceremony was celebrated in 1952.
In addition to the tower in front of the church, the three main portals are at the top of a staircase that extends over the entire width of the portal, surmounted by the triangular gable of the west facade. The bronze doors were designed by the Rheine-based sculptor Josef Krautwald and show pictorial interpretations of the so-called divine virtues of faith, love and hope from the 2nd letter of Peter (only later, in 1977, the north portal also received a bronze door from Krautwald with the theme of Die Gifts of the Holy Spirit ).
In the east, a suggested round apse completes the massive structure. Furthermore, a semicircular baptistery is added in the northwest and a two-storey sacristy diagonally opposite in the southeast . As a whole, the structure is based on the basic geometric shapes of rectangles and circles, synonymous with sharp and soft. This form principle is reflected in the choice of building material, this time in three variations: brown Ibbenbüren sandstone , light Ettringer tuff and red clay for the smooth roof tiles. The interior is simply designed and largely without jewelry or ornamentation . In 1953 the church received its first new painting in white and gray tones based on designs by the artist Hein Naß, who also came from Rheine.
Portal 1: 'Faith'
Portal 2: 'Love'
Portal 3: 'Hope'
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With his building composition Franke created two front sides: on the one hand the west side with the main portals and the flanking tower, on the other hand the north side running parallel to the street with the baptistery. The south side is difficult to see today due to the neighboring buildings, it is dominated by the flight of stairs to the organ gallery and the attached sacristy. The west gable shows three round-arched niches above the portals, of which the higher middle one, according to Franke's plans, was originally intended to provide space for a larger-than-life depiction of the crucifixion. In 1957, a larger than life figure of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia, the patroness of the new community, was executed. She can be identified by the basket full of roses (a reference to an episode of her saintly legend) and the diadem, which identifies her as a landgrave, both typical attributes in the depiction of the saints. This figure is also a work by Josef Krautwald. The less high niches to the left and right of it have slot-like window openings.
The commission for the gable figure of St. Elisabeth went to Josef Krautwald after a competition between the artists Krautwald and Guntermann. Both had to present a reduced version of their draft to the community. Krautwald won, Guntermann's design reached the church interior as a small sculpture; Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the Krautwald draft.
The aisles are windowed through through narrow, but quite high, arched windows cut into the wall, which are crowned by round window cutouts in the upper aisle of the main nave. The choir is illuminated through windows in the side walls, the choir apse itself has no windows.
The round of the baptistery is illuminated by seven narrow, very high windows. They show color gradients from soft red (below) to dark blue (above) and bathe the chapel in a mystical twilight.
Interior
The three west portals provide access to the hall-like interior with a dominating central nave 13 meters wide and 14.35 meters high. To the side of this are the two corridor-like and lower aisles with a height of 8.40 meters and a width of 3.20 meters. The difference in height between the central and side aisles made it possible to separately illuminate the upper aisle of the main aisle with round windows. The church thus meets the criteria that allow it to be classified as a basilica building type . In keeping with the New Objectivity, the interior is very structured. It consists of five box-shaped rooms that are clearly separated from each other and adjoin each other. The element connecting these rooms is the ceiling, consisting of a flat barrel vault . This ceiling, too, was originally planned to be lavish: instead of arching from one main nave wall to the other, it now extends across the width of the apse and is designed as a flat ceiling to the left and right of it. The dark wood paneling of the ceiling and the redesign of the apse with white, three-sided panel cladding were a contradiction to the sober design language .
Furnishing
Josef Franke was also responsible for the design of most of the original equipment of the church. He supplied the drafts for the interior design including the furnishing of the church interior with pews, doors, candlesticks, confessionals and holy water fonts . In doing so, he succeeded in remaining true to the architectural design principle of restriction to the simplest forms such as rectangles and circles in the furnishings. He renounced any superfluous jewelry or ornamentation that could not be derived from the function. This, too, is a characteristic of the design in the New Objectivity style: Form follows function. (Eng. "The form follows the function."). The room, which is also kept simple in color and largely whitewashed, contrasts with the furnishings, which are mostly dark or in their natural color. The participating artists were free to design their commissioned work. Franke did not influence this, but the clergy of the community did.
Basic equipment
- the high altar made of black marble from Portoroz
- Above the high altar, in front of the white rear wall of the apse, there is an approximately 9-meter-high, slender, black cross without a body
- a side altar made of the same material as the high altar on the front of the north aisle
- the walled up, drum-shaped pulpit with a simple black sound cover, on the pulpit the symbols of the four evangelists (eagle for John , lion for Mark , man for Matthew and bull for Luke ), made of bent iron
- Apostolic candlesticks , Eternal Light candlesticks and paneling of the tabernacle on the high altar also made of band iron
- a baptismal font designed by Frankes in the baptistery: spherical metal water basin with a base made of polished shell limestone
- an Antonius figure by the artist Kurt Schwippert for the baptistery
- a Madonna and Child by Franz Guntermann ; Limewood (originally glazed in color and created for the Marien Altar in the north aisle, stained after the altar was dismantled in 1964 and left in its natural color)
- Artificial lighting through pendant lights with opal glass globes
- two unadorned, white framed confessionals made of wood based on a Frankes design
- 36 pews (1936) made of dark-stained softwood, the sides of oak; Up until then, the church interior was furnished with garden chairs from two of the community's restaurants.
Elisabeth of Thuringia
Confessional designed by the architect Josef Franke
crib
Franz Guntermann's Christmas crib is also one of the original items . It consists of three large-format groups of figures, each consisting of a block of wood ( holy family , shepherds, flock of sheep). The purchase of a planned fourth group ( Holy Three Kings ) did not come about, on the one hand due to the death of the commissioning pastor, on the other hand, the presentation of the Christmas event in its progressive design language did not appeal to all parishioners. The figures are inspired by expressionist sculptors such as Ernst Barlach and Bernhard Hoetger and thus fit into the design of the building.
Despite all the initial criticism, many parishioners grew fond of this crib over the years and it was not until 2003 that the desire for a more contemporary crib took shape. The nativity scene maker Anni Schulte from Rheine, who has won many awards for her work, created a nativity scene consisting of movable individual figures made of linden wood. These individually designed figures make it possible to vividly tell the story of the Christmas story in all its facets and side episodes (search for a hostel, shepherds in the field, Holy Three Kings, etc.). Since the interior of the church was redesigned in 2006, the nativity scene has been installed in the empty choir room at Christmas time and is therefore also in the focus of the congregation during church services.
War damage repair and first remodeling
This original equipment survived in its entirety until the bombing of the district on October 5 and November 2, 1944, in which not only parts of the tower, the nave and the choir were destroyed, but a large part of the equipment was also destroyed . In the meantime, the Holy Mass was celebrated in the rectory, the guest room of a pub and later in a FLAK barrack from the Bentlage district of Rheine, which was built in the destroyed nave and which was prepared for this purpose with enormous commitment from the community. After it was moved to the church forecourt in 1949, this barrack served as a kindergarten, theater stage, community hall and youth home . Its final dismantling in 1967 was not without protests, especially from the youth of the community, who saw this emergency shelter as “their home” within community life.
In 1955 it was decided that in addition to the memorial to the victims of World War I on the so-called giant Borg (one the Bronze Age | union Stonehenge -inspired memorial on a hill in the city area) and an appropriate memorial to the defenseless women, children and old men who the Second World War fell victim to be created. A place in front of the St. Elisabeth Church was chosen as the location for this work. Josef Krautwald created the monumental figure (a mother hugging her daughter protectively) and the memorial was inaugurated in December 1955. The inscription The Victims of the Air War 1939–1945 can be read on the base of the monument, probably derived from the fact that St. Elisabeth's Church was also affected by air raids.
In the post-war period, the priority was first of all to rebuild the damaged church and not to replace expensive furnishings. This was not addressed again until the 1960s, e.g. B. in the form of redesigning the house of God according to the specifications of the Second Vatican Council and adapting it to the changing tastes of the time. Most of the designs for this came from the artist Hubert Teschlade from Nienberge . This work was completed with the 35-year parish fair in 1966. The most noticeable changes were:
- Installation of a popular altar instead of the high altar
- Dismantling the pulpit
- Relocation of the baptismal font to the choir room
- The wall openings to the left and right of the apse were closed; Until then, the right opening provided access to the pulpit.
- Installation of a new tabernacle in the left, now closed end wall of the central nave
- All windows were redesigned in flowing, abstract forms by the textile artist Hanne-Nüte Kämmerer , who, like Franz Guntermann, taught at the Münster School of Applied Arts.
- Large-format mural by Hubert Teschlade in the choir apse with the theme The Holy Spirit pours on the earth , i.e. the Whitsun event (According to information from the community, this depiction was due to its unusual shape and due to the ignorance of the event depicted and the high artistic quality of children often called The Snowman .)
Further extensive maintenance and renovation work took place in 1982. The most obvious changes in this work are:
- Entry of a dark stained wooden ceiling. Due to the inevitable reduction in the ceiling height in the main nave, the round windows (oculi) now seem to be too high in the wall: they almost hit the ceiling, but according to the planning, they should break through the wall in the middle between the central nave and aisle ceiling.
- Hubert Teschlade's choir picture disappeared behind a wooden panel wall.
- The baptismal font was moved from the choir room back to the baptistery.
Fundamental redesign in 2006
In autumn 2006 the interior of the church underwent a fundamental redesign. An attempt was made to bring the liturgical functional places such as the altar, baptismal place, ambo and tabernacle into a new relationship with one another. The planning was done by a committee of parishioners, led by Pastor Ludger Kaulig and other full-time employees of the parish, and was carried out by the architecture firm Feja und Kemper in Recklinghausen, which has received several awards for its church building and redesign projects .
The biggest changes to this measure:
- Relocation of the altar from the choir apse to the center of the church; Since the redesign, it has stood on an altar island in the middle of the pews grouped around it in a U-shape. The choir room remains empty and now symbolizes the Heavenly Jerusalem , a room in another dimension and thus elevated above the rest of the church. But he can also z. B. take up the nativity scene during the Christmas season or bring out musical contributions and works of art.
- All liturgical services are located on this altar island during the service, i.e. in the middle of the congregation and not raised in the raised choir room. The ambo as an altar of the word also finds its place on this island.
- Relocation of the tabernacle in the tower chapel, which thus became a sacrament chapel . Thus, the church visitor has the opportunity to offer his prayer in a special proximity to the Holy of Holies kept in the tabernacle . Since the new crib was acquired, the old Guntermann crib has found its permanent, year-round installation location next to the tabernacle. Thus, the theological motif of the incarnation , i.e. the incarnation of God, opens up in two ways: on the one hand in the sacrament of the Eucharist , kept in the tabernacle, on the other hand in the incarnation of Christ, illustrated by the manger.
- Re-exposure of the openings to the right and left of the choir apse. As a result, a total of twelve openings in the choir area become visible again, to be equated with the twelve gates of the heavenly Jerusalem.
- Overpainting of the choir picture by Teschlade with reversible paint after removing the panels in the choir room.
The coming change in the interior and the associated change in spatial perception were made accessible to the parishioners shortly before the church was closed due to the renovation with a large light and sound installation under the theme of walking .
organ
A first makeshift organ was bombed in 1944. It was not until 1956 that an instrument could be ordered from the organ building workshop Franz Breil in Dorsten that met the requirements of the community. Of the four planned plants , only three were initially completed. Despite other planning, the fourth work was no longer completed and the corresponding manual was later removed from the console . This organ had 20 stops and was placed on the west gallery without a prospectus . The niches on the gallery intended by Franke for the installation of the pipe material remained unused. In the course of the reconstruction of the instrument by the organ building workshop Sauer in Höxter , it was expanded to 28 registers in 1984, equipped with a mechanical action mechanism , an electrical stop action mechanism and set up in a nine-axis prospectus on the back wall of the gallery. Franke's niches have remained unused on the gallery to this day.
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Bells
As with many other churches, the Second World War not only meant destruction or damage to the structure, but also to the furnishings and bells . In many places the bell was expropriated during the war and melted down for armament purposes. Two out of three small bells of the first peal happened this fate, the third was damaged during the bombing. The following is the complete bell with the losses of the war and the new casts:
|
No. |
Surname |
inscription |
Diameter (mm) |
Mass (kg, approx.) |
Percussive ( HT - 1 / 16 ) |
Caster |
Casting year |
metal |
Destroyed by the effects of war |
| 1 | Magdalene Bell | - | - | - | d ′ | Company Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock , Gescher | 1936 | bronze | Yes |
| 2 | Elizabeth Bell | - | - | - | e ′ | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | 1936 | bronze | Yes |
| 3 | Namen-Jesu-Bell (Was damaged by bombing in World War II and was later replaced by the Bell of Mary listed below ) | - | - | - | G' | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | 1936 | bronze | No |
| 4th | Marienglocke (monument inventory) | MOTHER WITH THE EYES SO MILD, FILLED WITH A HEARTFULLY LOVE, ALL CHILDREN MAY ALWAYS BE ENVIRONED IN LOVE. | 1,030 | - | G' | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | - | - | - |
| 5 | Magdalene Bell (Neuguss) | SPARE LORD, SPARE YOUR PEOPLE. | 1,320 | - | d ′ | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | 1953 | - | - |
| 6th | Elisabeth Bell (Neuguss) | ST. ELISABETH, OUR MOTHER AND WIFE, LOOK AT US AND OUR POOR! | 1,190 | - | e ′ | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | 1953 | - | - |
| 7th | - | - | 1,620 | - | H | Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher | 1990 | - | - |
Pastor
The following pastors worked at St. Elisabeth until the parish merger in 2013:
- 1931–1934: Anton Ewering (from Metelen )
- 1934–1957: Heinrich Bergmannshoff (from Buer ); In his memory, the square in front of the church was renamed Pfarrer-Bergmannshoff-Platz in the 2000s .
- 1957–1977: Bernhard Helmig (from Ibbenbüren )
- 1977–1999: Altfried Decking (from Münster )
- 2000–2010: Dr. Ludger Kaulig (from Marl )
- 2010–2013: Bernhard Lütkemöller
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.dionysius-rheine.de/fileadmin/user_upload/pfarrei/Gruppen_Engagement/Pfarreirat/Plan_D_-_Pastoralplan_St._Dionysius.pdf
- ↑ cf. List of architectural monuments in Rheine
- ↑ Alfons Krafeld: Rheine, yesterday – today – tomorrow. Issue 2/81.
- ^ Rheine - The art and cultural monuments, part I. Tecklenborg Verlag, 2003.
- ↑ 75 years of St. Elisabeth. History and stories. Festschrift for the church anniversary.
- ↑ Conversation with Dr. L. Kaulig (former parish priest)
- ↑ Rheine. The art and cultural monuments. Part I. Tecklenborg Verlag, 2003, p. 358 f.
- ^ Rheine - The art and cultural monuments, part I. Tecklenborg Verlag, 2003.
- ↑ Alfons Krafeld: Rheine - yesterday-today-tomorrow. Issue 2/81.
literature
- Rheine. The art and cultural monuments. Part I, Tecklenborg Verlag 2003
- Rheine - yesterday-today-tomorrow. Alfons Krafeld. Issue 2/81.
- Rheine - yesterday-today-tomorrow. Edition 1/2004.
- 75 years of St. Elisabeth; History and stories from 1931 to 2006 ... ; Festschrift for the 75th church anniversary in 2006.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 16 ′ 11.2 " N , 7 ° 25 ′ 55.6" E