St. Francis (Zwillbrock)
The baroque church of St. Franziskus was the church of the adjoining former Franciscan monastery in Zwillbrock near Vreden until 1811 . This church was of great importance, especially for Catholics from Twente and the Achterhoek , just across the border of the Republic of the United Netherlands . The history of the church goes back to the time of the Reformation .
prehistory
At the end of the 16th and 17th centuries in the Calvinist Netherlands, Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith. After the Peace of Munster , the border between the province of Gelderland and the Catholic diocese of Munster became both a state and a religious border . The Catholics in the eastern Achterhoek were assigned pastoral care to the bishop in Münster and not to the Vicar Apostolic , to whom most of the Netherlands was entrusted. The lordship of Borculo (Berkelland) bordering on Zwillbrock was separated from the diocese of Münster in 1615 by Gelderland. Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen tried several times in vain to recapture the area by force. A chain of small chapels and churches, so-called mission houses, was built from Bocholt to Gronau to provide pastoral care to Catholics across the border .
At Christmas 1651 the bishop in Münster commissioned the Franciscans from Bocholt to celebrate an outdoor Christmas mass for the Dutch Catholics, which the Minorite Father Georg Phillipi (later pastor of Groenlo) and brother Coelestin Tilbeck did in Silva Brok . From within a five-hour radius around a thousand Catholics came to Zwillbrock to take part in the Christmas mass. In the following weeks the influx from the Achterhoek and Twente grew, whereupon a regular service was set up. Shortly before Easter 1652, a chapel made of peat was built to protect against wind and weather. In the same year the chapel had to be enlarged because of the crowds.
The abbess of the Vredener Damenstift , Maria Sophia von Salm-Reifferscheid , then donated a piece of land and with her help and that of the Bishop von Galen, a stone chapel was built, which had to be enlarged in 1656. Accommodation near the chapel was built for fathers from Bocholt. In 1657, when the branch became an independent parish, a chapel was also founded in nearby Oldenkott due to the large influx of people . Around 1660 about twelve priests were active in Zwillbrock. At Easter 1665 the community numbered almost 2,400 souls. Since the influx of Catholics continued unabated, the Franciscans' accommodations had to be expanded again. In 1670 the parish was elevated to an independent monastery under the direction of a prior and was given the name Closter Bethlehem an 't Schwillbrock (also known as Bethlehem im Walde ), in memory of the first Christmas mass in 1651.
From the end of the 17th century, the pressure on the Dutch Catholics subsided. Many parishes were founded in the border area that were assigned to the diocese of Münster. Nevertheless, many Catholics from the border area had their children baptized in Zwillbrock and made their confessions there.
Building history
On October 6, 1717, the foundation stone of today's St. Franziskuskirche was laid for the Franciscan monastery, which was newly built on the canal in 1713 with donations from the Dutch Catholics and Prince-Bishop Franz Arnold von Wolff-Metternich . Completed in 1719 or 1720, it was not consecrated until April 24, 1748. The church is consecrated to St. Francis of Assisi , who celebrated an open-air Christmas mass in 1225, like the Bocholt Franciscans in 1651.
In 1765 and 1782 the church was renovated and expanded. The monastery, on the other hand, was closed in 1811 due to the French rule, and the surrounding ecclesiastical lands were sold. The monastery was also demolished in the 1820s. Regular services continued afterwards in the Church of St. Francis. On April 12, 1858, the faithful in Zwillbrock finally succeeded in founding an independent parish again. The parish had around 200 members at the beginning of the 21st century. In September 2007 the parish of St. Francis was merged with the other Catholic parishes in Vreden to form the new parish of St. Georg.
architecture
The church leaves a relatively simple impression. A small vestibule is in front of the facade in the west. The facades are divided into a three-axis main storey and a single-axis gable storey by an entablature . In the top floor of the main gable there is a niche with St. Francis of Assisi , the church patron. The church is crowned by a roof turret , the hallmark of the churches of the mendicant orders .
Furnishing
In contrast to many churches in the area around Zwillbrock, the Church of St. Franziskus was spared during the Second World War . As a result, the entire baroque interior has been preserved in its original condition, unique in the entire Münsterland. Altars and pictures are all made of oak and painted in color. The vertical parts are marbled blue, the horizontal parts red. The figures and ornaments are set in poliment white and covered with real gold leaf . The names of the builders, sculptors and painters are largely unknown.
The baroque architecture of the interior should act as a reflection of the heavenly Jerusalem on the believers. In Zwillbrock, the Dutch Catholics were able to find their saints again in the splendor of the baroque and call upon God as intercessors. This was in contrast to the teaching of Calvin in a country where iconoclasts had removed altars, sculptures and pictures from churches.
In 2013 and 2014 the outside facilities of the church were redesigned to better illustrate the dimensions of the former monastery.
High altar
The high altar appears to visitors like a huge stage prospect. The main altar is crowned by a clockwork. It symbolizes that the time of man on earth is finite. The painting is an inverted copy of Peter Paul Rubens "Annunciation", which is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna . Two paintings under the Annunciation scene are changed over the course of the church year: at Christmas time an Adoration of the Shepherds, followed by a representation of the Crucified with John and Mary.
Below these pictures is a three-part rotating tabernacle . In the front niche we see a group of three with the crucified, Mary and John. In the second niche the goblets are kept and in the third niche the Holy of Holies is exposed.
The pictures are flanked by two figures of saints, the founder of the order Francis of Assisi and the first superior general of the order, Cardinal Bonaventure .
Side altars
They are dedicated to Mary and St. Anthony of Padua .
The devotion to Mary plays a major role in the Franciscan order, because the order is under their protection. In the center is the white polished statue of Maria Immaculata .
The figure of St. Anthony is depicted in a hand without his attribute of the lily. The original figure of Jesus on the right hand is missing, the current one is more recent. The saint was one of the most popular in the Church during the Baroque period.
The theme of the side altars is continued in the two niches with small figures. In the niche on the left is a Gothic figure of Mary in a baroque setting. In the niche on the right we find the statue of St. Nepomuk .
pulpit
The pulpit is one of the showpieces of the church. An angel preaching stands on the cover . Under the sound cover the Holy Spirit is represented in the symbol of the dove. In the area of the stairs by the tendrils, the artist has depicted a small pig eating acorns . It should probably refer to the acorn mast that was common at the time .
Choir stalls
The oak choir stalls have eleven seats on each side, indicating the size of the convent . It was probably never bigger than 20 people.
Communion bench
The baroque communion bench is the most precious piece of furniture in the church and is considered the most beautiful of its kind in Westphalia . It is made of walnut with ash, maple and pewter inlays . It is flanked by two processional crosses .
View into the church
Sanctuary
Main altar - St. Francis
Side altar - St. Anthony of Padua
Side altar - Maria
pulpit
organ
In the monastery church there is a historical organ , the builder of which and the exact year of construction are unknown. Based on existing documents, the construction time can be narrowed down to the period between 1723 and 1748. The instrument was last restored by Paul Ott (Göttingen) in 1962–1965 . It has 24 stops on two manuals and a pedal . All actions are mechanical.
At the top of the organ stands King David with scepter and harp.
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
literature
- Hermann Terhalle: Baroque church of St. Franziskus Vreden-Zwillbrock . Ziegler Beckmann, Cologne 1996 (and other editions).
- Volker Tschuschke: A contribution to the art history of the baroque church of St. Franziskus in Vreden-Zwillbrock . In: Heimatverein Vreden (ed.): Sources and studies on the history of Vreden and its surroundings , vol. 1. Heimatverein, Vreden 1990, ISBN 3-926627-06-9 , pp. 113–126.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Dr. Hermann Terhalle: Baroque Church of St. Franziskus Vreden-Zwillbrock , published by Freundeskreis Barockkirche Zwillbrock eV, 6th edition, Vreden 2008
- ↑ On the history of the organ
Coordinates: 52 ° 3 ′ 14 " N , 6 ° 41 ′ 32" E