St. Francis Xaverius (Amersfoort)

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St. Francis Xaverius (Amersfoort)
Interior (1973)

The Church of St. Franziskus Xaverius (Sint-Franciscus-Xaveriuskerk) is a Catholic church building in Amersfoort .

history

The church was built in 1815 by a parish founded in 1630 by the Jesuit Jordanus van Wenckum . This initially led a shadowy existence and used a small church behind the former St. Agatha Chapel. After the small church burned down at the beginning of the 18th century, a new church building was built on the site of the current church. Only after the legal equality of all religious communities could today's church be built.

The church was designed by the architect Teunis Wittenberg in the classical style. Its facade lines up with the street front. The barrel-vaulted main nave is flanked by two flat-roofed aisles. In 1851 the church was extended to include the choir and a suggested transept.

Furnishing

Mary statue from the 15th century

In the small chapel in the entrance area of ​​the church there is a painting showing the Assumption of Mary, accompanied by the archangels Gabriel and Michael. The painting was created by Antonius Brouwer in 1864; it hung in the Elleboogkerk in Amersfoort until 1963.

In the chapel there is also a small statue of Mary from the late 15th century. It was created following a miracle that is said to have occurred in Amersfoort in 1444. At that time a young girl from Nijkerk wanted to enter a convent in Amersfoort. She had a small statue of Mary as a souvenir, but it seemed too simple and shameful to her, so she threw the statue into the city canal. Due to a dream, another girl found the statue, which seemed to have special powers and became a destination for pilgrims. The original statue no longer exists, but has been replaced by the current one.

The church has a rich interior.

There are ten statues of saints on the walls, which were created by the sculptor Frans Stracké in the years 1863–1865. They show u. a. Saint Theodor , who was born in Amersfoort around 1499 and was murdered in 1572 as one of the martyrs of Gorkum . In addition, St. Willibrord and St. Boniface to see, who worked as messengers of faith in Friesland.

The main altar and the side altars were created in 1852, the windows were created in 1939-1941 and show the evangelists and the sacraments.

organ

View of the exit with the organ

The organ was built in 1819 by the organ builder Gideon Thomas Bätz for the Remonstrant Church in Utrecht, which, however, could not pay for it. The original design included a Rückpositiv , which was not implemented in Amersfoort. During the restoration between 1982 and 1983 by Jos H. Vermeulen, later changes were reversed. In the gallery parapet, an empty back positive case was built as a dummy to make the organ appear more representative. This was based on the original design drawing that Bätz had made himself. The mechanical instrument has 17 stops on two manuals . The pedal is attached.

I main work C – f 3
1. Bourdon B / D 16 ′
2. Prestant 8th'
3. Roorfluit 8th'
4th Octaaf 4 ′
5. Covered Fluit 4 ′
6th Quint 3 ′
7th Octaaf 2 ′
8th. Mixture III-VI B / D
9. Trumpet B / D 8th'
II Oberwerk C – f 3
10. Holpijp 8th'
11. Viool de Gambe B / D 8th'
12. Gemshoorn 4 ′
13. Roerfluit 4 ′
14th Woudfluit 2 ′
15th Flageolet 1'
16. Carillon III D
17th Vox Humana B / D 8th'
Pedal C – d 1
(attached)

literature

  • All information from the church guide by Annemieke Hoogenboom available in the church

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Organ in Amersfoort, St. Franziskus Xaverius , accessed on March 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ Information on the organ (Dutch), accessed on March 22, 2016.

Web links

Commons : St. Franziskus Xaverius (Amersfoort)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 9 ′ 30.9 ″  N , 5 ° 23 ′ 15.6 ″  E