St. Gertrud (Aschaffenburg)

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St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - panorama view
St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - chancel

The Church of St. Gertrud is a Catholic parish church built in 1959/60 . Along with the parish church of the Nativity of Mary, it is the second Catholic parish church in the Schweinheim district in the south of the city of Aschaffenburg .

history

A church at this location was already being considered in the 1920s. Pastor BGR Karl Umenhof acquired the first land for the construction of the church on the "Schweinheimer Höhe" in 1931/32 . On December 6, 1950, the Catholic Church Foundation St. Gertrud was founded and additional land was acquired to build a church, parsonage, parsonage , nurses' station and later a kindergarten. On January 11, 1956, the parish of St. Gertrud was canonically established, before the final parish boundaries were determined (through the assignment of territory to Our Lady (Aschaffenburg) and Maria Birth, Schweinheim) and approved by the Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture . As patroness, “St. Gertrud in Franconia ” with reference to the veneration of St. Gertrud von Nivelles .

At the request of the Würzburg bishop Julius Döpfner , Rudolf Schwarz from Cologne was commissioned to plan the new church and the parish center. The designs were created in his office in Frankfurt am Main . Construction work began on March 14, 1959, under the supervision of the Schweinheim architect Georg Ackermann. At the laying of the foundation stone on June 7, 1959 by Cathedral Chapter Theodor Kramer, new paths were broken. The foundation stone used to be the cornerstone that held the whole building together. In the age of concrete / reinforced concrete , this meaning is no longer given and the foundation stone with the inscription "Hic fulget crucis mysterium" (This is where the secret of the cross shines) was embedded in the concrete column on which the altar stands.

building

St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - chancel
St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - St. Gertrud of Franconia (Nivelles)
St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - Way of the Cross

In the commemorative publication for the inauguration, the architect Rudolf Schwarz explains his intentions in the design of the church and the area:

“ St. Gertrud is one of the few churches that I built based on the great idea of ​​the holy way. This path ... starts outside the church, at the top of the street the church tower, free-standing, the caller, the admonisher! The first steps to the entrance should leave everyday life, the hectic pace, the hustle and bustle behind and the closer you get to the altar, throw off the cross of man to get to the cross of redemption. If you come through the covered corridor, the path will be crossed. It is the path of reconciliation - here the holy water font, the sacrament of baptism , on the opposite side the confessional chapel, the sacrament of penance , of reconciliation with God. On this path there is also the place for the church patroness St. Gertrud, as mediator between God and people ... "

The church tower is 26 m high, free-standing on the street. The covered intermediate corridor (church entrance from the lower street) leads to the kindergarten, parish garden, sacristy and parish center. Opposite the holy water font is the confessional chapel. There is also the stained glass picture of the patroness based on a design by the Aschaffenburg artist Siegfried Rischar .

The 48 m long, 14 m high and 16 m wide church is not east facing, but the altar stands in the west, the light of the midday and evening sun falls through the stained glass windows of the cross on the rear wall of the altar. In the middle the almond-shaped halo , the mandorla , you can see the ancient depiction of Christ enthroned, shown here as a white light. “Wherever God is, man can only avert his eyes blinded.” Seven circles around the throne, the seven candlesticks from Revelation (1:12).

The design for the two ensembles of the gable windows was created by Prof. Karl Knappe, Munich, and they were executed by the Mayer'schen Hofkunstanstalt, Munich.

Interior

With the simple furnishings, the altar and the ambo in red Main sandstone according to the design of the artist Hubert Friedl, the church was opened on 17/28. Consecrated by Bishop Josef Stangl in 1960. The stipulations of the Second Vatican Council were implemented by the Aschaffenburg artist Hermann Kröckel and Maria Schwarz (floor design). In the middle is the tabernacle embedded in a red sandstone stele , with the seven candlesticks (star-shaped flames) framed by a crowd of worshipers. On the left side there are Easter candlesticks and a baptismal font made of red sandstone, on the right a statue of the Virgin Mary with the blessing Christ on her lap, made of the same material. In front two large-format panel paintings.

In harmony with the Stations of the Cross by the architect Rudolf Schwarz, Siegfried Rischar created 15 Stations of the Cross of Jesus Christ. It was inaugurated on March 17, 1988. In addition to this, Rischar created two altarpieces in white and gray, "Sending the Apostles" and "Pentecost", which were hung up at Easter 1990. In the picture of Pentecost, under the stream of grace of the sending down of the Holy Spirit, one sees Mary and the apostles.

Tower and bells

Four bells hang in the tower, which were cast in the Heidelberg bell foundry F. W. Schilling . The inscriptions are: Christ bell “And you will hear my voice” 1550 kg. (dis), Marienglocke "Maria vom Siege, please for us" 850 kg. (fis), Joseph's bell “Holy Joseph, hold your protective hand over our parish” 750 kg. (g sharp) and Gertrud bell “St. Gertrud, protect your franc “ 500 kg. (ais). The “four bronze angels of God” were consecrated by Dean Karl Hartmann on March 8, 1964 and then moved into the tower. In 1979 a tower cross, 5.20 m high, 2.70 m wide and weighing 9 hundred pounds, made of stainless steel was erected on the tower.

organ

St. Gertrud Aschaffenburg - organ

In the back of the church there is an organ made by Michael Weise Orgelbau in Plattling . It is set up at ground level as there is no gallery built into the church. The instrument with two manuals and pedal (25 registers ) was inaugurated on Christmas Day (December 26, 1966) by Pastor Ferdinand Scherpf from Aschaffenburg St. Kilian . The organ has slide chests , electric action , free-standing console with two free combinations and 7 playing aids. A two-part mahogany case surrounds the pipework . It has the following disposition :

I Rückpositiv C – g 3
1. Quintad 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Reed flute 8th'
4th Octav 4 ′
5. Smalled up 4 ′
6th Octav 2 ′
7th Sesquialter II
8th. Mixture IV 1 2 ⁄ 3  ′
9. Cimbel III 1 ⁄ 2 ′
10. Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – g 3
11. Dumped 8th'
12. Harp pipe 8th'
13. Principal 4 ′
14th Coupling flute 4 ′
15th Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Night horn 2 ′
17th Terzian II 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
18th Scharff IV 1'
19th Dulcian 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
20th Sub-bass 16 ′
21st Principal bass 8th'
22nd Wooden dacked 8th'
23. Fifth bass 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
24. Hollow flute 4 ′
25th trombone 16 ′

Community center

In 1966/67 the parish center (parish hall, youth rooms) was built as a link between the church and the rectory. The hall has 220 seats, a kitchenette, cloakroom and ancillary rooms and four youth rooms in the basement. In 1967 the kindergarten and library were inaugurated. The Hefner-Alteneck-Kindergarten, established in 1965, became the responsibility of the parish of St. Gertrud in 1983 and was rebuilt as the St. Martin Kindergarten in 2010.

Ordination in Aschaffenburg

Bishop Josef Stangl ordained seven deacons as priests on March 10, 1962 in St. Gertrud in Aschaffenburg .

Pastor

  • 1960–1973: Theodor Diem * March 18, 1910 in Marktbreit , ordained a priest on March 3, 1935, † January 7, 1993 Würzburg
  • 1973–1978: Otto Weißheimer * March 27, 1934 in Oppenheim , ordained a priest on March 13, 1960, † April 23, 2010 in Fulda
  • 1978–1994: Willi Geßner * May 2, 1929 in Haard , ordained a priest on July 19, 1943, † December 22, 2008 Bad Kissingen
  • 1994–2010: Robert Heßberger, born July 31, 1940 in Aschaffenburg, ordained a priest on June 29, 1966

Web links

Commons : St. Gertrud  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vincent Buhleier - history of the church building St. Gertrud commemorative St. to the inauguration of the new church Gertrud in Aschaffenburg on 17/18. September 1960
  2. ^ Rudolf Schwarz: The Church of St. Gertrud in Aschaffenburg . Festschrift for the inauguration of the new St. Gertrud Church in Aschaffenburg on 17./18. September 1960, introduction.
  3. ↑ Main-Echo No. 129 of June 4, 1960
  4. ↑ Michael Pfeifer The parish church of St. Gertrud on the Schweinheimer Höhe - a church guide to the 50th anniversary, Michael Pfeifer publishing studio 2010 ISBN 978-3-933915-35-1
  5. ↑ List of those involved in the construction: Festschrift for the inauguration of the new St. Gertrud Church in Aschaffenburg on September 17 and 18, 1960 . Aschaffenburg 1960, p. 21 .
  6. ↑ Main-Echo No. 64 of March 17, 1988
  7. ↑ Under the light of the resurrection, the shine of the sun, Jesus stands saying the words "Go into all the world and teach all peoples" and "I am with you every day", surrounded by the apostles in whose faces you can see the different reactions to these words can read. Here, too, one can see from the faces how difficult it is for the individual apostles to process the divine grace that has been bestowed upon them. Main-Echo No. 90 from April 19, 1990
  8. ↑ Main-Echo No. 3 of January 4, 1964
  9. ↑ Main-Echo No. 57 of March 9, 1964
  10. ↑ Main-Echo No. 255 of November 5, 1979
  11. ^ Hermann Fischer: Organs of the Bavarian Lower Main region. History and Art Association eV, Aschaffenburg 2004, ISBN 3-87965-099-3 .
  12. ↑ Main-Echo No. 255 of November 5, 1966
  13. ↑ Main-Echo No. 271 of November 25, 1983
  14. ↑ Main-Echo No. 59 of March 12, 1962

Coordinates: 49 ° 57 ′ 43.1 ″  N , 9 ° 9 ′ 13.6 ″  E