St. Johannes Nepomuk (Brodenbach)

The former Catholic branch church “St. Johannes Nepomuk ”in Brodenbach on the Lower Moselle

The former Catholic branch church of St. Johannes Nepomuk was a branch of St. Michael (Alken) from 1806 . Since 1993 the former church has been the "Bürgersaal Ahl Kersch" (local dialect for "old church") of the municipality of Brodenbach .

location

The former church is in the center of the municipality of Brodenbach, on the "Rhein-Mosel-Straße", which leads to the L 206 in the Ehrbachtal . The building is located in the high water area of the Moselle and is flooded at extreme high water levels.

Building

The church building is a hall building , built in massive construction from rubble stones under plaster. The tower roof and nave are covered with slate . The external dimensions of the building (without tower and sacristy) are: 6 meters wide and 16 meters long. The former chancel inside is closed off by a three-part apse . The building and land are the property of the local community.

history

At the beginning of the 18th century, the then residents of today's Brodenbach church belonged to the Löf parish on the opposite side of the Moselle. The civil administration was the imperial knighthood of Ehrenberg . In 1732 the barons of Clodt (also Cloedt, Cloth) were in fiefdom of the lordship, to which Brodenbach also belonged. A Raban von Clodt had a chapel built on the site of a presumed earlier chapel, against the resistance of the parish of Löf and the Trier diocese administration.

The chapel was consecrated to the Bohemian priest Johannes Nepomuk , who became popular as the "bridge saint" . Its name festival is May 16. It was not until 1756 that the von Clodt family were allowed to celebrate mass there, with the condition that they would cover all costs of future pastoral service. In 1775 a sacristy was added to the choir and a roof turret with a bell. The furnishings of the church, including baroque figures of saints, and the liturgical furnishings were largely donated by the manorial family.

This coat of arms is a linear engraving with the year 1705 on a silver chalice of the church

The last patron saint of the church was Benedict, Baron von Clodh , electoral court president in Koblenz, died in 1798. In 1856 the cemetery directly next to the church was abandoned. In 1889 the building was enlarged by a third to the south, a gallery was built inside and a three-storey bell tower in neo-Romanesque style was added to the south side of the nave. The walls and ceiling of the interior were painted ornamentally in color. An altar with a crucifixion group from a secularized monastery in the Rhineland became the main altar.

In the 1960s, everything decorative was removed from the interior of the church, or painted over completely in white, and figures of saints that were judged to be worthless in terms of art history were removed.

In 1973 the last mass was celebrated in the church and the parish moved into the newly built, larger "Vom Heilig Kreuz Kirche". The old church building then experienced different uses. The liturgy equipment and parts of the interior were given to the newly built "Holy Cross Church".

In 1984 the church “St. Johann Nepomuk ” profaned by the Trier Bishop Hermann Josef Spital . The church building became the property of the civil parish again.

In 1991 the Brodenbach municipal council decided to turn the old church into a venue for events and meetings. The building was renovated and an annex for operating and supply facilities was added on the west side.

Floor plan of “St. Johannes Nepomuk ”, Brodenbach, with the structural changes from 1732 to 1993

literature

General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (Ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - Mayen-Koblenz district. Mainz 2020, p. 24 (PDF; 5.8 MB).
Bürgerbuch Brodenbach (= German local rib books . Volume 00.880 ). tape 1 . Plaidt 2015, ISBN 978-3-86424-242-7 .

Individual evidence

↑ The Catholics of Brodenbach belonged to the parish of St. Luzia (Löf) . In contrast, there is no evidence for the Church of St. Nepomuk to have been a branch church of St. Luzia in Löf.
↑ Adult Education Center Untermosel: A Catholic Church of the 20th Century - "From the Holy Cross" in Brodenbach. Volume 3. Moselkiesel, Kobern-Gondorf 2002, ISBN 3-9806059-1-4 , pp. 87-98.
↑ According to the Brodenbach town register, the figures Mother Anna with Child Jesus (15th century), Pieta (early 16th century), the Immaculate Conception figure and St. Johannes Nepomuk (both 18th century Rococo on a console with the donor's coat of arms) ) and an altar with a crucifixion group in the Rococo style from a Franciscan monastery in Jülich that was dissolved around 1800.
↑ Bürgerbuch Brodenbach (= Deutsche Ortsippenbücher . Volume 00.880 ). tape 1 . Plaidt 2015, ISBN 978-3-86424-242-7 , pp. 70-102 .

[1] The Catholics of Brodenbach belonged to the parish of St. Luzia (Löf) . In contrast, there is no evidence for the Church of St. Nepomuk to have been a branch church of St. Luzia in Löf.

[2] Adult Education Center Untermosel: A Catholic Church of the 20th Century - "From the Holy Cross" in Brodenbach. Volume 3. Moselkiesel, Kobern-Gondorf 2002, ISBN 3-9806059-1-4 , pp. 87-98.

[3] According to the Brodenbach town register, the figures Mother Anna with Child Jesus (15th century), Pieta (early 16th century), the Immaculate Conception figure and St. Johannes Nepomuk (both 18th century Rococo on a console with the donor's coat of arms) ) and an altar with a crucifixion group in the Rococo style from a Franciscan monastery in Jülich that was dissolved around 1800.

[4] Bürgerbuch Brodenbach (= Deutsche Ortsippenbücher . Volume 00.880 ). tape 1 . Plaidt 2015, ISBN 978-3-86424-242-7 , pp. 70-102 .