St. Katharina (Bad Soden)

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St. Katharina and the new spa park

St. Katharina in Bad Soden am Taunus in Hesse is a Catholic church that is located in the outskirts of the city's new spa park .

Previous construction

The old parish church in 1906
An old interior view of the church from 1904; View of the neo-Gothic main altar
An old interior view of the church from 1904; On the left a side altar from 1888

The first church in Bad Soden dates from the 15th century. After the Reformation , however, this church became Protestant, which meant that the Catholic residents no longer owned a church from that point on. In order to celebrate the service, they had to go to Neuenhain , which is higher up .

In the middle of the 19th century, the number of spa guests rose, mainly following the Catholic faith. So gradually the idea of ​​holding the Catholic church service in the Soden parish hall came up. However, this was rejected by the then mayor Dinges. In addition, attempts were made to set up a committee to promote the construction of a chapel. However, this was initially rejected by the Ducal Nassau Office in Höchst. But in 1861 the success could be celebrated and a committee was founded to build a Catholic church in Bad Soden. After the Nassau state government, the city of Soden and the Limburg Episcopal Ordinariate approved the construction of a chapel in 1862, the foundation stone was laid on September 29, 1862. The shell was already finished in November 1862. On July 17, 1864, the chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria was consecrated.

But the first problems followed in the following year. The gallery inside had to be supported, the planned sacristy could not be built and the requested bell could not be paid. In addition, there were frequent cancellations of services and even a six-week closure of the chapel due to the illness of the Neuenhain pastor. Furthermore, at that time, Soden was not yet its own parish, which made it impossible to transfer the property. On December 24th, 1872 the parish of Soden was established. The first pastor of this parish was Pastor Bigot. After his tenure, Pastor Johannes Butz took up the position in 1885. In 1893 a new altar is built. This wooden building is in the neo-Gothic style. The portrait of St. Catherine is placed in the middle. Pastor Butz died in 1899. Pastor Gruber took over his position. The renovation and expansion of the chapel began in 1904 and was completed in 1905. In 1909 the new organ was installed. In the now mentioned parish church there were three side altars.

In the First World War , the bells had to be handed in, which could not be found later. In 1925 new bells were cast. In 1928 an additional bell tower was built right next to the church. Pastor Gruber died in 1929. Pastor Müller took over his position. In 1930 the church was renovated again. Among other things, warm air heating was installed. In 1940 Pastor Müller left the parish and Pastor Weis took over the position. In the same year, three of the four bells were confiscated for the metal donation of the German people . During the Second World War , the church was badly destroyed, mainly the interior was damaged by splinters. Pastor Weis died in 1950. Pastor Sturm took over his position. In the same year the windows destroyed in the war were renewed and the entrance to the church changed. But gradually the church became too small. In 1954 the church was expanded. At Christmas 1954, however, Privy Councilor Max Baginski announced that he wanted to build a new church for the community. The old parish church was then demolished in the 1950s. The church was located at today's intersection of Parkstrasse and Paul-Reiss-Strasse (today the apartment hotel is located here).

New building of St. Katharina

Construction of the new Catholic Church in 1956
inner space

Max Baginski personally financed the whole church and the adjacent rectory. The architect of this church was Paul Johannbroer from Wiesbaden. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 15, 1955, and the foundation stone was laid on November 6, 1955. Just two years later, on September 1, 1957, the solemn consecration of St. Catherine took place under the Limburg bishop Wilhelm Kempf .

On November 25, 1957, the new organ was inaugurated by cathedral music director Monsignore Hans Pabst from Limburg. The organist Wilhelm Stollenwerk from Frankfurt played several baroque, classical and modern pieces. At the end of 1956, the parsonage next door could also be completed.

In 1964 the Max-Bagisnki-Kindergarten was built and opened on Alleestrasse.

To date, three major renovations have taken place, the first due to the Second Vatican Council . The altar was lowered and the tabernacle moved. In 1983 the church was renovated again, with the old high altar figures and the painting of St. Catherine being hung on the crypt by Max Baginski. In 2006, preparations for the 50th anniversary began. The baptismal font was placed in the middle of the church, the stone wall in the choir was restored, the seating in the choir room was changed and the ambo was moved.

local community

Window in the entrance area of ​​the St. Catherine Church

The Thuin Franciscan Sister Paula also played an important role in the congregation. For years she was sexton and caretaker of the church and cared for the homeless and needy people in Bad Soden. She passed away in 2006.

Services take place every Sunday from 10.45 a.m. and every second Saturday at 6.00 p.m.

The community is home to the St. Katharina day care center , which is located right next to the church.

Priest of the community

  • Pastor Bigot (1872-1885) ¹
  • Pastor Johannes Butz (1885–1899)
  • Pastor Friedrich Georg Gruber (1899–1929)
  • Dean Wilhelm Müller (1929–1940)
  • Pastor Heinrich Weis (1940–1950)
  • Pastor Georg Sturm (1950–1978)
  • Pastor Karl Kindermann (1978–1979)
  • Pastor Peter Schleifer (1979–1982)
  • Pastor Paul Schäfer (1982-2017)
  • Pastor Alexander Brückmann (2017–)
¹ The dates reflect the term of office of the priest.

gallery

  • In the winter

  • Church in the New Kurpark

  • Cross on the forecourt

  • Steeple

  • Baginski's crypt

literature

  • 50 years of St. Katharina . In: Kath. Kirchengemeinde St. Katharina (Hrsg.): Festschrift for the 50th anniversary . S. 10-16 .
  • Rudolf von Nolting: Privy Councilor LM Baginski and his work. According to private records and documents . Ed .: Working group for Bad Soden history. Bad Soden a. Ts. 1993, DNB  931413745 , p. 49-57 .
  • Joachim Kromer: Chronicle of the Catholic parish of St. Katharina Bad Soden a. Ts . Ed .: Working group for Bad Soden history. Bad Soden a. Ts. 1996, DNB  947904220 .

Web links

Commons : St. Katharina  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Farewell to Pastor Schäfer. (No longer available online.) Catholic parish Sankt Marien and Sankt Katharina, March 2017, archived from the original on September 9, 2017 ; accessed on September 9, 2017 .
  2. ↑ The team of full-time chaplains. Retrieved January 2, 2018 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 8 ′ 32 ″  N , 8 ° 30 ′ 24 ″  E