St. Martin (Friesheim)

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Parish Church of St. Martin

The Catholic parish church of St. Martin is a listed church building in Friesheim , a district of Erftstadt in the Rhein-Erft district ( North Rhine-Westphalia ). The church stands on a walled, abandoned cemetery, on which some gravestones are still preserved. It was canceled the gothic predecessor building three naves, neo-Gothic brick basilica with projecting west tower from 1877 to 1878, designed by the Cologne architect August Carl Lange built.

Building history

The predecessor of the Friesheim church, which was mentioned in the Liber valoris as early as 1308 , had become too small for the growing parish over the centuries. When it threatened to collapse around the middle of the 19th century, the community decided to build a new one. Around 700,000 field fire bricks were burned and transported to the construction site by hand and clamping services of the community members. Architect Lange was in charge of construction. In 1877 the foundation stone was laid for the new church, which could be used for worship at the end of 1878. In the following years the church received a neo-Gothic interior.

Building description

Central nave and choir

The brick masonry building is divided vertically by double buttresses, horizontally by a base and a coffin cornice . On the west side of the church rises the approximately 51 meter high five-storey tower, of which the three lower storeys are reinforced with buttresses. The main entrance is on the west side of the tower. The portal is flanked by two round columns. Above the portal there is a three-lane window with three passes in a pointed arch, which fills the arch above the door. The gable triangle protruding above the portal protrudes into the large four-lane window above. At the top of the gable triangle stands a figure of St. Donatus in a niche .

Inside, the central nave and side aisles are each divided into six bays . On each side separate five resting on a square base columns with leaf capitals the nave from the aisles. The ribbed vaults are closed in the central nave with a closing ring. The vault ribs with the belt arches of the respective yokes end in a wall bracket . This leads to a half column that extends from the capital of the columns.

A triumphal arch forms the transition from the central nave to the choir. The canteen of the high altar made of gray natural stone rests on black marble columns. The altar structure is carved from oak. It opens into three wooden towers, the middle of which extends into the middle choir window. The two double doors of the tabernacle are covered with gold plating. Behind these doors is the silver-chased safe door adorned with precious stones, a work by the metal sculptor Jakob Riffeler . In the side niches of the altar there are figures of saints, in the central wooden tower there are sculptures of St. Martin , the patron of the church, and St. Catherine . The side walls of the choir room are equipped with choir stalls. On the right pillar of the triumphal arch, the pentagonal oak pulpit rests on a column almost a meter high. The evangelists are shown seated on four of five fields, the fifth of which serves as an entrance.

organ

The organ from 1896 was built in the Klais workshop in Bonn and restored in 2009.

The vaults of the aisles are similar to those of the main nave, but they are much lower and the vault ribs merge into simple wall brackets. The outer walls are dominated by the pointed arch windows. In the middle of the aisles there is a confessional on each wall . Seven of the 14 Stations of the Cross made of terracotta hang in each aisle . A richly decorated altar is set up at the front of the aisles. On the altar on the left aisle, the Marien Altar, there is an almost life-size Maria made of terracotta. The right side altar, the St. Joseph's altar, has the same shape as the St. Both side altar areas are closed off by one half of the richly carved communion bench .

The windows that shattered in an air raid in World War II were replaced with new ones in the post-war period . The middle choir window with a glass painting "Mary and John under the Cross" from 1948 is the work of the artist Walter Benner . The other stained glass windows for the choir and aisles were made by the Oidtmann company according to designs by the artist Herb Schiffer .

Furnishing

The neo-Gothic furnishings of the church: benches, choir stalls, high altar, pulpit, side altars, communion bench, confessionals and the Way of the Cross are still completely preserved.

St-Martin Friesheim choir cross around 1300

Of the church treasures taken over from the previous church are particularly noteworthy

Friesheim St. Martin baptismal font made of 12th century Namur bluestone with brass cover
  • Round Romanesque baptismal font from the 12th century made of Namur bluestone with corner heads and mythical animals as reliefs . The basin is supported by a round column on a square base plate. During the restoration in 1965/66, the base plate was replaced and four pillars were incorporated.
  • restored wooden cross, a three-nail cross from around 1300, which hangs as a triumphal cross in the choir. On the back of the cross bar a painting of the crucified from around 1600. The cross is rotated on Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday so that during Lent the painting of the crucified is aligned with the nave. After the Wednesday service before Palm Sunday , it is veiled until Holy Saturday.
  • silver-gilt tower monstrance from the second half of the 15th century.
  • Sculpture of St. Martin 17th century (heavily restored and supplemented by the figure of a beggar).
  • Painting of the "Entombment" of Christ, attributed to a pupil of the painter van Dyck .
School of Anthony van Dyck "Entombment"

Bells

Belfry

In the belfry hang five bells. Three of them date from the 15th century and are listed buildings. The other two bells were cast in 1983. The oldest bell, a Marienglocke, was cast by Johann Wael in 1410. The bell founder of the Martinus bell from 1451 was probably Ailf von Wipperfürth. The third bell, the small Marienglocke, was cast in 1459 by Syfart Düsterwald, who left his foundry mark on the bell. In 1942 the two Marienblocken were confiscated. Because of their age, however, they were not melted down, but were used in other churches. They came back in 1947 and 1948.

The new bells were cast in the bell foundry Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock in Gescher. The larger of the two bells is dedicated to St. Donatus, the smaller to St. John the Baptist .

restoration

During the extensive restoration between 1981 and 1986, some changes were made to the room layout. By removing the communion bench, the choir with the celebration altar and ambo was more closely integrated into the nave. By moving the organ closer to the tower arch, more space was created on the gallery. The Romanesque baptismal font was located in the tower chapel near the main entrance. These and other structural changes were adapted to the existing architectural style, so that the church is still considered an excellent example of a neo-Gothic church.

literature

  • Frank Bartsch, Dieter Hoffsümmer, Hanna Stommel: Monuments in Erftstadt. Erftstadt 1998–2000.
  • Olaf Kalscheuer: Elements of a local church history from Friesheim to the end of the 19th century. 1998.
  • Zinken, Hans Josef: St. Martin in Erftstadt-Friesheim. Rheinische Kunststätten, issue 448, Cologne 2000. ISBN 3-88094-857-7

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Hoffsümmer: Chapter 7.2 Friesheim Parish Church of St. Martin. In: Frank Bartsch, Dieter Hoffsümmer, Hanna Stommel: Monuments in Erftstadt. Erftstadt 1998–2000.
  2. ^ Ruben Meyer-Graft: The restoration of the Friesheimer crucifix. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. 15th volume no. 3. Pulheim 1998, pp. 123–126
  3. ^ Hans Josef Zinken: St. Martin in Erftstadt-Friesheim pp. 5–20

Web links

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

Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 18 ″  N , 6 ° 46 ′ 30 ″  E