St. Martinus (Steinkirchen)

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The Church of St. Martinus is the Roman Catholic branch church of the Steinkirchen district of the city of Wassenberg in the Heinsberg district ( North Rhine-Westphalia ).

The church is entered under number 38 in the list of architectural monuments in Wassenberg .

St. Martinus in Steinkirchen
Gothic church tower

history

Church building

A church in Steinkirchen was mentioned for the first time in 1118. This building was probably a pre-Romanesque hall church from the 9th century. There are no more traces of this church today.

The oldest part of today's church is the late Gothic bell tower from the 15th or 16th century. Today's church was built on these between 1871 and 1874 according to plans by the Cologne architect Heinrich Wiethase as a three-aisled, neo-Gothic hall church with a choir closed on five sides . During the construction work, some residents of the neighboring town of Effeld occupied the construction site, so that the building was only completed as a shell by 1874. They wanted to ensure that a new and larger church was not built in Steinkirchen, but in Effeld, which was already much larger at that time, which belonged to the Steinkirchen parish. In 1910 a church was finally built in Effeld. The building of the church was only completed in 1898.

During the Second World War, the church was damaged by artillery fire. It was not until 1955 that the building received an emergency roof. In the 1960s, the temporary roof made of felt was finally replaced by a slate roof. Since the church was hardly used for church services since 1946, the building fell into disrepair in the 1970s. In 1984 the tower was finally renovated and between 2000 and 2004 the vault was secured, as it threatened to collapse after the earthquake in 1992. So the church is currently in a kind of shell condition.

parish

Originally Steinkirchen was the main town of the parish of St. Martinus Steinkirchen-Effeld and St. Martinus was the parish church . Since the neighboring town was already significantly larger than Steinkirchen by 1900, the parish seat was moved to Effeld in 1930. Since then, church services have taken place in Steinkirchen less and less, until after the Second World War parish life shifted entirely to Effeld. The church in Steinkirchen has been empty since then.

Furnishing

Despite the fact that it has now been vacant for 60 years, some pieces of equipment from the second half of the 19th century have been preserved in the church. In the church there is a neo-Gothic high altar by the sculptor D. Kuypers from Roermond from 1901, two neo-Gothic side altars by the Roermond sculptor Houtermanns from 1898, a communion bench by the sculptor and stonemason Geelen from 1874, and a neo-Gothic pulpit and the benches from 1905. Furthermore, the organ prospectus has been preserved in the organ gallery, but there are almost no pipes left. In addition, remains of the historicist wall painting from 1898 by the Roermond artist Muermanns have been preserved. However, this painting was very badly damaged by the ingress of water after the war. In addition to these pieces of equipment, which are still in the church, some pieces of equipment, such as the figures, are stored in the warehouse of the Aachen diocese in the Wenau monastery . In 2009 the old Steinkirchen altar cross was hung in the Effelder Herz-Jesu-Kirche.

Fragments of the first windows have been preserved in the nave. These were created by an unknown artist between 1890 and 1892. The windows in the choir date from 1966 and are the work of the artist Peter Thomas.

Bells

Since the tower was badly damaged in a severe earthquake in the 1990s, St. Martinus does not have a functioning bell. A bell is still placed in the tower, but for static reasons it can no longer ring.

Todays use

The church is used for various concerts and exhibitions. Otherwise the church is empty. Even after 60 years of vacancy, permanent use could not be found until today, which is certainly also due to the very manageable size of stone churches with a little over 100 inhabitants. A family from Steinkirchen has been committed to the maintenance of the building on a voluntary basis and with a lot of personal contribution for years.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chronicle of the Steinkirchen parish: http://www.effeld.eu/sub1/dokument/pfarrchr/04.htm
  2. ↑ Aachener Zeitung: http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/heinsberg/martinuskirche-mit-fleiss-und-kreativitaet-dem-verfall-getrotzt-1.806843
  3. ↑ Oliver Meys: Churches in Transition, p. 140 f.
  4. ↑ Chronicle of the Steinkirchen parish: http://www.effeld.eu/sub1/dokument/pfarrchr/03.htm
  5. ↑ Chronicle of the Steinkirchen parish: http://www.effeld.eu/sub1/dokument/pfarrchr/06.htm
  6. ↑ Chronicle of the Steinkirchen parish: http://www.effeld.eu/sub1/dokument/pfarrchr/04.htm
  7. ↑ Aachener Zeitung: http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/kreis-heinsberg/steinkirchener-altarkreuz-haengt-jetzt-in-effeld-1.311033
  8. ↑ Internet site for the glass painting research center http://www.glasmalerei-ev.de/pages/b2641/b2641.shtml
  9. ↑ Aachener Zeitung: http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/heinsberg/martinuskirche-mit-fleiss-und-kreativitaet-dem-verfall-getrotzt-1.806843

Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 48.1 ″  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 48.2 ″  E