St. Michael (Aachen-Burtscheid)
The Catholic parish church of St. Michael in Burtscheid (today Aachen - Burtscheid ) was the former Leutkirche of the Reichsabtei Burtscheid . It was first mentioned in a document in 1252.
Building history
A three-aisled Romanesque church with four bays and a massive west tower was built between 1215 and 1230. The church measured about 28.70 m in length and about 14.35 m in width. In 1252 the parish church of St. Michael was incorporated by the Archbishop of Cologne, Konrad von Hochstaden, into the imperial abbey of Burtscheid as compensation for war damage suffered. Around 1352 the Romanesque church was expanded to include a Gothic choir. In 1504 the church received two bells, the Michael bell and the Sebastian bell, made by the bell builder Peter I of Trier . Both bells were delivered in 1942 as part of the metal donation, but not melted down, but hung up again in 1956. In 1625 the dilapidated Romanesque-Gothic church was renewed by replacing the nave pillars and the roof structure.
The couven construction
The next new building was necessary in the middle of the 18th century and was completed by the brothers Franz and Paul Klausener as a baroque three-aisled pillar basilica according to plans by Johann Joseph Couven (1751) . The house stones used in the church come from the quarry belonging to the Burtscheid Imperial Abbey. The church received a sacristy on either side of the choir, from which one could get to the choir through two doors behind the high altar.
At the same time as St. Johann in Burtscheid , the parish church of St. Michael was built on the edge of the slope from Michaelsberg. In 1748 the dilapidated structure was demolished down to the tower and Couven designed a new building. The choice fell on a simplified proposal. "Couven's design is based on the basic scheme of the pillar basilica of the High Renaissance in its baroque form." Couven probably used the parish churches of St. Roch and St. Sulpice in Paris , St. Pieter in Ghent , the Beguinage in Mechelen, and the Jesuit church in Liège as a model. The buildings illustrate tradition and contemporary perception. The overall impression of the building is simpler than St. Johann. The nave consists of four bays over a rectangular floor plan with pressed cross vaults. The aisles have flat domed vaults. The crossing is vaulted by a flat dome, the transepts are cross-vaulted and swing out in round apses. The choir is only faintly emphasized.
Since the design and execution of the parish church of St. Michael in Burtscheid by Johann Joseph Couven was too expensive for the parish, the execution of the design with partially simplified changes was handed over to the mason and carpenter Paul and Franz Klausener. The construction of the church was finished in 1751.
The simplified version concerned the west side of St. Michael B. The “connection of the old tower to the new church was simplified; Instead of the projected high-rise attic with a gable and sweeping side volutes, a simple entrance hall covered with roof tiles was built with great modesty. This unsightly change to the original plan was at the expense of the entire architectural image. The simple portal construction lasted about a hundred years; because around 1860 it was replaced by an entrance hall in (...) ( neo-baroque ) style. ”In 1891 this building measure was also torn down and renewed with an extension with a new tower.
“The exterior is a plaster-free brick building, the cornices and framework of which stand out clearly from the surfaces with their light gray-blue limestone (...) The architectural details of the nave are limited to a very small amount. The quiet wall surfaces of the side aisles are broken through by simple arched windows, and those of the transept and the choir are broken up by round-arched wedge-shaped windows above a smooth cone stone base. In between, unadorned struts rise from the lead-covered pent roofs as a continuation of the central nave pillars; covered with sloping volute stones, the lower profile of which continues as a wall cornice. The transept, which protrudes only a little beyond the nave, is rounded at the corners in Couvenscher style. High arched windows sit in the recessed wall panels; underneath on the south side a simple portal with steps in front. The walls of the choir are also divided by 12 cm deep panels and arched windows. The sloping sides are completely closed; the oval window on the east side is walled up on the inside. The old sacristy and the side rooms were originally located in the corner formed by the choir and transept. The new sacristy from 1891 is attached to the choir.
In place of order, the whole exterior is structured by a pilaster frame in the driest form. A strong eaves surrounds the whole building. Above that, the nave and choir are covered with a mansard roof that has been slotted. On the choir ridge there is an open, square bell tower with a slate onion cover. His tower button bears the figure of h. Michael. Compared to the simple roof of the nave, the well-loosened roof shape of the transept is even more apparent. The transept, laid out in a quadrangle, merges into an unequal octagon in the middle by sloping the corners up to the height of the ridge. Then the curved surfaces lead back to the square. At the end, a plinth with inverted volutes (a mannerist detail) carries an urn.
Five pairs of pillars divide the Laghaus into a central nave with two side aisles (...) On the pillars of the central nave, pilasters with gilded capitals take up the richly articulated cornice, which is interrupted by cranking above the pillars. The five broad cross straps of the vault are attached above this. In addition to these vaults in the raised central nave, narrow corner pillars rise above the cornice to support the shield arches that are pressed into the basket arch. In between, the stitch caps cut deep into the barrel vault. At about three-quarters height of the central nave piers, attached pilasters accommodate the wide belt and septum arches of the side aisles. Between these arches the individual yokes of the side aisles are vaulted with hanging domes. The window walls are slightly bevelled towards the inside and steeply sloping towards the bottom. Between the high spanning arches, pendentives lead to the heavy, round domed cornice. The round dome arches above it in stuccoed wooden cladding. On both sides of the dome, narrow barrels with stitch caps are attached. High transept windows on the north and south walls interrupt the cornice led over from the nave. The choir, which is only one step higher, consists of a cross vault with a partial dome for the chancel. The walls are divided into pilaster architecture according to the nave; between the two side windows. ”The high altar was created by JJ Couven.
19th century
On March 1, 1804, St. Michael was elevated to a cantonal parish and thus the main parish. The pastors now bore the title of senior pastor. In 1861–1862 the barn-like vestibule was torn down and a neo-baroque porch was created with a richly decorated portal and two-winged neo-baroque door. The porch, which is reminiscent of an ancient Roman triumphal arch and which the pastor Sartorius had erected to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, was crowned with sculptures by the Aachen sculptor Gottfried Götting on the outer front of the church, Mary with the Depicting child and four angels. The neo-baroque figure of Mary has been preserved, the four neo-Gothic angels come from the tower of the Marienkirche in Aachen.
In 1872, the church painter Michael Welter from Cologne began painting the interior of the church, which had previously been whitewashed. The church building was expanded in the years 1891–1900 according to the plans of the Aachen architect Peter Friedrich Peters . The medieval tower was laid down to its foundations and the church was extended by two bays to the west. A new tower in the spirit of the Wilhelmine era significantly changed the original Couven concept. The portal from 1862 was incorporated into the new tower. The sacristy was drawn around the choir. On July 21, 1900 was the solemn consecration by Archbishop Simar from Cologne. In 1901 the sacristy was extended by a building with a mansard roof around the choir.
Second World War
The Second World War caused severe damage to the church. During a bomb attack on the night of October 6, 1942, the church was badly damaged by an air mine on the windows and roof. On July 14, 1943, during another air raid by British bombers, the roof, the wooden dome of the crossing and the spire burned down; the collapsing roof shattered parts of the baroque cross vault in the nave. The heavy bombing raid on April 11, 1944 caused further serious damage. Most of the baroque interior was burned. After the makeshift repair of the war damage under the direction of architect Peter Salm , the service could be held again in the parish church from November 13, 1949.
reconstruction
An air mine had partially destroyed the roof membrane and the glazing, as well as cracking the vault. The air raid on Wednesday, July 14, 1943 caused the roof to collapse and the vault of the nave was destroyed. In 1946, the architect Döhring made a damage report. The building committee entrusted the restoration work to Peter Salm. The currency reform on June 20, 1948 stagnated the project. The first phase of construction was completed in late autumn 1949. The interior had been cleared. A flat sloping roof with a pantile covering replaced the curved mansard roofs with slate covering and sub-construction. The nave received a false ceiling as an upper end. The crossing dome, the basis for the flat dome, was secured. the restoration of the aisle vaults were part of this first section, which was carried out by the Burtscheider building contractor August Baumanns. In 1952 the interior was plastered according to the original picture. The measures were intended to illustrate the overall impression of the church in the 18th century. The unsightly tower helmet was advertised for a competition.
In 1958 the vaults were reconstructed and the provisional reconstruction was temporarily completed. The renewal of the stucco profiles was carried out less strongly profiled. The renewed stucco profiles now divide the choir, crossing and nave again. In 1960 hot water underfloor heating was installed. In February 1964 the church received new lead glazing, the donation of a generous donor. The fire damage to the column bases has been fixed. Ground bluestone slabs measuring 30 × 30 cm formed the floor instead of the two-tone marble slabs from 1898. St. Michael is partly in a cemetery, which required costly foundation work.
Architect Hans Küpper designed the altar and choir area. The rising masonry was repaired by Küppers.
From 1972 to 73 the open lantern with a curved dome was erected to close off the tower. In 1974, the construction of the tower was completed, with a figure of Sts made by the sculptor Bonifatius Stirnberg . Michael is crowned as a weather vane. The total height of the tower is 49 m, the entire length of the church 52 m, the width of the transept 21.50 m. From 1979 to 1982 the Couven mansard roofs and dome were reconstructed. In 1985/86 the interior of the church was restored under architect Herbert Queck and in 1986 the baroque interior painting brought the restoration to a conclusion.
monument
In 1974 the parish church of St. Michael Burtscheid was added to the list of monuments by the Rhineland State Conservator :
"Michaelsbergstr.
1748-1751 (JJCouven), 1891 west yoke with tower (Peters) and ambulatory, reconstruction 1948-1958, 1973/74;
Pillar basilica with choir transept and west tower, brick with bluestone integration "
organ
The highlight of the interior renovation was the purchase of a new organ on a constructed specifically for the organ steel platform in 1999. With the construction of this 38 registers large, French-symphonic organ works Fa. Was Josef Weimbs organ building from Hellenthal entrusted in the Eifel. The instrument has 38 stops on three manuals ( slider chests ) and pedal ( cone chests ). The playing and stop actions are mechanical.
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- Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
- Secondary register: tubular glockenspiel G – g 1 (main work)
- Playing aids : Appels: Hauptwerk, Zungen.
Personalities
Heribert August was pastor at St. Michael from 1983 to 2012 and organized large-scale aid projects for Bosnia from here . Armin Laschet , today's Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, was involved in St. Michael's youth work during his high school days.
literature
- Karl Faymonville : The churches of the city of Aachen (= The art monuments of the Rhine province, Vol. 10, 2). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1922, pp. 278 / 550-291 / 563.
- Hans Küpper: The parish church of St. Michael in Aachen-Burtscheid. Ollfisch, Aachen 1964.
- Ernst Günther Grimme : Church treasures of the former abbey church St. Johann and the parish church St. Michael in Aachen-Burtscheid . Thouet Verlag, Aachen / Leipzig / Paris 1996, ISBN 3-930594-12-9 .
Web links
- Entry on the Catholic parish church of St. Michael in Burtscheid in the database " KuLaDig " of the Rhineland Regional Association
- Catholic parish of St. Gregor von Burtscheid
- Offerings from the Church of St. Michael
- St. Michael construction phases
- The bells of St. Michael on wdr.dr / Glockenpforte
Individual evidence
- ^ Helga Giersiepen: The inscriptions of the city of Aachen (= The German inscriptions , volume 32). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1993, ISBN 978-3-88226-527-9 , No. 53 ( online ).
- ^ Helga Giersiepen: The inscriptions of the city of Aachen (= The German inscriptions , volume 32). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1993, ISBN 978-3-88226-527-9 , No. 54 ( online ).
- ↑ Couven's suggestions s. Aachener Zeitschrift XVII, Fig. 59–61; Karl Faymonville: The churches of the city of Aachen (= The art monuments of the Rhine province, Vol. 10, 2). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1922, pp. 282/554.
- ^ Hans Küpper: St. Michael in Aachen-Burtscheid. Ollfisch, Aachen 1964, p. 22ff.
- ↑ Karl Faymonville: The churches of the city of Aachen (= The art monuments of the Rhine province, Vol. 10, 2). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1922, pp. 282/554; Karl Faymonville u. a .: The secular monuments and the collections of the city of Aachen (= The Art Monuments of the Rhine Province, Vol. 10, 3). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1924, pp. 177/793.
- ↑ Karl Faymonville: The churches of the city of Aachen (= The art monuments of the Rhine province, Vol. 10, 2). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1922, pp. 282/554.
- ↑ Karl Faymonville: The churches of the city of Aachen (= The art monuments of the Rhine province, Vol. 10, 2). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1922, pp. 283 / 555f.
- ^ Parish archives St. Marien, Aachen, illustration of the removal of the tower figures.
- ↑ Holger A. Dux : The architect Peter Salm and his work in Burtscheid. in: Helmut Doerenkamp (Ed.): Contributions to the history of Burtscheid. Vol. 1, Aachen-Burtscheid 2003, pp. 255-260.
- ↑ State Conservator Rhineland Monuments Directory. 1.2 Aachen, other parts of the city. Edited by Volker Osteneck with the assistance of Hans Königs . Status: 1974–1977. Rhineland Cologne, 1978. p. 32.
- ↑ Orgel von St. Michael ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 50 ″ N , 6 ° 5 ′ 40 ″ E