St. Monika (Cologne)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exterior view

St. Monika was a Catholic branch church of the parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Bilderstöckchen district of Cologne , which was built between 1969 and 1970 according to plans by the architect Nikolaus Rosiny . The church was under the patronage of Monika von Tagaste . In 2016 it was profaned and demolished in autumn 2019.

history

The parish of St. Monika emerged in 1968 from a split of the parish area from St. Joseph, with their care being handed over to the order of the White Fathers , who operate their mission center - the Afrikanum - in the immediate vicinity . This fact was also based on the choice of the church patroness, who came from North Africa.

The architect Rosiny was commissioned to design the church, the foundation stone of which was laid on August 24, 1969. The first service was celebrated on Christmas Eve 1970, and Cardinal Joseph Höffner consecrated St. Monika on August 27, 1972. Relics of the Ugandan martyr Matthias Murumba Kalemba and Zenon of Verona and his companions were placed in the altar.

At the turn of the year 2007/2008 the parish was dissolved and merged into the new parish of St. Francis of Assisi with the parish church of St. Francis .

Since around 2008/2009, the municipality has noticed an increased need for renovation of the building, including the roof and the heating. It was decided to demolish the church and build a new day care center, supplemented by day care for the elderly and housing. In this way, the work of the parish should be present in the old location even without a church building.

On June 7, 2016, St. Monika was profaned and demolished in autumn 2019.

Building description

It was a simple, cubic flat-roof building in the midst of lower-height community buildings, which was slightly elevated in a green area, but in urban development connection with the surrounding residential development. The concrete skeleton was filled with light-colored stones , and another square block rose in the center of the roof. A square tower - only slightly raised - was added to the ensemble.

Inside, the structure was much more complex: In an almost square room, four corner pillars support a skylight with a lattice ceiling, which defines an interior area in which the altar - also in the center - stood on a raised pedestal. The pews for the congregation were aligned on three sides around the altar, the fourth side was reserved for the priest's bench.

"[These Rosinys churches are] in their rather rational-looking language of forms, which dispense with any superficial sacredness, an expression of a self-confident but unobtrusive modernity."

- Josef Rüenauver, archdiocese master builder ret. D. of the Archdiocese of Cologne

Furnishing

A central piece of equipment was the modern altar cross by Siegfried Haas , which was designed in three dimensions due to the room structure - it should be perceived as a cross from all sides of the room. Also tabernacle , ambo , Eternal Light , Paschal candle and the stations of the cross and a statue of the Madonna were manufactured 1975-1977 by this artist. A large wall hanging was knotted by parishioners and placed behind the altar in 1981.

There were no bells in St. Monika.

organ

A two-manual organ with 17 registers by Hugo Mayer Orgelbau was installed after a long donation campaign in 1993. After the profanation, it was sold to the St. Jacobis parish in Hilden and placed in the St. Konrad church.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 08th'
Wooden flute 08th' *
Octave 04 ′ *
Sifflet 02 ′
Fifth 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Mixture IV 02 ′
Trumpet 08th' *
II subsidiary work C – g 3
Reed flute 08th'
Salicional 08th'
Vox coelestis 08th'
recorder 02 ′
Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Duplicate 02 ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Basson Hautbois 08th
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Octavbass 08th'
Wooden flute 08th' *
Choral bass 04 ′ *
bassoon 16 ′
Trumpet 8th' *

* = Register on alternating loop

Web links

Commons : St. Monika (Köln-Bilderstöckchen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Main topic: Farewell, St.Monika! In: FORUM. Parish letter of the pastoral care area Nippes / Bilderstöckchen . 2016, p. 8-14 .
  2. ↑ No. 7 Document on the reorganization of the parishes (parishes) . In: Official Journal of the Archdiocese of Cologne . Piece 1. Cologne January 1, 2008, p. 7 ( erzbistum-koeln.de [PDF]).
  3. ↑ Social construction plans: New buildings are planned on the site of the St. Monika community. July 25, 2018, accessed on April 17, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ No. 492 Profanation of the St. Monika branch church in Cologne . In: Official Journal of the Archdiocese of Cologne . Piece 8. Cologne August 1, 2016 ( erzbistum-koeln.de [PDF]).
  5. ↑ Bernd Schöneck: Good cohesion in the quarter. October 10, 2019, accessed on April 17, 2020 (German).
  6. ↑ a b c Monika Schmelzer: Sankt Monika . In: Manfred Becker-Huberti, Günter A. Menne (Ed.): Churches in Cologne. The churches of the Catholic and Protestant communities in Cologne. Bachem, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-7616-1731-3 , p. 130 .
  7. ↑ a b c Helmut Fußbroich, Dierk Holthausen: Architectural Guide Cologne: Sacred Buildings after 1900 . 1st edition. Bachem, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-7616-1683-X , p. 242-243 .
  8. ^ Obituary Nikolaus Rosiny (1926–2011) . In: Chamber of Architects North Rhine-Westphalia (ed.): DABregional . No. 5 , May 1, 2011, p. 33 .
  9. ↑ Sandra Grünwald: New organ sounds for the festival in St. Konrad. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung. April 23, 2018, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  10. ↑ New organ at St. Konrad. In: kath-hilden.de. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 53.3 "  N , 6 ° 56 ′ 18.8"  E