St. Nicolas (Hérémence)
The Church of St. Nicolas is a Roman Catholic church on Rue de l'Eglise in the mountain village of Hérémence ( VS ) in Switzerland . It is dedicated to Nikolaus von Myra .
history
The previous church in Hérémence was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1946 and became too small in the course of the following years. It was demolished in the fall of 1967.
Today's church was designed by the architect and sculptor Walter Maria Förderer after a two-stage competition process and built from pure exposed concrete. The foundation stone was laid on September 22, 1968, the inauguration took place on October 31, 1971 by François-Nestor Adam .
The typical patron church stands between the village square and the village street. The planning was an architectural challenge: the difference between Dorfstrasse and Dorfplatz is 17 meters in altitude . It also represents "a structure of high pointlessness" and is thus a tightrope walk between architecture and sculpture. A café and a supermarket are integrated into the building complex at the village square . There used to be a post office on the side of Dorfstrasse .
Structure
The architect was guided by the surrounding landscape. He designed a polygonal floor plan with nested volumetrics and indirect lighting. A semicircular arrangement of the pews makes it possible for the worshipers to gather close to the popular altar . The 22 m high room offers 500 seats. The tower height is 37 m.
Bells
The bulky tower houses a representative ringing of seven bells. Six of them were manufactured by the Eschmann company and consecrated on September 6, 1970. What is remarkable about the bell disposition is that bells five and seven have the same strike tone, although they are different in weight and shape.
|
No. |
Surname |
Mass (kg) |
Chime |
Bell foundry |
| 1 | St. Nicolas | 3000 | h 0 | Eschmann |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 1800 | d 1 | |
| 3 | St. Antoine | 900 | f sharp 1 | |
| 4th | Angelica | 540 | a 1 | |
| 5 | St. Marius & St. Jean | 380 | h 1 | |
| 6th | St. Simon | 230 | d 2 | |
| 7th | La Doyenne | 200 | h 1 | historical |
Web links
- Martin Tschanz: Light, space, matter: St-Nicolas in Hérémence. Essay on the church with photos and floor plans. In: Building in Concrete. 2014/15, pp. 7-14 (PDF)
- Church bells on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Church of Hérémence at www.thyon.ch, accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ The Church of Hérémence in www.fachzeitungen.de, accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ Data sheet with description and drawings of the church , at www.kirchbau.de, accessed on January 23, 2019.