St. Peter and Paul (Eschweiler)

St. Peter and Paul

Sundial from 1658

The main parish church of St. Peter and Paul is the largest church in Eschweiler in North Rhine-Westphalia . It is located on the north side of the market square in the old town of Eschweiler , is a landmark of the city and one of the oldest churches in the diocese of Aachen . The church is located on a small hill north of the Inde and can be seen from afar with its dominant structure made of red brick . Its tower was for many years also fortified tower , which the visible today loopholes illustrate.

It can be reached by car via Bundesstraße 264 and by bus via the Grabenstraße stop .

parish

The parish includes the main parish church St. Peter and Paul as well as the three subsidiary churches St. Michael in the western city center , Herz Jesu in the east part of the city and St. Antonius in the part of Röhe .

Two patronages

The two church patrons are St. Peter and Paul on June 29th and St. Michael on September 29th. That the church originally called "Saint Michael" was and only after Eschweiler to Cologne Cathedral propst came "Saint Peter and Paul" after the cathedral was "Saint Peter" called, by no source has to be and is probably wrong. One of the side altars is dedicated to “Saint Michael” and a statue represents him.

Building history

View of the old parish church

View of the church tower from the main portal

inner space

The church probably emerged from the court chapel of the former Carolingian royal estate "Fundus Regius Ascvilare", which was mentioned in 828 by Einhard . The existence of this wooden court chapel is documented for 779. Finds during demolition work in the past suggest a Romanesque first structure.

Of the church, originally built in Romanesque style , only the lower tower from the 14th century remains .

On October 4, 1678, the troops of Louis XIV. Eschweiler completely incinerated. From the church only the valuable Lederpietà was saved by three men who, according to legend, caught fire when they were saved. A plan from 1665 owned by the Eschweiler History Association provides information about the shape of this church : a Gothic hall church with a raised central nave and high tower with an octagonal dome and slender top. It was built in the 15th century at the latest, and it is quite possible that it is the successor to the Romanesque church. The reconstruction after 1678 was very slow, because it is known that in 1690 the nave had no vault and only a choir vault was present.

The poor state of construction of the Gothic hall church after the fire of 1678 and the rapidly growing community in the 19th and 20th centuries made extensions necessary in several construction phases. In 1880 the choir and side choirs were laid down and a new transept about 36 meters long and 18 meters deep as well as a spacious choir and two sacristies were added.

In 1904 the old nave was torn down and replaced by a new one. In addition, a chapel was added to the north and south. These are used today as a baptismal or war memorial chapel. In 1906, the two upper tower floors and the baroque tower dome were finally replaced by two new floors with a high tower spire; the tower thus had a height of 75 meters. The main nave had a cross vault and the choir was neo-Gothic .

Incendiary bombs in World War II on February 26, 1943 and the attack on the night of August 31, 1943 caused great damage. The air mine exploding on the market side destroyed the choir and the right side transept as well as the St. Michael statue and the east side of the market square; the high altar and the side altars were devastated, as were the organ , the church clock, the sacristy, the pulpit , benches, the Catherine altar and the stone spiral staircase leading to the vault. The destroyed transept was provisionally separated from the nave by a wall. The first service again took place in the emergency church at Christmas 1943. On October 7, 1944, the spire and the left aisle and nave above the organ were badly damaged by artillery fire and shell hits.

The last renovation work took place in September 1974 in the interior and in 1975 on the church roof. At this time, the organ with 36 registers and 4000 pipes from 1954 was added, which is still used for church concerts today. A new bronze statue of Michael was erected on May 21, 1985 in the northwest corner of the "Dürener Strasse", and on March 7, 1986 the destroyed spire was rebuilt in its old form and inaugurated on June 30. The spire is a little controversial among the population, as the church without a spire was for many a landmark of Eschweiler and a symbol of the war.

Attractions

There are numerous sights in and around the parish church.

Leather pieta

In the southern war memorial chapel is the 125 centimeter high and 70 kilogram heavy hollow calfskin pietà from the 14th century around 1360. There are only three of this type in Germany: two in Dieburg in southern Hesse and one in Eschweiler. The Pietà shows the Savior on the lap of his mother Mary . Only the hands are carved from wood; the sculptural body consists of a composite material. The figure consists of several layers that are a total of one centimeter thick: about two millimeters of leather, then linen, then a second layer of leather, then again linen and then two millimeters of clay as a modeling ground for the subtleties and painting. This version was probably chosen to reduce the weight, as the Pietà was carried through the streets of Eschweiler during Bitt processions . The base and back reinforcement are made of wood. The artist is unknown. In earlier times, the Pietà was worn by four so-called “Mary girls”.

The Eschweiler Pietà is the oldest of the three and dates from the early period of this type of representation. It shows the Savior in a strictly stepped seat, the head, the thighs and the feet horizontally, the other parts slightly obliquely perpendicular. His right arm hangs down rigidly, the left one remains stretched horizontally over Maria's forearm. You can see the rigor mortis on this head and the helplessness of suffering on this head. Maria holds him with unshakable calm. She bends her broad motherly head towards the son, which is covered by the low-hemmed cloak. Despite all the expressions of pain, she remains composed inwardly, without any nervous turmoil, in her own expression of rural heaviness and unity. The fall of her mighty robe, which plays in deep webs between her knees and lies in graceful loops on the floor, is magnificent and rich. The whole group breathes the spirit of the earlier times, which depicts the terrible, but still held by a great inner security and calm.

When Eschweiler and its church and its rich furnishings went up in flames in 1678, only the Pietà was saved from the burning church, which underlines its importance for the population at the time. According to oral tradition, after the church was rebuilt, it should have stood in a niche of the Mother of God altar. Then it disappeared and was only rediscovered in a storeroom in the church tower in 1870. Today it is back in its original place in the niche of the warrior memorial chapel, which was built on the site of the old Mother of God altar.

Image of Christ in the chancel

The interior is dominated by a nine meter high image of Christ with two four meter high angels in the flat arched niche of the chancel. It was created in 1952 by the Dutch artist Marianne van der Heijden from Kerkrade as a sgraffito : light, gray and red layers of plaster lying on top of one another were scraped off so that the altarpiece was created.

Altar table and tabernacle

The altar table is a bronze and stone sculpture from 1975, the tabernacle , which is set into the side of the wall, is made of copper and silver using enamel pictures . Above the tabernacle and the Eternal Light, a phoenix hangs in a steep rise - a pagan symbol for Christ who overcame death.

Baptismal font

The baptismal font from the 16th century in the northern baptistery is surrounded by an iron grille from the Empire period around 1770.

Main portal

The main portal from 1953 is made of copper and shows the parish patrons St. Peter and St. Paul and the dragon slayer St. Michael on both door leaves, as well as a peacock above everything as a symbol of the glory of Christ.

Taps

The golden cock on the tower comes from the renovation in 1904, the weather cock on the roof from 1954. When the new tower helmet was put on in 1986, when the scaffolding on the tower was still standing, the golden cock was stolen. After a call, it was anonymously filed a few days later at the parish office.

Way of the Cross and St. Michael sculpture

The Way of the Cross is a bronze work from 1955. The first and sixth stations with Christ in front of Pontius Pilate and Veronica with the kerchief are particularly noteworthy . The sculpture of St. Michael from 1952 in the confessional chapel is also made of bronze .

A bronze sculpture of St. Michael slaying the dragon is placed near the tower on May 21, 1985. It comes from the Aachen sculptor Bonifatius Stirnberg, who also created the “Sun Carriage” play mobile that was set up on January 18, 1983 on the newly designed Eschweiler market square. The original Michael statute stood at the top of the former flight of stairs on the market side from 1906 until the bombing of October 1944.

The Eschweiler main parish church was originally called St. Michael until the place came to the Cologne cathedral provost. That is why there are the St. Michael sculptures and in addition to the Peter-Paul-Kirmes (June 29th) also every year the St. Michael fair (September 29th) as well as the second Catholic church in the city center, the parish St. Michael an der Steinstraße (1972 inauguration of the parish center, 1973 elevation to independent parish vicarie , 1990 elevation to independent parish).

sundial

A sundial from 1658 found at today's bus station was attached to the south exterior. It is a vertical wall sundial calculated and oriented to the south, which is executed on a flat slate plate. The scale shows rays counting 6-12-6. The true local time (WOZ) is displayed. The incomplete inscription is Latin and reads "VITA FVGIT VT VMBR ..." (= life flees like a shadow).

• Attractions
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  Lederpietà

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  Baptismal font, iron grating

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  Baptismal font

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  triptych

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  Main portal

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  Doorknobs with Peter and Paul side entrance

Bells

A four-part bronze bell rings from the tower of the church. Three of the bells (No. 2, 3, 4) were cast by the Otto bell foundry from Hemelingen / Bremen. In 1923 Otto cast three bells, the two larger of which survived the confiscation of bells in the Second World War. After the war, another Otto bell was added in 1957. There is also a bell by the Lorraine foundryman Romain Gaulard from 1820. It is the largest bell in the peal (No. 1); this has the following sequence of strikes: des '- es' - f '- as'. The bells have approximately the following diameters: 1200 mm, 1314 mm, 950 mm, 810 mm. The weights are as follows (approx.): 1700 kg, 1300 kg, 1000 kg, 620 kg.

Web links

Commons : St. Peter and Paul, Eschweiler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Julia Meuser-Romano: Announcement for church musicians. In: Internet presence of the parish of St. Peter and Paul Eschweiler. Pastor Michael Datené, October 8, 2018, accessed June 21, 2019 . 
2. ↑ http://www.schnitzler-aachen.de/Tourismus/Kreuzwege/Eschweiler_PuP_01.html ( Memento from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ http://www.schnitzler-aachen.de/Tourismus/Kreuzwege/Eschweiler_PuP_06.html ( Memento from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
4. ^ Gerhard Reinhold: Otto bells. Family and company history of the Otto bell foundry dynasty . Self-published, Essen 2019, ISBN 978-3-00-063109-2 , p. 588, especially pp. 524, 554 .
5. ↑ Gerhard Reinhold: Church bells - Christian world cultural heritage, illustrated using the example of the bell founder Otto, Hemelingen / Bremen . Nijmegen / NL 2019, p. 556, here in particular 487, 510 , urn : nbn: nl: ui: 22-2066 / 204770 (dissertation at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen).

Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 12 ″  N , 6 ° 16 ′ 14 ″  E