Stephanus Chapel (Meckenheim)

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Stephanus Chapel

The Stephanus Chapel in Meckenheim is a war memorial chapel . It is the successor to historical chapels on the same site and was built in the mid-1920s. The building, which is also used for church services, is dedicated to St. Stephen and belongs to the Catholic parish of St. John the Baptist ( district dean of the Rhein-Sieg district in the Archdiocese of Cologne ).

location

The chapel is located on the Stephansberg (formerly also: Steffensberge) in a green area at the intersection of Dechant-Kreiten-Straße and Merler Straße , around 60 meters north of the Protestant community center Christ Church . Directly next to the chapel is a horse chestnut tree from around 1893, which is a protected natural monument and was renovated in 1975.

history

Stephen's chapels can be found here from the 14th century. It is possible that church services were celebrated here much earlier - so the worship of the first Christian martyr in the area goes back to the Frankish times .

First documentation

A chapel in Meckenheim is mentioned in a document as early as 1362. It was a foundation of the Junker von Meckenheim, loan takers of the Mariengraden Abbey in Cologne , in favor of the church. However, it remained the property of the Junkers and only came into the possession of the monastery in 1608. In a document from 1643 it is referred to as the chapel of St. Stephen near Meckenheim . At that time, Mariengraden Abbey was obliged to celebrate mass in the chapel every week . The then Apostolic Nuncio in Cologne and later Pope Alexander VII , Fabio Chigi, had already approved in 1639 to combine assets of the Stephanus chapel with those of the Mariengraden Abbey.

New building in 1725

In 1725 a new chapel was built in place of the previous church. The reason for the new building is not known. On June 27, 1725, the chapel was consecrated by the Mariengrad dean Ignatius Graffinger. In the following year, the building became the property of the Cologne civil servant and secret conference councilor Johann Friedrich Freiherrn von Cler (1708–1784), to whom the chapel fell as part of the purchase of all Meckenheim property from the Mariengrad monastery. From 1820 there was no more church service due to dilapidation. In 1872 it was demolished.

New building 1924–1926

In June 1924, the Meckenheim parish assembly decided to rebuild the no longer existing St. Stephen's Chapel as a “war memorial” on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the priestly pastor Franz Kreiten. The architectural office Böll and Neuhaus of the architects Aloys Böll (1878–1951, uncle of Heinrich Böll ) and Otto Neuhaus (* 1880) supplied the design, and on August 17, 1924 the foundation stone for the new building was laid. The Jewish community in Meckenheim took part in the ceremony with its synagogue director and cantor and presented a gift with a dedication. On June 28, 1926, dean Franz Kreiten blessed the finished chapel and celebrated the first service here. In 1927 it was consecrated by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Hammels from Cologne.

In 1980, the memorial plaques from the wars of 1844, 1870–1871, 1914–1918 and 1939–1945 were brought from the parish church to the chapel. In 1987 the chapel was added to the list of monuments of the city of Meckenheim (No. 16). On June 24, 2013, a holy mass was held at the chapel on the occasion of the patronage festival for all the deceased and fallen in the parish. Subsequently, the chairman of the Meckenheimer Heimatverein , Meinolf Schleyer, presented an information board for the building financed and designed by the Heimatverein in the presence of Mayor Bert Spilles .

Architecture and equipment

Partial view of the mosaic

The chapel consists of a domed round hall, the entrance side of which is structured with three vaulted arches on pillars. The portals open to the park are protected against unauthorized entry by bars. The arch of the central portal contains the inscription “Den Fallen 1914–1918”. Inside, the back wall shows a mosaic of the head of Christ with the inscription “I am the resurrection” ( Jn 11.25  EU ). Next to it are inserted stone tablets that list the fallen Meckenheimers in the wars of 1864 (1 soldier), 1870/71 (3 soldiers) and 1914–1918 (63 soldiers). A floor slab in the middle of the room serves to commemorate those who fell in World War II .

Web links

See also

literature

  • Meinolf Schleyer (chairman of the Meckenheimer Heimatverein): Handover of the time table about the history of the Stephanus chapel in Meckenheim on June 24th, 2013 at 6:00 pm on the Stephansberg after the service , June 24th, 2013, download on the website of the Meckenheim parish community.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stephanus Chapel in Meckenheim: sign points to the story, June 26, 2013, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  2. ^ Heinrich Neu, Heimatchronik des Landkreis Bonn , Volume 3 of: Heimatchroniken der Stadt und Kreis der Bundesgebiet , Archiv für Deutsche Heimatpflege, 1953, p. 24
  3. ↑ From Meckenheim's history , website of the city of Meckenheim
  4. ↑ Wolfram Hagspiel and Dorothea Heiermann, Cologne, Marienburg: Buildings and architects of a villa suburb, including the villa areas of Bayenthal , Volume 1/8, in: Hiltrud Kier, Stadtspuren, Denkmäler in Köln , ISBN 978-3-76161-1-470 , JP Bachem Verlag , 1996, p. 801

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 33.9 ″  N , 7 ° 1 ′ 35 ″  E