Stephanus Chapel (Rösrath)

Stephanus chapel in the children's and youth village Stephansheide

The Stephanus chapel can be found in the children's and youth village Stephansheide in Rösrath in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district .

prehistory

In 1940 the prisoner-of-war camp "Hope Valley" was built on the edge of the Wahner Heide , in which first French and then Polish, and finally Russian prisoners were housed. A nearby war grave cemetery still reminds of this time. When the Americans marched in on April 13, 1945, the camp was dissolved.

Children's and youth village

Between 1951 and 1954, the Stephansheide children's and youth village of Diakonie Michaelshoven was built on the former camp site . According to the design of the architect Hans Wildermann, an emergency church was built for the village, the Stephanus chapel. The simple hall church is a half-timbered building, lined with bricks. The building is characterized by a deep saddle roof. The chapel on the edge of the village is also used as a space for art exhibitions.

Documentation on the prisoner of war camp "Hoffnungsthal"

Documentation on the former prisoner of war camp is provisionally housed in the church's sacristy . In addition to a model of the former camp, there is a whole series of photo documents from that time.

literature

• Guido Wagner: Subject: POW camp Hopesthal 1940-1945 , for the opening of the memorial exhibition in the Stephansheide chapel on October 3, 1993, Rösrather Denkmäler 3, History Association for the Community of Rösrath and Surroundings eV, Rösrath 1993, ISBN 3-922413-37-4
• Elisabeth Coester: Stephansheide: Heimat im Kinder- und Jugenddorf , in: Rheinisch-Bergischer Calendar 1993, Heimatjahrbuch für das Bergisches Land, ISBN 3-87314-272-4 , pp. 158-160

Web links

• Memorial exhibition of the prisoner-of-war camp "Hope Valley"

Coordinates: 50 ° 53 ′ 21 ″  N , 7 ° 9 ′ 5 ″  E