Apollinariskirche (Remagen)

The Apollinaris Church is located above the town of Remagen on a hill, which is called Apollinarisberg today. At the foot of the mountain in 1892 Christian graves were discovered from the Roman period.

First churches on the Apollinarisberg

The establishment of the first church, which was the St. Martin, the patron saint of the Franks consecrated, can not be determined exactly. It was probably built in the 9th century. Around the year 1110 built the Benedictine Abbey of Siegburg Michael Berg at the initiative and with the great support of the people of Remagen provost. In the 13th century, probably reached the relics of Saint Apollinaris on the mountain. The earliest mention of the saints in Remagen dates back to 1295th Since the year 1384 on the Apollinarisberg a pilgrimage testifies. The sarcophagus with the main relic in the crypt of the church also dates from the 14th century.

Neo-Gothic building in the 19th century

In the train of the Napoleonic Wars and the secularization of the provost of the Benedictines in 1802 repealed. After the abolition bought in 1807 the brothers Sulpice and Melchior Boisserée the entire property. They auctioned in August 1836 ownership of 24,200 Taler to Baron Franz Egon of Fürstenberg family home, which was collected in 1840 in the rank of count. His plans to mount a major work of the new religious painting in the existing old church, could not perform because the church was dilapidated. Therefore, he decided to demolish the church and replace it with a new one. The foundation stone was laid on 22 July 1839 it was inaugurated on 24 March 1857. The Düsseldorf architect Rudolf Wiegmann presented a draft in the neo-Romanesque round arch style for construction. The romanesque was at that time but in Catholic areas as a Protestant style; therefore decided to Franz Egon of Fürstenberg family home for the Gothic Revival, which was regarded as a Catholic style. He commissioned the architect Ernst Friedrich Zwirner, the Cologne Cathedral ready built at this time in Cologne, with the construction of a neo-Gothic church with as many wall surfaces for the frescoes.

In 1837, the client had contact with pupils of the painter Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow - a son of the Berlin sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow - recorded, who was rector at the Dusseldorf Art Academy at that time. The group of Nazarenes were the painter Ernst Deger, the brothers Andreas Müller and Karl Müller and Franz Ittenbach. Nearly 10 years they worked during the summer months to the extensive cycles: 69 pictures with about 580 figures. The frescoes consist of the main parts: The Life of Jesus, Mary's life and the life of St. Apollinaris. The apse is dominated by the representation of Jesus as judge of the world surrounded by Mary and John the Baptist. Below, in the center, are St. Peter and St. Apollinaris to see on both sides of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, John and Luke, on the side altars: the Mother of God and St. Joseph. It was a work of art that is unique even today.

During the construction of the church prefabricated cast iron elements were used on a larger scale. The openwork pyramidal spiers of towers balustrades between the towers, the pillars of the organ loft, the choir screen and the railing of the stairs to the crypt ( height 45 m ) comes from the foundry Isselburger hut Nehring, Bögel and Co. on the Lower Rhine.

Franciscans and Apollinariskirche

From March 25 1857 to December 31, 2006 the Franciscans took care of the pilgrimage on the Apollinarisberg. Since that time, the two-week Apollinaris pilgrimage in July and August will be held in each year. During the Kulturkampf, the Franciscan monastery was abolished, however, thanks to the great commitment to the Remagen population, a small group of religious people on here be pastorally active. 1884 left the family von Furstenberg Family Home, which is owned by the Apollinaris Church, create on the site of the church is a crypt, in which the 1859 deceased Franz Egon of Fürstenberg family home found his final resting place.

The Second World War, of which the city of Remagen was strongly affected because of their strategically important bridge over the Rhine, had also for the Apollinaris Church and Convent serious consequences. By V2, which struck near, roofs and glazing were partially destroyed. Since the repairs could be carried out only in 1947, damaged the moisture penetrating the heavy frescoes. The Franciscans gave the population in their premises protection and stood their pastoral duties to the side.

In 1972, the monastery buildings in which the Franciscans lived were demolished and a new convent on the site of the former Benedictine Provost, directly north of the church, built. Arrived several years it served as a " novitiate " for the Order offspring, who studied at the University of Bonn. Since 1985, the Apollinaris church was extensively renovated. The exterior renovation was completed in 2005. Since mid-2005, more extensive restoration work took place inside the church. The renovation work was also supported by the German Foundation for Monument Protection and the Friends of the Apollinaris Church.

The end of 2006 left the Franciscan monastery and church. On Boxing Day, they were adopted in a solemn Pontifical Mass in the presence of Bishop Jörg Michael Peters. In February 2007, the Community of the Crucified and Risen Love, a Dutch Order of Maastricht, the care of the shrine took over.