Zentral-Dombauverein zu Köln von 1842
The Central Cathedral Club of Cologne of 1842, or shortly ZDV, is a nonprofit association to promote and preserve the Cologne Cathedral. His motto is ... that the cathedral remains to us! 13th President since October 20, 2004 Michael HG Hoffmann.
Task
The main task of the Central Cathedral Club of Cologne is the preservation and promotion of the Cologne Cathedral, one of the most important Gothic cathedrals in the world. The maintenance costs of the Cologne Cathedral amounted annually in recent years to about 10 million Euro. The association contributes on average about 60 % of these costs; for the rest go to church and state. The ZDV has about 14,200 members from around the world, about half from Cologne - the rest is scattered around the world. The ZDV is non-partisan, non-denominational and independent.
History
On September 3, 1840 several citizens of Cologne directed a petition to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV to obtain permission for the establishment of an association for the promotion of Dombaus in Cologne. On November 23, in 1840 by King Frederick William IV gave his permission and promised at the same time to promote the club annually with 10,000 thalers. The best-known name among the initiators were Sibylle Mertens Schaaffhausen, Sulpiz Boisserée, Joseph Gorres, Jean Marie Farina and August Reichenspergerplatz.
In January 1841 then began the preparations for the establishment of an association. In Cologne City Hall gathered over a hundred Domfreunde and elected a preparatory committee. For this preparatory committee of five members then were determined, which should work out the association's statutes. On December 8, 1841 approved by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV " Most High cabinet order " the statutes referred to it through establishing the Dombauverein of Cologne. Paragraph 1 of the Statute ZDV, His Majesty Frederick William IV, King of Prussia: " Under the name of Cathedral Building Society is located in Cologne, an association which has the purpose, by means of offering money contributions and in everyone else reasonable manner for the worthy conservation and the continued construction of the Catholic Cathedral - Cathedral in Cologne to the original plan worked participate. "
At the beginning of the next year it came on 15 January 1842 an inaugural meeting of the Provisional Committee, which decided to give to 9 February each Domfreund the opportunity to enroll in the lists for the board elections. The first president of the new Central Cathedral Club of Cologne from 1842 was Heinrich von Wittgenstein. In addition to the elected members of the Board, the Association Statutes also born members, these include the incumbent mayor of Cologne, the reigning Cologne Cathedral architect, the reigning Archbishop of Cologne and the Cologne acting provost.
In December 1851, the idea of a cathedral construction Lottery was discussed on the board for the first time. On February 8, 1852, the project was finally rejected by 23 votes to 10, as it was feared that a lottery look too much like base motives.
As 1861 Cathedral architect Ernst Friedrich Zwirner on December 22, died, appeared the Domblatt, the club magazine of Dombauverein, with a black border of the title page, an honor that had Zwirner except so far received only the previously died in the same year, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
On June 14, 1864 Board approved finally the establishment of a Dombau Lottery, which saw the Board as an additional source of income. On September 4, 1865 therefore the first draw of the Cathedral Building lottery was held. The Dombauverein now brought annually on 90000-170000 dollars for the cathedral building. From 1842 to 1880, the ZDV contributed around 6.5 million dollars at ( equivalent to 20 million gold marks and according to the current value of approx. 1.1 billion euros ) for Dombaufinanzierung, there were approximately 75 percent of the total construction cost of this construction.
At the request of Dombauverein left Kaiser Wilhelm I on March 21, 1872 captured French guns the Dombauverein 22 to cast a bell for the cathedral from it. In 1873 came the first attempt of the Emperor cast bell. The result was not satisfactory, and so cast a second attempt was made in the same year. Only the third cast on October 3, 1874 brought a satisfactory result.
On September 14, 1880, the last stone was completed on the south tower of the Cologne Cathedral. The Dombauverein had the August 15, 1880, provided in terms of the day the foundation stone was laid on August 15, 1248 as the date of completion celebration. However, the emperor sent this date pass and instead had by Cabinet Order October 15, 1880 the birthday of his brother Frederick William IV, to set as the date of completion ceremonies.
The celebration for the completion of Cologne Cathedral thus took place under the presence of the imperial couple as well as almost all the German princes on 15 October 1880. Not present were the Archbishop of Cologne, Paul Melchers and the Metropolitan Chapter.
In January 1902 Dombaumeister Charles Edward Richard Voigtel spoke rashly, that the cathedral will not require restoration in the next 100 years and the annual cost would hardly exceed 13,000 marks. But on October 16, 1903 put Dombaumeister Bernhard Hertel before a report which highlighted the dangerous weather damage at the Cologne Cathedral. So it was then that on May 20, 1906 after a High Mass in the cathedral a large, heavy pieces of stone in front of the main entrance of the cathedral fell and the Cathedral leaving people just missed. Only now the public became aware of the warnings of the cathedral architect, and first restoration work began.
On the night of May 31, 1942, the cathedral was hit by incendiary bombs. The Cologne Cathedral workshop, with the stored there founding banner of the Central Cathedral Association in 1842, burned to the ground from.
The legal basis of the Central Cathedral Club of Cologne is still valid today Cabinet Order of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, hence the association is not registered in the register of associations and is one of the so-called " Altrechtsvereinen ".
2012 presented the ZDV for the preservation of the Cologne Cathedral € 3.78 million available. This is approximately 58 % of the total cost of the Fabric of € 6.5 million.