Lost Places - Mathenakirche Wesel

Letztes Jahr erinnerte ein Gedenkgottesdienst an die Zerstörung Wesels vor 75 Jahren - dieses Video ist einer der zerstörten - und nicht wieder aufgebauten - Weseler Kirchen gewidmet, der Mathenakirche.
Leider habe ich aktuell nicht mehr verwertbares Bildermaterial, die Photographie war damals noch nicht so weit verbreitet leider.....

Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt liegt hierbei auf dem Turmgeläute der Mathenakirche, das eine sehr interesante, leider aber auch sehr lückenhafte Geschichte aufweist.

Mit besonderem Dank an Maik Pfaff für seine Solo Aufnahme der 1606 Glocke!

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Last year, I attended an Event comemorating the 70th anniversary of destruction of the City of Wesel in February 1945 – which was in Wesel’s largest church, Willibrord Church. Until February 1945, Wesel had an even larger church, which was never rebuilt post war : Mathena Church
Mathena (which means meadow(s) in old German language) was the second borough of the city of Wesel, which was once before the walls of the City on the fields – therefore Mathena! In 1435, they began to build a wall around Mathena Quarter and the Chapel of St.Nicolaus was promoted St.Nicolaus& Antonius Church and was subsequently extended to match the growing population.
Though being in a different Quarter of the town, St.Nicolaus stood away less than 500 metres from St.Willibrord, which was the church for the oldest part of the Town and also the ‘’City Church’’, in old postcards and drawings you can see how magnificent it looked like : two large churches so close to each other!
But this shortness of distance sealed the fate of the ruin post 1945 – two churches in that distance was too much for the Protestant Community of Wesel, they decided to renovate Willibrord Church and left Mathena Church in Ruins….later, a new town hall was built on the same space.

Special thanks to Maik Pfaff for his recording of the 1606 Bell