St. Peter

St. Peter's Church, located in the heart of Recklinghausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, stands as a testament to the region's rich history and architectural splendor. This Roman Catholic main church, known as Propsteikirche since 1931, is not just a place of worship but a historical beacon that has witnessed centuries of change, resilience, and faith.

The Architectural Evolution of St. Peter's Church

St. Peter's Church has a storied past that dates back to 1247. The original structure replaced an earlier building destroyed by a city fire. This Romanesque masterpiece, discovered through archaeological excavations, itself had a stone predecessor. The church built in 1247 is a two-bay, three-aisled late Romanesque hall church with a transept just slightly wider than the nave. Initially, the choir was rectangular and flanked by two towers, which were later replaced by an extension from 1519 to 1523 by the Coesfeld master builder Henric de Suer. This extension features a two-bay addition with a directly adjoining 5/8 closure, and on its north side, the sacristy is located.

The interior of St. Peter's Church feels like a five-bay hall church. The dome-like vaults are supported by massive round pillars, topped with baroque-style reliefs (capitals). The original rectangular supports can still be seen in the pillars of the Romanesque transept. One of these rectangular supports collapsed in 1716, bringing down the vaults it supported. In the older part of the church, simple ribbed vaults can be found, while star vaults adorn the late Gothic section.

The Romanesque tower, restored after damage in the 17th century, now boasts a 72-meter-high baroque dome. On the south side of the tower is a two-story annex; the lower floor, half buried in the ground, was formerly used as an ossuary, while the upper floor is the two-bay Michael's Chapel. The ossuary is a room covered by shallow groin vaults, with four vaults grouped around a central column made of roughly hewn stone.

Exploring the Exterior and Interior Features

Externally, the 1523 extension is highlighted by gables, while the original Romanesque transept is only accented on the south side by its own gable; on the north side, it is integrated into the nave's roof. Except for the gables, which are divided by blind arcades, the exterior is quite plain. An exception is the remarkable Romanesque south portal. The windows of the Gothic extensions are decorated with tracery, while the Romanesque building only has such a window in the southern transept.

During World War II, the church suffered significant damage. Bombs destroyed the nave vaults and damaged the tower dome. Although the bombing targeted Recklinghausen's northern district, the few bombs that fell on the historic old town severely damaged this valuable building. The north wall was also heavily hit, falling out of line. Post-war reconstruction efforts began immediately, and pre-war photographs show that the north transept once had a large Gothic window with tracery, now replaced by two round-arched Romanesque windows. The sacristy was destroyed during this time.

Rich Interior Decorations

Over its more than 1,000-year history, the interior of St. Peter's Church has undergone many changes. In 1617, the existing high altar with two baroque paintings from the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens was erected. During the 1860s, under Dean Bernhard Theissing, the church received a new interior design, including a new pulpit, several confessionals, choir stalls, a Joseph altar, and a communion bench, which were gifts from merchant August ten Hompel in 1884. The Joseph altar was crafted according to the plans of architect Hilger Hertel by master carpenter Hermann Miele, sculptor August Schmiemann, and decorative painter Johannes Urlaub. The concurrently created Marian window on the east side of the main nave was a gift from Duke Engelbert of Arenberg.

Current Church Furnishings

Today's furnishings include a so-called master builder's head embedded in the end wall of the Romanesque transept, a Madonna, and a depiction of St. Lucia, both Gothic. The sacrament house on the northern east wall of the extension is attributed to the workshop of Berndt Bunickmann. In the nave, there are statues of St. John Nepomuk and St. Joseph above the north exit, and St. Peter and St. Paul (with historicist design) under the organ. At the entrance to Michael's Chapel, there is a lance-armed angel figure. A crucifix hangs on the north wall.

The baptismal font, dating from 1400, made of Baumberger sandstone on a narrower base, replaced the 1630 baptismal font, which now serves as a holy water font. The Gothic piece was handed over to the Vest Museum in 1927 and returned to St. Peter's Church during its restructuring. The baroque high altar features two paintings from the Rubens school. The painting on the west wall of the nave, also from the Rubens school, depicts the investiture of a bishop. In Michael's Chapel, there are two paintings: an Emmaus depiction (with fish and apple on the table) and an adoration by the three kings. Additionally, there are two statues: Mother Anna with Mary and a female figure giving a mantle to a poor person. Under Michael's Chapel, in the former ossuary, a sacred museum has been established; as of 2023, the display cases are empty. The floor of Michael's Chapel is decorated with historicist colorful ornamental tiles, and two clay relief tiles are also located there. The Stations of the Cross are historicist, with the cross depicted in the shape of a tau.

The Organ and Bells

The organ, built in 2005 by the Klais organ-building company in Bonn, is a mechanical slider chest instrument with 44 registers across three manual works and a pedal. The organ's playing actions are mechanical, and the stop actions are electric. The bells of St. Peter's Church are equally impressive. The church tower houses eight bronze bells, with bells II to IV forming one of only two complete sets of three bells by the famous Dutch bell founder Geert van Wou from Kampen. In 1948, the Otto bell foundry from Bremen-Hemelingen delivered three new bells to complement the Van Wou bells, which had survived the war unscathed.

St. Peter's Church in Recklinghausen is not just a religious building but a living museum of architectural styles, historical events, and artistic treasures. Its walls and halls tell stories of resilience, faith, and the community's enduring spirit. Whether you are a history enthusiast, an architecture aficionado, or a spiritual seeker, a visit to St. Peter's Church offers a profound and enriching experience.