Haus Altenberg is a house for education and meetings of young people (''Jugendbildungsstätte'') of the

Diocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Colo ...

, located in Altenberg, now part of

Odenthal Odenthal is a municipality in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Odenthal is situated approximately 5 km north of Bergisch Gladbach and 15 km north-east of Cologne. Neighbouring places Nearby ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Germany. It was the centre of the Katholische Jugendbewegung in Germany from 1926 to 1954, interrupted only during World War II. Owned by the diocese, it is run by the association ''Jugendbildungsstätte Haus Altenberg''.

History

The abbey around the

Altenberger Dom The Altenberger Dom (or Bergischer Dom) is the former abbey church of Altenberg Abbey which was built from 1259 in Gothic style by Cistercians. Listed as a cultural heritage, it is located in Altenberg, now part of Odenthal in the Rheinisch-Be ...

, founded in 1133, was closed in 1803. In 1863, a house called "Erzbischöfliche Villa" was built adjacent to the church. Altenberger Dom 1925

developed the house from 1926 to a centre of the (Catholic youth movement) for the training of young men for work with groups of young people. He declared the statue of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

in the church as ''Königin des Bundes'' (Queen of the union). From 1934, Catholic youth organisations were gradually restricted by the Nazi regime to strictly religious actions. They focused therefore on light processions and pilgrimages. Altenberg became the destination of youth pilgrimages to the statue of Mary.

Georg Thurmair Georg Thurmair (7 February 1909 – 20 January 1984) was a German poet who wrote around 300 hymns, a writer, journalist and author of documentary films. Career Born in Munich, he took commercial training and worked from 1926 as a secretary at the ...

wrote a Marian song in 1935, "

Nun, Brüder, sind wir frohgemut "" (Now, brothers, we are cheerful) is a German Catholic hymn. It was written by Georg Thurmair as both a pilgrimage song and a Marian hymn. The melody was composed by Adolf Lohmann, who wrote a choral setting in 1936. Related to youth pilgrimage ...

", which became with the melody by

Adolf Lohmann Adolf Lohmann (10 January 1907 – 19 October 1983) was a German music educator and a composer of sacred music. Several of his hymn melodies are part of the Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob''. Career Born in Düsseldorf, Lohmann worked there as a mu ...

the "Altenberger Wallfahrtslied" (Altenberg pilgrimage song). Haus Altenberg was occupied by police and

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

twelve time, and closed in 1942. It was then used as a home for senior citizens from Cologne whose own homes had been bombed. After World War II, Wolker renewed the work of the youth organisation. He founded in 1946 the association Verlag Haus Altenberg, which has published material related to pedagogy since. Cardinal Joseph Frings appointed Wolker Rektor of Haus Altenberg in 1948, also the leader of a new organisation, Bischöflichen Hauptstelle für Jugendseelsorge. In 1954, that organisation returned to the restored . Haus Altenberg has been a house for young people of the

, hosting both events of the diocese as more general conferences and educational events. From 1976, the buildings were restored and expanded, designed by .Gernot Schulz
''Neuformulierung des „Haus Altenberg“''
/ref> From 2013, the buildings were adjusted to meet demands for fire protection and energy preservation. They are barrier-free while the historic exterior was kept. It was reopened on 14 August 2016.Bergisches Handelsblatt, 16 August 2016Jugendbildungsstätte Haus Altenberg wiedereröffnet / Bereit für die Zukunft
Domradio, 15 August 2016], retrieved 25 September 2016.

Literature

* * Landschaft und Geschichte (ed.): ''Auf Spurensuche in Altenberg. Landschaft und Geschichte im Herzen des Bergischen Landes.'' Gaasterland Verlag, o.O 2006, (authors: Manfred Link, David Bosbach, Randolf Link), darin ''Spuren der Jugend'', pp 40ff. * Tanja Junggeburth: ''Chronik der Jugendbildungsstätte Haus Altenberg'', 2016

References

External links

*
Verlag Haus Altenberg
{{Coordinate , NS=51.054565 , EW=7.132994 , type=landmark , region=DE-NW Youth work Catholic missions