St. Patrokli, Soest
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St. Patrokli is a Roman Catholic parish and church in Soest, Germany. The church is of great significance in the
history of architecture The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...
as it is the epitome of
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
in
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
. As a result, it is known as (St. Patroclus' "Cathedral"). It holds
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s of its
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
Patroclus of Troyes Saint Patroclus (Patroccus; , ) of Troyes was a Christian martyr who died around 259 AD. Life Patroclus was a wealthy aristocrat of the city of Tricassinum (now Troyes). His parents had left him a substantial estate just outside the city, where h ...
from 954. It was the church of the
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
foundation of St. Patroclus, which existed from the 10th century until its abolition in 1812. Since 1823 the church has been the parish church of the St. Patrokli parish in the
diocese of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...
. In 1859 it was promoted to the rank of
provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
church.


Building

The church was originally a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
consecrated to St. Stephen and it had two turrets which were destroyed by fire. One can see traces of these towers even now. Today, the building's great green sandstone mass is impressive, but the most notable feature of the building is its 80-metre tall tower with four smaller turrets on its corners, which is often singled out by experts as the most beautiful Romanesque tower in Germany. The tower is called colloquially ''Turm Westfalens'' (Tower of Westphalia). The spacious forehall with
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
is another highlight. This once formed a connection from the modern church square. The tower was under municipal ownership until the beginning of the 19th century and served as the municipal armoury (today it is the church Museum). Some of the military artefacts (crossbow bolts) can now be seen in the museum of the . The painting of the main apse with a modified version of the Christ Pantokrator motif was carried out by the painter Peter Hecker in 1954, after the "oldest and most extensive" apse memorial to survive from Westphalia was destroyed in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Building history


Middle Ages

The original building (Building I), with a monumental ''
westwerk A westwork (), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, west-facing entrance section ("west front") of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior includ ...
'', was completed before 1000. In the first half of the 11th century, the ''westwerk'' was rebuilt after a fire (Building II). The knight Walther, brother of
Anno II Anno II ( – 4 December 1075) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. Life He was b ...
, Archbishop of Cologne, was buried in the crypt in 1075. In the course of a further building phase (Building III), the vaulted aisles were erected, with St. Andrew's Chapel on the northern aisle. At the same time, the transepts were expanded, the ''westwerk'' was rebuilt as well as a secondary crypt and a sacristy was and an attached cloister were added to the south transept. The altar was consecrated on 11 July 1118 by Archbishop Frederick I. St. Stephen's chapel was consecrated in 1149. In a further phase of construction (Building IV) a large hall crypt, the apse and a vaulted
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
were installed. The Mary choir, the paradise and the East cloister were also built. The nave and the transepts were vaulted and the whole interior received painted decoration. This phase of construction ended with the reconsecration of the church by Archbishop
Rainald of Dassel Rainald of Dassel (c. 1120 – 14 August 1167) was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial p ...
(r. 1159–1167) in 1166. The western portion of the building was rebuilt from the last quarter of the 12th century and into the 13th century. The old ''westwerk'' was made to appear part of the nave by the removal of supports, partitioning, and the installation of new vaulting in the last one and a half bays. Master Sigefridus of Soest spent the years between 1313 and 1340 creating the silver-gilt shrine of St. Patroclus.The Sculpture Collection in the Bode Museum
, Prestel Museum Guides, page 18-19, retrieved 16 April 2014


Modern times

The crypt was blown up in 1817. During an aerial attack in 1944, the north side of the westwerk and vaults were severely damaged. In the aerial attacks of 1945, the organ was destroyed, the apse was obliterated and there was severe damage to the spire and vaulting. The reconstruction began with the laying of the groundstone in 1949. By 1954, a new high altar had been erected, and the vaults and apse had been repainted. The southern cloister and the eastern and southern wings were renovated. The local painter Hans Kaiser created windows for the westwerk and secondary crypt.


Treasures


High choir and high altar

The high choir is decorated with wall and ceiling paintings. It is dominated by a very large red double cross. The simple high altar was placed between the stairs to the high choir. The 1871 shrine of St Patroclus, containing the remains of the saint have stood below. The Shrine of Patroclus, created between 1311 and 1330 by Master Sigefridus was sold to the Berlin Museum in 1841 and was lost in 1945 in the burning of the Friedrichshain bunker in Berlin. A few parts were saved or stolen before the fire and several of these including a statue dating from 1340 are today in the Bode Museum.


Rex in Gloria

''Rex in Gloria'' was a painting created around 1200. The painting, which dominated the church, was high and metres wide. It depicted Christ on a golden throne, his right hand in a gesture of blessing and his left hand holding a book. Above in Romanesque
majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally '' majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing syste ...
was written ''SI DILIGITIS ME MANDATA MEA SERVATE'' (If you love me, obey my commands). This work was destroyed in an aerial attack on 7 March 1945.


Statue of Patroclus

On a column between the round arches of the organ loft on the west side is a statue of Patroclus. He wears a suit of armour, bears the Imperial
Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
on his shield and has his sword drawn, ready to serve as protector of the order and the city. Patroclus of Troyes was beheaded in 275 under Emperor Valerian, because he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods. In the Catholic church he is venerated as a
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
. His feast day is January 21.


Mary choir

In the Mary choir there are romanesque wall paintings from the second half of the 12th century. The paintings show Mary with the baby Jesus, as well as the
Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...
and Jesus' grandparents
Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...
and
Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...
.


Organ

The organ was installed in St. Patrokli in 1967 by the organ firm Anton Feith (
Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...
) and was enlarged in the course of the church restorations of 1976–1977 to include a bombardwork and a bourdon. The instrument was comprehensively cleaned in 2005. The organ has cone chests and silder chests.


Bells

The peal of St. Patrokli is made up of eleven bells, which all hang in the around tower, except for the smallest bell. The peal is one of the greatest historic bell peals in the
State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
. The oldest bells are the two ''Angelic Bells'' from the 12th and 13th centuries. Two further bells from the 13th century, the ''Stormbell'' and the ''Stephen's bell'' (so called only since 1991), are the work of the master bellsmith Hermann of Lemgo. In 1469, John of Dortmund produced the sonorous ''Our Lady´s bell'' which was the lowest note in the peal for centuries. In 1577 it was followed by an even smaller bell cast by Rochus Nelman. Its form, which is unusually skinny and narrow for the date it was cast, imitates an earlier bell of 12th- or 13th-century date.Claus Peter: ''Die Deutschen Glockenlandschaften. Westfalen''.
Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...
, München 1989, , S. 44–46.
The precise co-ordination of these bells with one another is remarkable and seems to be a lucky accident, since the casters of this period took no particular account of possible dissonance with other bells as medieval practice was primarily to ring each bell individually. The fixed functions of the individual bells is demonstrated by their characteristic peal or by their particular inscriptions, which can name the occasions when the bell is to be rung. According to the traditional bell register of the 15th century, a full peal of all the bells occurred only on very rare occasions. Two further bells from 1633 (''Patroklus bell'') and 1720 (''Townsman Schuster's bell''), as well as a small medieval bell, were destroyed in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In the process of
secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
, the ensemble was broken up and distributed amongst various local churches: Nelman's bell went to the Church of the Holy Cross, ''Stephen's bell'' to St. Albert the Great's. The bells remaining in the church were supplemented after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by three large cast-steel bells by with the
strike tone The strike tone, strike note, or tap note, of a percussion instrument (e.g. bell, chime or gong) when struck, is the dominant note perceived immediately by the human ear. It is also known as the prime or fundamental note. However, an analysis of ...
s of g0, b0 und c1. The desire arose later to regain the old bells which had been sold off and to complement them with new, more impressive bronze bells; this was motivated by modern musical ideas as well as a desire for historical preservation. As a result, two new bells took on the names of ''Patroklus bell'' and ''Townsman Schuster's bell''. ''Patroklus bell'' is considered one of the most successful modern bells in Westphalia. The clean peal of the existing bells with one another allowed supplementary tones to be assigned to the new bells. The A single cast-steel bell, the ''
Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...
bell'' was retained and integrated into the peal, since it is an appealing musical instrument in spite of its metal composition. In the process of reconstruction, all the bells received new clappers and massive yokes. Finally, for the last few years the smallest bell of all, in the
Flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: * Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire * Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition * Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique * Flèche (fortification), a defensive work *, ships of ...
above the crossing, the ''Transformation bell'', which takes up the place of the ''Choir bell'', which was destroyed in 1918. The peal of Soest's church is counted among the most historically and musically significant bell ensembles in Germany and beyond.


History of the order

Due to (church) power politics, Soest was not the seat of a bishopric, but it was the central church of the Archbishopric of Cologne in Westphalia, as well as the Archbishops' secondary residence and second capital. In the area which would later be the
Duchy of Westphalia The Duchy of Westphalia () was a historic territory in the Holy Roman Empire, which existed from 1102 to 1803. It was located in the greater region of Westphalia, originally one of the three main regions in the German stem duchy of Saxony and ...
orders of cannonesses were frequently founded by the local nobility. Examples include Meschede Abbey, Geseke Abbey, and Oedingen Abbey. In Soest, the impetus for a foundation came at the beginning of the reign of
Bruno the Great Bruno the Great (May 925 – 11 October 965) was the archbishop of Cologne''Religious Drama and Ecclesiastical Reform in the Tenth Century'', James H. Forse, ''Early Theatre'', Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002), 48. from 953 until his death and the duke of ...
as Archbishop of Cologne (brother of
Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
and son of
Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
. The remains of Saint
Patroclus of Troyes Saint Patroclus (Patroccus; , ) of Troyes was a Christian martyr who died around 259 AD. Life Patroclus was a wealthy aristocrat of the city of Tricassinum (now Troyes). His parents had left him a substantial estate just outside the city, where h ...
had been given to Archbishop Brun, when he was visiting the
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
court on a diplomatic matter. He took these relics from
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
back to Cologne, where they remained for four years before they were brought to Soest in 954. As the first relics of the city, they were greeted with great celebration by the citizenry and the clerics. A detailed account is found in ''De translatione sancti Patrocli martyris''. The bishop intended to establish a religious order in Soest and at Cologne. In his testament, therefore, Bruno left 100 pounds of silver, liturgical equipment and
parament Paraments or parements (from Late Latin ''paramentum'', "adornment", ''parare'', "to prepare", "equip") are both the hangings or ornaments of a room of state, and the ecclesiastical vestments. Paraments include the liturgical hangings on and aro ...
s for the project. His plans were carried out by Archbishop Folcmar (965–969). The first canons probably came from St. Andrew's in Cologne. It statutes were probably also used as the model for the new order in Soest. The seat of the order was expanded through the donations of the Archbishop of Cologne and to a lesser degree by other orders in the region. However, it remained a rather small
chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
until it was expanded in the time of Archbishop
Anno II Anno II ( – 4 December 1075) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. Life He was b ...
(r. 1056–1075), who donated four further
prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...
s. As a result, the number of canons doubled. Archbishop
Rainald of Dassel Rainald of Dassel (c. 1120 – 14 August 1167) was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial p ...
(r. 1159–1167) consecrated the order's church on 8 July 1166. The chapter had the right of a free
provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
, but from 1221, the provosts had to come from the chapter of Cologne cathedral. From 1257, the office of provost was combined with that of Collator of the parishes of the city and its environs. In addition to this he was the dean for Soest's hinterland. The provosts attempted in later times to displace the Provost of Cologne cathedral from their position as archdeacons. This finally came to pass in the 15th century. The order formed its own district with Church immunity and also possessed a school for the pre-education of clergy. For centuries, the order of Patroclus was the most powerful and richest order in the whole Duchy of Westphalia; at times up to 54 parishes were dependent on the order. The provosts, who at least in earlier centuries derived largely from the high nobility, were also canons of the cathedral chapter in Cologne for a large portion of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and one of the four Grand-Archdeacons. From time to time they were also officials of the Archbishop of Cologne. Only once or twice a year did the provost visit St. Patrokli in Soest (in order to hold the church court). The rest of the time he was represented by
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...
s, who were responsible for the management of the order. In the
Soest Feud The Soest Feud (), or Feud of Soest, was a feud that took place from 1444 to 1449 in which the town of Soest, Germany, Soest claimed its freedom from Archbishop Dietrich II of Moers, Dietrich of Electoral Cologne, Cologne (1414–1463), who tried ...
(1444–1449), conflict broke out about who was in charge of the city of Soest.Soest Feud, 1444-1449
zum.de, retrieved 16 April 2014
This affected the order extending from it to the Archbishop of Cologne himself. The
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
was resisted by the order. After the canons refused to convert to the new teachings, they left the city. A portion of St. Patrokli became an
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
church. In 1548, Dean
Johann Gropper :''This is about the 16th century churchman. For the 20th Century political artist, see William Gropper.'' Johann Gropper (John or ; 24 February 1503 – 13 March 1559) was a German cardinal and church politician of the Reformation period. E ...
restored Catholicism and the canons of the order returned. They remained from that time until their abolition in 1812.


Image gallery


Building

File:soest_st_patrokli_dom_vorderseite.jpg, St. Patrokli's
westwerk A westwork (), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, west-facing entrance section ("west front") of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior includ ...
with tower, part of St. Peter's at left File:Soest_st_patrokli_dom_mittelschiff.jpg, St. Patrokli's
nave File:Soest_st_patrokli_dom_altarraum.jpg, St. Patrokli's
Altar room (Apse) File:Soest_st_patrokli_dom_seitenkapelle.jpg, St. Patrokli's'
side chapel


"Westphalian Nativity"

File:Soest_PatrokliKrippe_2005_1.jpg File:Soest_PatrokliKrippe_2005_3.jpg File:Soest_PatrokliKrippe_2005_4.jpg File:Soest_Patrokli_Krippe_2005_7.jpg


References


Bibliography

* Louis Grodecki. "St. Patrokli in Soest". In ''Romanische Glasmalerei''.
Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-la ...
, Stuttgart 1977, , pp. 161–166. * Eberhard Linnhoff. ''St. Patrokli, Nikolai-Kapelle und Dom-Museum in Soest.'' Langewiesche, Königstein im Taunus 1984, .


External links


Propsteigemeinde St. Patrokli Soest
Official website
St. Patrokli DomBauVerein Soest / Der Soester Dom – 1000 Jahre Zukunft!
Website of an association supporting the building
St. Patrokli (Soest)
jakobswege-westfalen.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Soest, Patroclus Roman Catholic churches in North Rhine-Westphalia Romanesque architecture in Germany Former collegiate churches in Germany