Oud Aalten

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Category: Churches

  • The Cross Chapel (Kruiskapel)

    The Cross Chapel (Kruiskapel)

    Hemden, Bocholt (Germany)

    Kruisberg Cross Chapel, Hemden (2024)
    Cross on the ‘Kruisberg’ near the former Cross Chapel, Hemden (Photo: Remco Neerhof)

    The ‘Kruiskapel’ (Cross Chapel, or German: ‘Kreuzkapelle’) in Hemden was a ‘refuge chapel’ for the Catholics of Aalten and Bredevoort. During the height of Calvinism (1675–1821), they were forbidden from practising their faith in their home region. The chapel stood in the German village of Hemden, two hundred metres beyond the current ‘green’ border near the Kesenbult, at the end of the Kiefteweg.

    Missionary Outpost

    From 1672 to 1674, Christoph Bernhard von Galen, the Prince-Bishop of Münster (1650–1678), waged war against the Dutch Republic, supported by King Louis XIV of France. Von Galen, nicknamed ‘Bommen Berend’ (‘Bombing Bernard’), was forced to withdraw from Dutch territories following the Peace of Cologne in April 1674. However, the Catholics remaining in the area were still prohibited from owning their own churches or holding religious services. To provide the Catholics of Aalten and Bredevoort with the opportunity to practise their faith, Von Galen ordered the construction of nine missionary outposts along the border, one of which was the Cross Chapel in Hemden.

    Construction of the Cross Chapel

    Initially, Catholic services in Hemden were held in a barn on the Leicking estate, which had been converted into a house of prayer. In 1675, by order of Von Galen, the Cross Chapel was built on the Reyerding estate. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was constructed under the leadership of Jesuit Father Ernst Ignatius Busch, who served as the parish priest for the Aalten and Bredevoort congregations from 1672 to 1674.

    The chapel was an octagonal, largely wooden structure and became the religious centre for the exiled Catholics of Aalten and Bredevoort. Between 1710 and 1714, the chapel was restored and enlarged into a rectangular shape.

    The ‘Kruisberg’ (Cross Hill)

    Around the same time, the ‘Kruisberg’—a small hill—was created near the chapel, upon which a cross was placed. This cross faced the chapel and stood on a pedestal bearing the following inscription (translated from the Middle Dutch):

    What you see here is an image of Christ and not He Himself,
    therefore, worship neither wood nor stone,
    but direct your heart only to Christ.

    This inscription was intended to refute the Protestant accusations of the Reformation era that Catholics were worshipping idols through their figurative representations of Christ and the saints.

    Church Life

    By 1751, the parish of the Cross Chapel numbered approximately 27 German and 451 Dutch Catholics. Every Sunday, on Catholic feast days, and for family events such as baptisms and weddings, the Catholics from Aalten and Bredevoort made the journey to the chapel, often via the present-day Bodendijk and Veenhuisweg. According to local tradition, the worshippers travelled in their work clothes and carried their tools with them so as not to draw attention as churchgoers.

    Transcriptions of the baptismal and marriage registers of the Cross Chapel are available on the Genealogiedomein website and are valuable sources for genealogical research.

    The Restoration of Catholicism in the Netherlands

    From 1798, the people of Bredevoort, and from 1799 those of Aalten, were once again granted the right to practise the Catholic faith freely in their own country. They established their own churches in Bredevoort and Aalten, which led to a decline in the number of Dutch visitors to the Cross Chapel. By 1800, only a few German believers remained, mostly attending on Sundays and feast days.

    In 1821, Pope Pius VII decreed that the parishes of Aalten, Bredevoort, and other surrounding areas were to be assigned to the ‘Dutch Mission’. As a result, only five German families remained as members of the Hemden parish. The Cross Chapel had thereby lost its original purpose.

    The End of the Cross Chapel

    On 16 July 1821, Pope Pius VII formally declared the separation of the Dutch Catholics. Two years later, in 1823, the Cross Chapel was demolished. The parish was dissolved and relocated to the nearby Bocholt rural district of Barlo, a few kilometres south-east of Hemden. All that remains today to commemorate the chapel is the Kruisberg, with its Baroque cross and a stone memorial plaque.

    In total, seven parish priests served at the Cross Chapel. Although the chapel itself has vanished, the Kruisberg and its cross remain as a reminder of the religious life of the Catholics from Aalten and Bredevoort during a time of oppression and persecution.

    Features

    FunctionRoman Catholic refuge chapel
    Year of construction1675
    Demolition1823

    Sources

    • Information panel on the Kruisberg in Hemden
    • Wikipedia
    Kruiskapel Hemden, location
    Location and construction phases Kruiskapel Hemden, information panel
    Kruiskapel Hemden – map
    (Click to enlarge)
  • St George’s Church, Bredevoort

    St George’s Church, Bredevoort

    Markt 3, Bredevoort

    St George's Church, Bredevoort

    The Sint-Joriskerk (Saint George’s Church) is a late-Gothic church in Bredevoort, the foundations of which date back to 1316. The church is dedicated to Saint George, the patron saint of the borgmannen (castellans) of Bredevoort. A characteristic feature is the tower’s finial: a statue of Saint George and the Dragon instead of a traditional weathercock. On the east side of the church, there is a so-called ‘melaatsenraampje'(leper window). In earlier times, worshippers with contagious diseases used this window to follow the mass.

    Early History

    The oldest foundations of the church date from 1316, and the building may have served as a chapel for the castle of Bredevoort in its earliest years. During the Siege of Bredevoort in 1597 by Prince Maurice, the old (and larger) church burned down completely, and the vaults collapsed. The following year, the people of Bredevoort submitted a request to the classis of Zutphen to build a new church: “Die van Bredeforts soln met request an desen quartier verzoekcken assistentie tott reaparatie hearder Kapellene” (Those of Bredevoort shall request assistance from this quarter for the repair of their chapel). Reconstruction in the Gothic style began in 1599.

    Expansions

    Following the reconstruction, the church underwent various expansions. In 1600, after another fire, a tower was added. In 1639, the chapel was enlarged and broken out on the north side. Using the same stones, the wall was rebuilt several metres further out. Later expansions followed in the form of the boerenzolder (farmers’ loft) and the orgelzolder (organ loft). This extension, including the loft, is clearly visible. Biblical proverbs are inscribed in the beams of the farmers’ loft, such as: “Salich zijn se die rein van herte zin want sij zullen Godt zien” (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God).

    Powder Tower Disaster of 1646

    On 12 July 1646, lightning struck the castle’s powder tower. The resulting explosion destroyed a large part of the town, and forty people were killed. The castle was turned into a ruin, and the church also sustained significant damage. Eleven victims, including the Drost of Bredevoort, his wife, and eight of their children, were buried in the choir (the eastern part of the church).

    The church was rebuilt, though smaller than its predecessor. In 1672, Captain Satink donated a Rococo pulpit featuring his family coat of arms, as well as a copper lectern bearing the arms of the Holy Roman Empire.

    Renovations

    The church has undergone various renovations over the centuries. During the French period, features such as a wooden vault and a floor of Bentheimer sandstone were added. The church also received new pews, and the floor level was raised. In 1832, the church pews were painted white.

    In 1849, the wooden plank ceiling was replaced with a lime ceiling. In 1858, a catechism room was added, for which King William III donated 200 guilders. The walls of the church were re-plastered in 1868, and this plaster layer was removed again during the restoration of 1949. In 1869, the tower was repaired. In 1882, five stained-glass windows were replaced by cast-iron ones. Three years later, two more cast-iron examples were installed in the farmers’ loft.

    In 1889, the catechism room was extended with an annex. During a thorough renovation in 1896, the façade received new doors, a rose window, two small gable windows, and an iron cross. The commemorative stone is now placed on the inside of the wall of the organ loft. In 1920, the spire was renewed.

    Post-War Restorations

    After the Second World War, the church was in poor condition. Following a large-scale restoration, the church was put back into use in 1967. During a restoration in 2006, the subsided gravestones and the natural stone floor were repaired. It was discovered that a number of the stones had been laid upside down, likely during the French period; these have since been properly repositioned. During the work, several historical finds were made, including coins, human remains, and stained glass. Furthermore, a stone from the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was found.

    Research revealed that two of the stones that had been laid upside down belonged to the Bredevoort Drost, Wilhelm van Haersolte, and his family. They perished along with almost all their children during the powder tower disaster of 1646. Only their son, Anthony, had survived the disaster. In 2010, his descendants donated 3,000 euros to the restoration committee.

    Bells and Clock

    The Sint-Joriskerk houses three bells. The oldest, a monumental klepklok (chiming bell) from 1454, was borrowed from the Schaer Monastery in 1596. After the monastery was destroyed during the siege of 1597, this bell remained in the church. Wilhelm van Haersolte tot Elsen donated the brandklok (fire bell), cast in 1644. The luidklok (ringing bell) dates from 1731 and, according to old tradition, is rung daily at 8:00, 12:00, and 21:00. Historically, the town gates were opened at 8:00 and closed at 21:00, and 12:00 was mealtime.

    In 1942, the church received a new clockwork. The old clockwork from 1666 will soon be on display in the Sint-Joriskerk again. In 1980, the small carillon of three bells was reinstalled.

    Owners

    Overview is incomplete.

    YearPlotOwnerDescription
    1832B-80de Hervormde Kerk Bredevoord280 m² church

    Features

    Cadastral no.B-1199
    FunctionChurch
    Year of construction14th/17th century
    MonumentNational Monument

    Sources

    The great church of Bredevoort, 1687, bu Jacobus Stellingwerff
    The great church of Bredevoort, 1687, bu Jacobus Stellingwerff (source: Gelders Archief)
    Saint George's Church in the 19th century, then still plastered, by P.A. Schipperus
    Saint George’s Church in the 19th century, then still plastered, by P.A. Schipperus (source: Gelders Archief)
    Markt, Bredevoort
    Market square in Bredevoort with St George’s Church, c. 1912
    Farmers' loft in St George's Church, Bredevoort
    Farmers’ loft
  • Old Helena Church

    Old Helena Church

    Landstraat 22, Aalten

    Old Helena Church, Markt Square, Aalten

    The Oude Helenakerk has stood in the center of Aalten for centuries. It is the oldest and most prominent building in Aalten. This Late Gothic pseudo-basilica with its Romanesque tower is a monument of immeasurable historical and emotional value. Countless residents of Aalten have been baptized and married here, found solace within its walls, and were brought from this church to their final resting place.

    History

    Around the year 800, when the Saxons were subjugated by Charlemagne, he decreed that every community should provide a so-called ‘hoofdhof’ (head court) for the construction of a church. In the settlement of Aladna, the ancient name for Aalten, this was likely a piece of land belonging to the later Havezate de Ahof.

    The first small church on this site was presumably built in the Carolingian style, a precursor to Romanesque architecture. The church was dedicated to Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who converted to Christianity.

    In the 12th century, a Late Romanesque tower was added to this first church. The Romanesque architectural style is characterized by heavy, massive walls with small round-arched windows. In contrast to the later Gothic style, Romanesque architecture features little ornamentation. The tower is constructed entirely of tuff, a soft volcanic stone that was widely used in these regions at the time for building churches and castles. The spire takes the form of a so-called constricted needle spire.

    Between 1470 and 1483, the three-aisled nave of the church was built, also from tuff. This part of the church was executed in the Late Gothic style, characteristic of the 15th century, with large windows featuring pointed arches that point, as it were, toward heaven. The higher choir on the east side of the church dates from the period between 1440 and 1450. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, murals were applied to the vaults and walls.

    Reformation

    Until the end of the 16th century, the parish of Aalten fell under the Diocese of Münster. With the conquest of Bredevoort—the administrative center of the lordship of the same name to which Aalten belonged—by Prince Maurice on October 8, 1597, the Reformation also reached this region.

    At that time, Pastor Theunissen, a native of Bocholt, served the Aalten church. He fiercely resisted the reform. According to tradition, however, he had to flee in 1601 to the Burlo monastery, or according to others, to Rhede. He later died in Warendorf, where the small but valuable monstrance he had taken from Aalten reportedly remained until the middle of the 19th century.

    Presumably, shortly after 1597, the stone Stations of the Cross depicting the Passion of Christ were also removed. The stations, likely created around 1530 by the Westphalian sculptor Heinrich Brabender, disappeared but were rediscovered in the 19th century. Today, they can be admired in the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht.

    The then-chaplain of Aalten, Anthonius van Keppel, originally from Doetinchem, was mentioned in 1602 as the first minister of the Aalten church community, which had recently converted to Protestantism. How did this come about? To expand the Reformation to the countryside, the cooperation of the local Roman Catholic clergy was required. In 1598, many of them were summoned to appear at the classical assembly in Zutphen. The clergy from Aalten were also present. At this meeting, the attending pastors and vicars were required to renounce the Catholic religion and profess that the Reformed religion was the true one.

    In the classical assembly of 1603 in Zutphen, the participants from Aalten, Winterswijk, and Zeddam declared their willingness to conform to the conditions set for them. By 1633, the number of members was sufficient to proceed with the establishment of a church council.

    Shared use

    After the conquest of the Achterhoek in 1672 by troops of the Bishop of Münster, the churches of Aalten, Winterswijk, and Dinxperlo were given to the Minorite fathers by the episcopal commissioner. The Reformed congregation in Aalten reached an agreement with the occupiers. This arrangement meant that Catholics and Protestants could use the church in Aalten alternately. However, a short time later, the use of the church building was forbidden to the Protestants. This situation did not last long. At Pentecost 1674, the Münster troops left Aalten and the church became available to the Reformed congregation once again.

    Disturbances

    In early 1750, the quiet town of Aalten was shaken by a series of striking religious phenomena. During church services, people burst into tears, sighed loudly, or collapsed as if they had lost consciousness. Some even spoke of encounters with angels or attacks by the devil. These events drew national attention and would go down in history as the Aaltense beroeringen (Aalten disturbances).

    Doleantie (Schism)

    In 1834, the movement of the so-called ‘Afscheiding’ (Secession)—manifesting through the departure of Rev. H. de Cock and the church council of Ulrum (Gr) from the Dutch Reformed Church—gained some following in Aalten. By 1840, the circle in Aalten had grown sufficiently to found a congregation. A few decades later, the movement of the so-called Doleantie emerged within the Dutch Reformed Church.

    Restorations

    In 1973, the plaster layer in the church was restored. Beneath the six to seven layers of whitewash, exceptional paintings were discovered. These murals include depictions of the twelve apostles, a representation of the Last Judgment, the Coronation of Mary, and—highly unique in Western Europe—an image of Emperor Constantine the Great together with his mother Helena, the namesake of the church. The paintings were subsequently restored.

    Burial vault

    Also in 1973, carpenter Henk Heijnen discovered a burial vault under the choir during work, containing three coffins with human remains. The vault was quickly resealed by order of the church board, but before that happened, Heijnen had already climbed inside and accurately measured and photographed everything. In 2019, he completed a wooden replica of the burial vault.

    Death knell

    For centuries, the bells of the Oude Sint Helenakerk in Aalten have tolled at set times to inform the population of deaths, a practice known as ‘overluiden‘.

    Owners

    Overview is incomplete.

    YearPlotOwnerDescription
    1832I-1498the Reformed Church of Aalten3,060 m² church & yard
    1862I-2640the Reformed Church of Aalten2,966 m² church & yard
    1882I-3735the Reformed Church of Aalten2,924 m² church & yard
    1911I-5447the Reformed Church of Aalten2,938 m² church, catechism room & yard
    1914I-5613the Reformed Church of Aalten2,720 m² church & garden
    1959I-8339the Reformed Church of Aalten3,085 m² church, house & yard
    1963I-8941the Reformed Church of Aalten2,925 m² church, house, yard, park,
    part. community center, road

    Features

    Cadastral no.I-11437
    FunctionChurch
    Year of construction12th/15th century
    MonumentNational Monument
    Landstraat-Kerkstraat, Aalten - Fragment of cadastral map, 1862
    Fragment of cadastral map, 1862
    Gangel, Van Oostrum-Soede – Tubantia, 16 March 1887
    Tubantia, 16 March 1887
    Old Helena Church, Aalten
    Old Helena Church, Aalten, illustration by Piet te Lintum
    Old Helena Church, Aalten, illustration by Piet te Lintum
    Old Helena Church, Aalten
    Interior of the Old Helena Church, Aalten
    Interior of the Old Helena Church
    Mural in the Old Helena Church, Aalten
    Mural in the Old Helena Church

    Sources