P

According to tradition, two tower models were made for St George's Church after the spire was destroyed by lightning and fire in 1745. The execution of the favoured "Päperbüsse" (pepperbox) was probably entrusted to the Ausburg master builder Johann Neher. It is a rare and interesting baroque tower spire structure with an inserted belfry in a box structure. The tower was destroyed during the attack on Bocholt on 22 March 1945.

Lit.: M. Kamps, Als die Päperbüsse unterging, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 49 (1998) H. 4, p. 30-50.

Elisabeth Heiduk (23/04/09 11:07 am)

"Päperweide" was the name given to the southern area on today's Münsterstraße. And the landlord who built his inn here in the old days kept the name "Päper-Weert" for generations.

This name could also be an old field name. A street in this area today bears the name "Päperweide".

Lit.: Werner Schneider, In drei Stunden nach England, Rom und Jericho, in: UNSER BOCHOLT, vol. 9 (1958) p. 3, pp. 8-15. Walter Ciuraj et al, Die Flurnamen der Stadt Bocholt (Bocholter Quellen und Beiträge - Band 4), Bocholt/Vreden 1992, p. 32.

Johann Telaar (23/04/09 11:19 am)

Fortifications, Hessian

On 30 January 1648, a special peace treaty between Spain and the Netherlands ended an eighty-year war (1568-1648) between the Netherlands and Spain. Troops from both sides repeatedly crossed the borders of Westphalia during the war. The town of Bocholt and its rural surroundings were severely damaged in the process. The town of Bocholt therefore expanded its fortifications, particularly in the years 1583-1587, according to the so-called German bastion system. A second city moat was laid more than 100 metres in front of the medieval city wall and the excavated earth was shaped into straight ramparts. Eight semi-circular bastions or bulwarks were built at the bends in the wall to house cannons. This reinforcement was made necessary by the invention of gunpowder and the construction of ever more powerful guns, which could quickly destroy medieval city walls.

The Thirty Years' War, which broke out in 1618, also became acute for the Münsterland and Bocholt from 1622. From 1632, Landgrave Wilhelm V of Hesse-Kassel attacked the diocese of Münster as an ally of the Protestant Swedish king Gustav Adolf. Bocholt was besieged, conquered and plundered several times from 1633, especially in 1635. The Hessians occupied the town for more than 15 years until 1650. In the years 1642-1645, they had the fortress extended according to the so-called Dutch fortification system: The moats were widened, the ramparts were additionally raised and eight star-shaped bastions were constructed with straight flanks, which allowed the attackers to fire along the equally straight rampart sections. After the peace treaty of October 1648, the impregnable fortress was used as a bargaining chip against the bishop to force him to pay 800,000 Reichstalers. The Hessians only vacated the town two years later after the money had been paid and the new fortifications, which had also been made a condition, had been razed in April and May 1650.

The most important and oldest map of the town of Bocholt was drawn by Nikolaus Knickenberg on 21 May 1650 and is not oriented to the north but to the south. The medieval town wall, the moat in front of it and the Hessian fortification system are shown. The eight bastions are distributed at roughly equal distances around the extended fortifications. They protrude from the straight ramparts in a pentagonal shape like star spikes and are especially designed for the installation of cannons. Between each of them are the eight straight ramparts, which form a connection to the bastions. Today, the rampart roads run along these ramparts.

The most important visible relics are listed below:

Stiftsbollwerk: is still clearly recognisable today in the southern part of Dinxperloer Straße and Kurfürstenstraße, which bends sharply to the north-east.

The Everstein bulwark remains recognisable through the sharp bend in Kurfürstenstraße, which turns off Herzogstraße.

The Ernst bulwark can be recognised in the street layout of Stenerner Weg, Eintrachtstraße and the right-angled bend of Viktoriastraße. The Clemens-Dülmer-Schule is located within the bulwark. Today, the street "Im Bollwerk" runs through the centre of the former interior.

The southern rampart still marks the course of the former rampart.

The outer ditch of the Amelia bulwark remains clearly recognisable as a relic of the Hesse fortifications in the Aa arch near Karstadt!

The Wilhelmus bulwark: its extent extends into the former factory complex of the Driessen company - today "Shopping-Arkaden", which was demolished in 1996.

The Aa-Bogen running between "Aurillac"- and "Rossendale-Promenade", also flattened in the 1960s, is the most clearly visible relic of the outer moat of the Hesse fortifications, together with the arch at Karstadt.

The disappearance of relics of earlier defences is progressing: the medieval moat has completely disappeared;

the Binnenaa no longer powers a water mill and has been filled in;

the "Gäle Wäterken" no longer supplies water for the outer moat and is nowhere to be seen as a watercourse.

The outer ditch of the Hesse period is often only visible in the course of streets or in the flattened bends near Karstadt and the town hall. Most Bocholters are unaware of the former significance of these relics.

Literature: Werner Sundermann / Georg Letschert, Die hessischen Befestigungsanlagen des Dreißigjährigen Krieges, in: UNSER BOCHOLT, Vol. 49 (1998), H.4, pp.3-23 Werner Sundermann, Stadtkernarchäologie ergänzt historische Nachrichten, in: UNSER BOCHOLT, Vol. 38 (1987), H.2/3, pp.37-51.

Werner Sundermann (29.09.10 08:56)

The Sunday before Easter is characterised by the solemn entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Palm branches were a symbol of homage. As palm branches were not available in our area, boxwood was used. This is still called "Palm" today.

The centrepiece of Sunday is the consecration of the palms. The priest blesses the palm branches, of which every churchgoer takes a few. The Palm custom used to be limited to the church. Today, the palm procession also goes outside the church, led by the children with their palm sticks. These take different forms in western Münsterland.

The usual palm stick in Bocholt and the surrounding area consists of the top of a fir tree. The Christmas tree that is no longer needed is put back until Palm Sunday, the top with the four upper branches is cleaned and decorated. A palm bird is placed on the top of each branch, with a boxwood twig stuck into its back. A pretzel (called a Kräkling in Bocholt) lies on the four side branches. The top is decorated with a large apple or orange. Garlands of sultanas or dried plums also adorn the little work of art.

Over the course of time, the number of children carrying palm sticks has decreased. The children's song: "Palm, Palm, Sunndag, öwwer een Sunndag, dann kriegt wej en Ei, dann kriegt wej en Ei, dann kriegt wej en lecker Paosei" is only seldom heard because the children no longer speak Low German. Even if the lyrics have been learnt by heart, the meaning remains incomprehensible to them.

Literature: Dietmar Sauermann, Volksfeste im Westmünsterland, Beiträge des Historischen Vereins Vreden zur Landes- und Volkskunde H. 24, Vreden 1983, p. 68 ff. Anna Lindenberg, Erinnerungen an Alt-Bocholt, Grabenstätt 1978, p. 22 and 42. Hans-Detlef Oppel (23.04.09 11:24 am)

His real name was Johannes Heisterkamp. As is still common in some areas today, he was called Pannemann, after the name of the farm where he lived.

He was born on 11 August 1826 in Liedern, now a district of Bocholt. As a child, he attended the farm school in Liedern. He had to help with the field work at an early age. He later learnt his father's trade as a clog maker. He travelled to Münster, Krefeld, Moers and Kleve with a fully loaded horse-drawn cart and sold the clogs he made there. Only twice in his life did he leave his father's farm for a longer period of time. For a time, he worked as a clog maker in Lünten near Vreden. In 1849, he did his military service with Fusilier Battalion 13, but was discharged in 1850 due to illness. He did not have to take part in the following wars for reasons of age.

At the age of 32, he married Anna Catharina Schaffeld. Nine of his 11 children died at a young age. His wife died in 1896.

Johann Heisterkamp died in 1930 at the age of 104. At the time, he was the oldest German. In the Lowick district, Pannemannstraße and a youth centre were named after "Alter Pannemann".

References: Klemens Becker, Heimatkalender des Landkreises Borken und des Stadtkreises Bocholt, Jh1927, page 15/16, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 60, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 40 (1989) H. 3, p. 57. Johann Telaar (23.04.09 11:26 am)

This street was named in memory of the clog maker Johannes Heisterkamp (1826-1930), known as Pannemann. He was the oldest German in his time.

Lit:

Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 53-72.
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 40 (1989), H. 3, p. 57.

was born on 4 July 1918 in Mehr near Kleve and was christened Paul.

After primary school, he attended the Capuchin Mission School from 1930 to 1935, then St George's Grammar School in Bocholt, where he passed his Abitur in 1937. On 29 March 1937, he began the novitiate in Stühlingen, where he made his simple profession to the Capuchin Order on 30 March 1938. His philosophy studies in Krefeld were prematurely terminated when he was "drafted".

Only after his time in the Reich Labour Service and the Wehrmacht was he able to make his solemn profession in Münster on 18 June 1947. He was ordained a priest by Auxiliary Bishop Roleff on 19 March 1948 in Münster.

In April 1949, he was transferred from Münster to Bocholt and initially worked as a teacher at the Kleve monastery school until 1951, when he was able to continue teaching with the pupils at the rebuilt boarding school in Bocholt. Fr Bernward worked for over 35 years as a teacher and for many years also as director of the school choir at what is now St Joseph's Grammar School in Bocholt. In addition to his work in the school, he served his fellow human beings in extraordinary pastoral care, in the Third Order, through decades of commitment to the lepers' charity and as organist in the monastery church of St Laurentius on Hemdener Weg.

Through words and music, he brought the humour of his godfather, the priest-poet August Wibbelt, to his listeners in over 200 events. After his retirement as a teacher, the Bishop of Münster gave him the position of rector of St Clare's Church, where he looked after the Poor Clares as chaplain until his death on 19 June 1990.

A word from his godfather characterised his deep and devout attitude to life:

Dat Liäben üöwerläft den Daut - (Life survives death.) August Wibbelt

P. Alexander Kotschekoff OFMCap and Fr Fredegand Köhling OFMCap (08.09.10 11:20)

was born on 29 October 1919 in Krefeld and baptised Karl Emil on All Saints' Day 1919. After attending primary school and the Oberrealschule in Krefeld, he first attended the public school of the Bischöfliches Konvikt in Bensheim, then the Kurfürstliches Gymnasium until his Abitur. Three days after graduating from high school, on 28 March 1938, he began the novitiate in Stühlingen, where he made his temporary profession to the Capuchin Order on 29 March 1939.

His studies in philosophy in Krefeld were prematurely terminated when he was called up for military service. The war came to an end for him in 1943 when he was taken prisoner by the Americans in North Africa. It was only after his release in 1947 that he was able to begin studying theology in Münster and take his final vows. Auxiliary Bishop Heinrich Roleff ordained him to the priesthood in Münster on 19 March 1948. After studying theology in 1948, he studied natural sciences at the universities of Münster, Heidelberg and Mainz. He passed his teacher training examination in Mainz in 1956 and obtained his doctorate in natural sciences. After a year as a trainee teacher in Fulda, he began teaching at the monastery school in Bocholt in October 1957. Initially, Fr Sigbert taught all science subjects as well as geography and sport, and later biology, chemistry and geography. He worked for over two decades at what is now St Josef Grammar School in Bocholt, most recently as Director of Studies (retired), until he was able to retire.

In addition to his work at school, he served his fellow human beings in extraordinary pastoral care on all Sundays and public holidays, for many years in the parish of St Ludgerus in Spork near Bocholt. He was already very interested in butterflies at the age of 14. This interest led him to become intensively involved in entomology, which later earned him the joking nickname "the moth". Excursions lasting weeks, even months, to Italy, Greece, Persia and Turkey served his research. His last excursion lasted six months and took him beyond Turkey to Syria and Jordan. After years of effort, the three-volume work "The Butterflies of Turkey" was published in 1995, with special consideration of the neighbouring countries, which he edited with Gerhard Hesselbarth (Diepholz) and Harry van Oorscht (Amsterdam). P. Sigbert also published shorter scientific papers for international congresses and specialist journals. His butterfly collection was universally admired. P. Sigbert prepared over 100,000 butterflies in his lifetime. In the last few months before his death, he reorganised 25,000 butterflies and donated them to the Museum König in Bonn.

He demonstrated his practical knowledge above all in the new construction of the St Laurentius monastery and pastorate in Bocholt (1969 - 1971). At the topping-out ceremony, the bricklayers appointed him "foreman of honour" for his commitment to the construction work. It therefore hit him hard when the Bocholt monastery was closed and he had to move to Oberhausen-Sterkrade in July 2000. There, too, he created a monument to himself with the redesign of the inner courtyard. Even in his early years in Bocholt, he was already making efforts to shape the landscape in the vicinity of the city: in the "Burlo-Vardingholter Venn" nature reserve, he was active as a scientist and educator in decades of research and work assignments with pupils from his "Kapu" and made a significant contribution to the preservation and renaturalisation of this ecotope through this joint work. This work was regarded as a pilot project that attracted many interested parties.

He also worked as a landscape ecology consultant in various land consolidation processes and later as an expert for the State Institute for Ecology. In addition to his commitment to nature conservation, Fr Sigbert published numerous articles on the local flora and fauna in the journal for cultural and local history "Unser Bocholt". His work as a pastor, scientist, landscape ecologist and conservationist was also recognised beyond the community:

The
• German Society for General and Applied Entomology awarded him the Meigen Medal
Already
• on 5 September 1988, the Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded him the Order of Merit of the State of NRW
On
• 21 June 2001, he received the Cross of Merit 1st Class on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
On
• 26 September 2001, the City of Bocholt awarded him the City Plaque.

P. Sigbert did not attach great importance to these honours. It was enough for him to know that he had fulfilled his duties properly and to the best of his ability. Fr Sigbert died in Oberhausen on 13 April 2004 after a serious illness. He was laid to rest in the monastery cemetery in Münster.

P. Alexander Kotschetkoff, OFMCap and Fr Hugo Stahl, OFMCap (02.12.10 10:35 a.m.)

Paul-Schwarzer-Straße was named after Paul Schwarzer (1895-1961), teacher and headmaster of the Mussum Kreuzschule.

Lit:

Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, pp. 53-72.
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 40 (1989), H. 3, p. 60.

Hospital priest Prelate Ernst Pauls was always known in Bocholt as "Rector Pauls". The people of Bocholt knew him as a hospital chaplain. He was regarded as the ideal role model for patients, their relatives and hospital staff. He was "a concerned and successful priest and therefore a particular support to the doctors treating patients". His quiet and kind manner was impressive.

Rector Pauls was born in Oelde on 16 November 1902. After attending the rector's school in his home town, he graduated from the grammar school in Beckum in 1922. He studied philosophy and theology in Münster and Freiburg and was ordained a priest on 3 March 1928. He was initially a pastor at the Mauritius parish church in Ibbenbüren for three years and spiritual rector at the Marienstift Bad Lippspringe for eight years. From the end of June 1939 to the end of 1972, he worked at St Agnes Hospital in Bocholt for 33 years. When Administrative Director Theodor Lötz died in 1941, Rector Pauls was assigned a large number of administrative tasks in addition to his work as a hospital priest due to the war. The internal operation of the hospital, which had been home to a reserve hospital since the beginning of the war, brought additional work. In autumn 1944, the military hospital was moved to Velen and a war hospital moved in.

In order to avoid the many transports from the wards to the air-raid shelter, the basement in the hospital was set up in January 1945 for patients who had undergone major surgery and those who had recently given birth. At the same time, the Walderholung was given the function of an alternative hospital, which had to be equipped with a makeshift operating theatre, medical instruments, medicines, etc. During the major attack on 22 March 1945, there were around 500 people in the air raid shelter. After 2 ½ hours, everyone was rescued, no one died and Rector Pauls was the last to leave the hospital in ruins with a small group. The following night, he couldn't even find a chair or a step to rest on at Gut Hambrock! After the war, in addition to his duties as a hospital chaplain, Rector Pauls was also heavily involved in the reconstruction of the hospital. For his work, he was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 29 April 1974. On the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest on 3 March 1978, he gave away prayer cards with a green cover page containing only the word "Yes". This is how Rector Pauls understood his life: "For the past" Thank you! For what is to come "Yes!" (Dag Hammerskjöld). He died on 30 November 1979 in Bocholt. The Ernst-Pauls-Weg has existed in Bocholt near St. Agnes Hospital since 15 June 1982.

Lit:

Ernst
• Pauls, Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau (des St.-Agnes-Hospitals) in: Unser Bocholt, 20th Vol. (1969), H. 2, p.17-28.
Elisabeth
• Bröker and Lucy Vollbrecht-Büschlepp, Bürger der Stadt: Prälat Ernst Pauls, Krankenhauspfarrer, in: Unser Bocholt,24.Jg,(1973), Heft 1, p. 15 -17.
Annemarie
• Rotthues, Bundesverdienstkreuz für Pralat Pauls, in Unser Bocholt 25.Jg. (1974), H. 3/4, p. 51,
Elisabeth
• Bröker u.a., Kriegschronik der Stadt Bocholt 1939-1945, edited by G. Schmalstieg, (Bocholter Quellen und Beiträge, hg. v. der Stadt Bocholt - Stadtarchiv, vol. 7), Bocholt 1995, p. 378. G

Annemarie Rotthues (09.09.10 09:00)

Born on 31 January 1912 in Büchenbeuren in Hunsrück, Maria Peiss began studying medicine in Bonn after graduating from high school in 1933. She got her first job as a doctor in 1940 at St Agnes Hospital in Bocholt. She was assigned to the then head of the surgical department, Dr Jansen. The good teamwork with her boss proved its worth when, in December 1944, a platoon of Dutch men who had been detached by force of arms for entrenchment work was shot at by low-flying aircraft in Werth. Alongside Dr Jansen, Dr Peiss spent hours in the operating theatre helping the wounded. To prevent them from being forced to do entrenching work, Dr Peiss gave them "especially large bandages" when they were discharged from hospital. Every year until her death in 1993, one of the wounded, Ger Knipscheer, always wrote her a greeting card at Christmas in gratitude.

Dr Benölken was appointed Lord Mayor of Bocholt by the military authorities on 31 March 1945. He said to Dr Peiss: "Open a practice. You are needed." Bocholt lay in rubble and ashes. Dr Peiss found premises for a waiting and consulting room at Münsterstraße 110. The treatment took place on or at an old kitchen table. There were boxes of medical instruments along the wall.

Word of Dr Peiss's surgical expertise spread around Bocholt. When children and teenagers ran into mines while playing outdoors, Dr Peiss was called in immediately. Before she was able to get a car, she travelled to patients on an old motorbike. In 1955, she built a house at Ostwall 56 and continued to practice until 1969. Dr Peiss' achievements during the war and especially in the difficult post-war years were recognised by the city of Bocholt in a letter of thanks dated 23 October 1969: "... and how much time and energy you had to sacrifice when you settled down after the end of the war and helped to provide medical care for the population under primitive conditions is something that very few people can imagine..."

In 1969, Dr Peiss went to the Eifel, where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. She returned to Bocholt in 1976 and resumed caring for lonely people in the Protestant retirement home in Herzogstraße. She lived a very secluded life and died on 27 February 1993 at the age of 81.

Lit.: Annemarie Rotthues, Das Bürgerporträt. Memories of Dr Maria Peiss, in: Unser Bocholt, 45th vol. (1994), p. 1, pp. 33-34.

Annemarie Rotthues (09.09.10 08:49)

With the development of the residential area "Am Erzengel", the housing estates "Im Osteresch" and "Wagenfeldstraße" and the renovation of the residential buildings on Hochfeldstraße, the number of pupils at Clemens-August-Schule increased so much from 1965 onwards that the school no longer had sufficient space. On 19 June 1969, the town council therefore decided to build a two-form entry community primary school on Knufstraße. The ground-breaking ceremony took place on 19 March 1970, the school building was completed in mid-September of the same year and the gymnasium at the end of November. 8 classrooms, 4 group rooms and 3 administration rooms were available. Margarete Ossenkamp became the first headmistress. The school was inaugurated on 13 February 1971 and was named Pestalozzi School after the famous Swiss educationalist.

In September 1971, Bocholt's first school kindergarten was set up in one of the detached pavilion classrooms. 21 children who were of school age but had initially been deferred from attending school for various reasons were prepared for primary school here. The school kindergarten was closed in 2005. At the end of the 1988/89 school year, headmistress Margarete Ossenkamp retired. Mrs Ruth Elster became her successor. At that time, 199 children attended the school. The number of pupils rose until 1992 (213) and then slowly declined. Mrs Elster was succeeded by headmaster Hans Wessels in August 2003. The Pestalozzi School has been an "open all-day primary school" since the start of the school year in August 2007. Since the start of the 2009/2010 school year, the Pestalozzi School has been part of the Diepenbrock primary school association.

Lit.: Commemorative publication on the 25th anniversary of the Pestalozzi School, Bocholt, 1995.

Hans Nienhaus (06.07.10 11:09)

Many Catholic parishes maintain a library, called the Borromeo Library after St Charles Borromeo.

For decades, the parish of St Joseph has been home to such a public library, from which interested parties can borrow books. These church-run libraries are run and supplied by the Borromeo Association, founded in 1846 and based in Bonn.

In 1960, the library had around 2050 volumes. In the same year, it was noted that within 10 years the circulation had increased from approx. 4,700 to 6,800 due to the good book stock. In 1976, the city of Bocholt drew up a library plan which stipulated that the Borromäusbücherei St. Josef should be responsible for supplying books to the south-western part of our city. According to this plan, the St. Georg parish library was closed due to its proximity to the city library (which was still located on Benölkenplatz at the time), and the book material was largely transferred to the St. Josef parish library. As a result, the stock grew to around 7,000 book units. With the general decline in lending figures, book loans at the end of 2005 totalled only 11,034 volumes. The collection includes non-fiction books, novels, children's and youth books, as well as music and radio play cassettes and CDs. At present (2006), the library has 6,135 books, 47 CD-ROMs and 693 music cassettes and CDs.

Lit.: Parish of St Joseph (ed.), Festschrift zum 100jährigen Weihejubiläum der Josefskirche, Bocholt 1997.

Johann Telaar (05.05.09 09:03)

The desire for a separate church in the Fildeken and Biemenhorst district already existed in the 1920s. At that time, the current parish of St Ewaldi belonged to the parish of St Josef.

The search was on for a financially viable solution for founding a parish. In 1934, the former Schröer department stores' on the corner of Mühlenweg and Schützenstrasse was offered for sale. The large house was purchased and remodelled into a church hall. Klemens Vehorn, a young priest from the parish, ensured that liturgical equipment and the large cross depicting Christ as King could be purchased.

The parish owes its name to the then dean Jürgens, a great admirer of the Ewaldi brothers, who were active as missionary monks in our area towards the end of the 7th century.

On 5 June 1934, a makeshift church was consecrated with a large turnout of the faithful. In August, parish rector Anton Hommel arrived, and in December 1934 he was assigned the then independent pastoral district of St Ewaldi. The final separation from the mother parish of St Joseph was decided by the church council in 1939, when valuable property was renounced in order to allow the new parish financial independence.

On 4 April 1941, the Bishop of Münster, Clemens August Graf von Galen, appointed the pastoral district of Ss. Ewaldi as an independent parish and Anton Hommel became its pastor.

The enthusiasm of the faithful for their parish was great and many groups and associations were formed.

During the Second World War, there were a number of disputes with those in power at the time. The Corpus Christi procession was banned, the Catholic Young Men's Association had to be dissolved, events organised by the women's community and religious education in schools were no longer allowed to take place. During this difficult time, the parishioners stood together with all their strength and loyalty.

On 4 Advent 1946, Pastor Hommel celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest and the parish of St Ewaldi received Ewaldi relics from the church of St Kunibert in Cologne.

In 1948, after the war had just ended, a church building association was founded. After four years, they had enough money to break ground for a large church on 3 March 1952. Helpers with shovels and wheelbarrows were on hand and the excavation work was completed in just a few days. On 6 July 1952, the parish celebrated the laying of the foundation stone and consecration, which was performed by the dean Clemens Dülmer.

The foundation stone comes from a pillar of St. George's Church, which was destroyed in the bombing of Bocholt on 22 March 1945, as well as pieces of brick from the bombed church of St. Joseph. This was intended to show the connection with the church of St George, the mother church of Bocholt, and the special mother church of St Joseph.

Architect Johann Ketteler from Bocholt was the master builder of the church. On 8 February 1953, the topping-out wreath flew over the shell of the building. Four months later, on 12 July 1953, the church was completed and could be handed over for its intended purpose. On behalf of the Bishop of Münster, Archbishop of Lanchow (China), Theodor Buddenbrock, attended the inauguration.

Six years later, on the 25th anniversary of the parish, four bells were consecrated and installed in the tower. In the meantime, the emergency church of the Ewaldi parish on the corner of Mühlenweg and Schützenstraße had been converted into an inn. It was consecrated and handed over on 11 June 1960. It was used for parish meetings and events until the new parish hall on Schwertstraße was built.

On 13 December 1967, Father Anton Hommel died after a short illness and was buried in the cemetery on 16 December 1967 with a large attendance of the faithful. The new organ, which was solemnly inaugurated on 23 December 1967, was played for the first time at the requiem.

On 28 April 1968, Albert Bettmer was appointed as the new pastor of the parish of St. Ewaldi and inaugurated.

In 1970, the church was thoroughly renovated. The choir was remodelled according to the guidelines of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council in 1964.

On 9 June 1974, the parish of St Ewaldi celebrated its 40th anniversary. At that time it had around 8000 members.

3 June 1984 marked the 50th anniversary of the parish of Ss.Ewaldi. In a solemn high mass, which was attended by regional bishop Alfons Demming from Münster, the church choir sang a Bruckner mass, among other things. This was followed by a ceremony in a large tent on the church square with a reception for the guests of honour and the congregation.

----------------

Kl. statistics of the Ewaldi parish (from the parish chronicle):

January 1972 first carol singing by the altar servers

1.3.1975 First service of communion helpers

8 - 14 November 1976 First ecumenical Bible Week with the Apostle Church

17.5.1981 Pilgrimage to Cologne, St Kunibert, to the bones of the holy Ewaldi brothers

3.7.1983 Cathedral pilgrimage to Münster

5 - 13 October 1984 Pilgrimage to Rome

Lit:

Feighofen
• , Erika: 50 Jahre Kirchengemeinde Ss.Ewaldi.Versuch eines kurzen Überblicks in "Unser Bocholt" Jg.35 (1984), H.4, p.25-32.
Chronik
• Ss.Ewaldi, Ordner Jubiläen.

Irmgard Winking (31.05.10 16:35)

This path is intended to commemorate the first priest of the parish of Ss. Ewaldi, Anton Hommel (1896-1967).

Lit:

Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, pp. 53-72.

Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 39 (1988), H. 2, p. 55.

(05.05.09 09:08)

The street was named Pfarrer-Becking-Straße on 2 March 1994 in memory of the founding pastor Heinrich Becking (1891-1973) of the Hl.-Kreuz-Gemeinde.

Lit:

Gerhard
• Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 53-72.

(05/05/09 09:13)

This path commemorates the pastor and honorary citizen of the town of Bocholt, Gustav Quade (1892-1979).

Lit:

Gerhard
• Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 53-72.
Wilhelm
• Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 40 (1989), H. 3, p. 64.

(06/05/09 12:16 pm)

The chequered history of the Pfarrer-Wigger-Schule Suderwick - which emerged from the Suderwick Catholic primary school - has been linked to the equally chequered history of the Suderwick community for centuries. The school is named after the meritorious priest of the Catholic parish of Suderwick who died in 1955.

After the Thirty Years' War, which created a fixed border between Dinxperlo in the (Dutch) States General and the settlement of Suderwick in the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, Suderwick was given its own pastor, Ignatz Busch, who established a school there in 1675 on the instructions of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen. The first teacher is not known, Ignatz Busch probably taught himself at first.

In 1791, Suderwick had a Catholic "border school", which was attended by German and Dutch children. The first school building was erected in 1814 and the first known teachers were Reiner Koeners and Anton Mümken. They, as well as the following teachers, were pupils of the Münster school reformer Bernhard Overberg.

Until 1854, Dutch Catholics also attended St Michael's Church in Suderwick and sent their children to the Catholic school. However, Pope Pius VII decreed the establishment of an independent Catholic parish in Dinxperlo-Bredenbrook in 1821, and from then on the Dutch children went to their own school.

Of the long line of teachers in Suderwick, August Brunsmann stands out, who taught in Suderwick for more than 25 years from 1895 and made a great contribution to the community and school. He was succeeded by Georg Hoppe in 1922, and in 1945 teacher Max Golombowski took over the management of the school under extremely difficult conditions. The school building had been destroyed and the Catholic children were taught in the Protestant primary school. It was not until 1948 that the school was given its own building again.

On 23 April 1949, western Suderwick was separated from Germany by decision of the Allies and became part of the Netherlands. St Michael's Church and the Catholic primary school were now on Dutch territory. The German children were now to attend Dutch schools. The municipality of Suderwick hurriedly built a classroom at the Protestant school for the first four year groups, while the upper year groups continued to attend the school at St Michael's Church. In 1952, all pupils were allowed to attend this school again.

The head of the school was now a Dutch civil servant. Teacher Golombowski left the school for this reason in 1953. In Paul Brügge from Bocholt, the community found a teacher who was prepared to take on this difficult position. His Dutch language skills made it easier for him to deal with the Dutch authorities. Westsuderwick returned to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1963.

In 1966, the school was given a new building on the same site following the demolition of the old school building from 1933, initially with two classrooms and ancillary rooms, but just one year later two more classrooms had to be built due to the growing number of pupils.

In the 1968/69 school reform, grades 1-4 of the school became a community primary school, grades 5-9 initially a community secondary school, but later transferred to the Lowick secondary modern school. Headmaster Paul Brügge moved to Bocholt as headmaster of Josefschule, and Mrs Hildegard Ostermann, later Schouwenburg, took over the management of the school in 1972.

Many children from Suderwick had been attending the Dutch kindergarten for years, so they grew up bilingually. In 1963, the German parents had even rejected the idea of building a kindergarten in Suderwick because of the positive experiences with the Dutch kindergarten. The school therefore included Dutch as a subject in its curriculum. The first contact between all the head teachers in Dinxperlo and Suderwick took place as early as 1973, which subsequently led to a large number of joint cross-border activities.

Due to the increase in the number of pupils, two school pavilions with a total of three classrooms were erected in 1995/96, which were later permanently extended.

Mrs Schouwenburg handed over the management of the school to Mrs Marianne Sanderhaus at the end of the 1999/2000 school year.

Today, the school accommodates 4 classes and has set up an after-school care centre and an open youth club for afternoon supervision. The school was closed at the beginning of the 2010/2011 school year.

Lit:

Alois Tekotte, Schools in the Liedern-Werth district, Bocholt, 1966.

Theo Behrens, Über Schulkampf und Schulfrieden, in: Unser Bocholt, 55.Jg, 2004, pp. 53-54.

Hildegard Schouwenburg, ... and the rapprochement continues, ibid. pp.57-58.

Chronicle of the Pfarrer-Wigger-School 1945 - 2007 in the Pfarrer-Wigger-School, Bocholt-Suderwick

Hans Nienhaus (05.07.10 15:25)

Since 1908, the parish of St. Josef had a parish and youth centre at Hohenzollernstrasse 48, which bore the name Vereinshaus St. Josef. On 1 July 1937, the building was closed by the authorities of the time. During the war, it was used as a storage room for grain and uniforms. On 4 March 1945, the building fell victim to a bombing raid. After the war, on 28 June 1953, the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the building was laid in the same place. It was consecrated by the church on 4 July 1954.

In March 1987, it was decided to build a new parish hall near the church. The old clubhouse was sold to help finance the new building.

Following an architectural competition, planning and construction were awarded to Mr Kresing and Mr Teepe from Münster. The foundation stone was laid on 26 April 1992 and the building was officially opened on 29 November 1992. In addition to group rooms, a parish hall and a kitchen, the building also houses the parish library.

Lit:

Commemorative publication on the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the church. Bocholt church calendar 1958.

Johann Telaar (06.05.09 12:32)

The first chapel in Mussum was built in 1671 on the Niedermöller-Kapellemann estate. It was called "Chapel of Our Lady". The current owner of the farm still goes by the common nickname "Chapelman".

At the time of its construction, the Catholic faithful in Mussum still belonged to the parish of St George. The vicar at the time, Ernst-Ignaz Busch, had the chapel built so that the faithful from Mussum, Liedern and Lowick could fulfil their Sunday duty and be taught religion. However, the chapel was demolished a few decades later.

In 1897 Mussum was separated from the original parish of St George and assigned to the new parish of St Joseph. The street "Mussumer Kirchweg" still describes the route that the faithful took to the new church today.

When St. Joseph's Church was destroyed on 22 March 1945, an emergency church was first set up in the warehouse of the farmers' cooperative and later in the hall of the "Mussumer Mühle" restaurant. Karl Wiedehage, the parish priest of St Josef at the time, temporarily took over pastoral care in the parish. Even before the hall had been prepared for the church service, the priest was shot by looters during a night-time raid and died on 30 June 1945.

At the urging of the faithful to have their own church, the chapel association was founded in August 1947. Numerous donations and personal contributions made it possible to lay the foundation stone of the church, designed by the architect Kösters from Münster, on 8 August 1949. The church "Maria, Trösterin der Betrübten" was consecrated by Auxiliary Bishop Roleff on 25 May 1950 with a large number of people in attendance.

In 1964-1966, the church was rebuilt and extended due to the increased building development in Mussum. The windows and the choir were redesigned, and the redesign of the chancel was based on the regulations on the reorganisation of the liturgy issued by the Second Vatican Council, which came into force on the first Sunday of Lent 1964. The altar area was designed with these aspects in mind. Architect Bernd Kösters and Josef Baron are the responsible designers.

It goes without saying that the image of the Mother of God is present in a St Mary's Church. The sculptor Emil Ebert created the image of a protective mantle Madonna, under whose mantle the congregation is protected.

The cross above the altar shows the crucified Jesus. A beam made of elm wood serves as the crossbeam for this 2.80 metre high crucifix. This work was created by the sculptor Johannes Paschker.

The simple windows were designed by the artist Mrs Lucy Vollbrecht-Büschlepp.

Over time, the name of the church was changed to "Maria Trost" and later to its current name "Maria Trösterin".

The number of inhabitants in the parish had now risen to around 2000. The parishioners pushed for independence and separation from the parish of St Joseph. On 1 October 1952, the church initially became a parish rectorate and on 1 October 1955 was elevated to an independent parish.

Pastor Bernhard Hecker was the first parish rector to take office in 1952. After his death in September 1954, he was succeeded by Pastor August Sellenscheidt, who retired in September 1982. The current vicar, Hubert Oelgemöller, was inaugurated on 26 September 1982.

As a result of additional community work, a separate cemetery was built, which is still administered by the Maria Trösterin parish. The first burial in the new cemetery took place on 14 April 1951, and the two deceased pastors Bernhard Hecker and August Sellenscheidt also found their final resting place in the parish cemetery.

Lit:

Ursel
• Jost, 50 Jahre Pfarrgemeinde Maria Trösterin in Mussum.
Waltraud
• Liebrand, Kunst in der Kirche Maria Trösterin. From: Commemorative publication for the 50th anniversary of the Maria Trösterin parish church, Mussum 2000.

Johann Telaar and Leo Engenhorst (14.09.10 11:01)

In this cultivation technique, pieces of soil, known as plaggen, were cut out, mixed with manure and spread on the land as fertiliser. In Westmünsterland, the top layer of soil with roots and herbage was removed to a thickness of several centimetres, mainly from heathland and less frequently from grassland or woodland. The plaggen was mainly mixed with manure in two ways: firstly, it was used as litter in the stables, and secondly, it was layered with manure in manure pits or on compost heaps at the edge of the fields.

More than ten times the area of heather was needed to supply the Esch areas sufficiently. Plaggeneschkultur was introduced around 950 AD at about the same time as the intensive, "perpetual" cultivation of winter rye, whose many years of uninterrupted monoculture now required regular fertilisation. Since the advent of chemical fertilisation around 1900, this costly cultivation technique has lost its importance.

See also: Kamp, Mark.

Lit:

Paul
• Heinrichs, Die Heide.
• Entstehung, Geschichte und Vergehen einer Heimatlandschaft, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 18 (1967) H. 1, p. 24-29.
Erhard
• Mietzner, Esch, Kamp, Heide, Mark ... Notes on an old farming economy, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 3, p. 34-41.

Dr Thomas Behrens (06.08.10 11:08 a.m.)