HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON ST. JOSEF CHURCH

On this page you will find further information about the St. Josef Church from the Denkmal- und Geschichtsverein Bonn-Rechtsrheinisch e.V. (Monument and History Society Bonn-Rhine).

St Joseph Church

The district of Beuel, which gave its name to the present-day Bonn borough, has only had a place of worship for just under 140 years. Until then, Beuel, which is mentioned in documents as early as 1139, belonged to the parish of Vilich, to the parish church of St. Paul and, after it collapsed in 1765, to the collegiate and parish church of St. Peter. The long distance to the church strengthened the desire for a church of their own in the growing town of Beuel.

In 1875, a member of the St. Josefs-Bauverein purchased the present flood-proof church site. The start of construction was then delayed both because of the tense situation between church and state during the Kulturkampf and because of the building concept. Finally, the plans of Chaplain Joseph Prill, a native of Beuel, who was studying in Rome at the time, were approved, and on 15 August 1880 the foundation stone for the first phase of construction could be laid. Just two years later, the first service was held in the new church. The second phase completed the three-nave church building. Finally, in 1904, the solemn consecration of the parish church of St. Joseph took place.

In 1981 the church received the new large organ (3 manuals, pedal, 61 stops). It was built by the workshop of the Oberlinger company, Windesheim, with Hans-Peter Reiners as disposition and expert advisor. Today it can be played from the central console in the nave together with the choir organ. Top organists regularly give concerts in St. Josef.

Organ system

St Joseph's has a two-part organ system, consisting of a main organ and a choir organ/remote organ.

The large organ was built in 1981 by the organ-building firm Oberlinger from Windesheim. The instrument was designed in the French-Romantic style, modelled on the organs of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris.[2] Today, the instrument has 61 stops on three manual movements and pedal. The Grand-Orgue and Récit are equipped with Barker machines.

Choir organ
In 2014, organ builder Thomas B. Gaida (Saarbrücken) built a choir organ behind the high altar with the function of a Fernwerk with 9 stops in a swell box. The instrument can be controlled - together with the main organ - from a mobile console in the choir room. This new console also includes the possibility of expanding the sound spectrum of the pipe organs with electronic sounds by means of a synthesiser.

Bells
In the tower of St. Joseph hangs a seven-part bronze bell ringing (medium-weight rib). Bells 3 and 5 were cast in 1960 by the bell foundry Mabilon from Saarburg, the remaining bells were cast in 1961 by the bell foundry Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling (Heidelberg).

Source: Seelsorgebereich an Rhein und Sieg, Wikipedia