Anniversary celebrations 2013

On 12 October 2013, a ceremony was held for the restoration of the southern tower, together with the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, represented by Minister Michael Groschek, which was successfully completed on precisely the 700th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone.

The report on the speech of Minister Groschek can be read here on the homepage of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Urban Development and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Scaffolding on the spire of the southern tower (photo Peter Dahm / Soester Anzeiger)

Anniversary celebrations 2013 – Order of events

Schendeler Hymn
Wind instruments
Welcome speech
Pastor Mattenklodt
Alleluja, Buxtehude
Choir
Speech of the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia
Michael Groschek, Minister of Construction, Housing, Urban Development and Transport
Praise to the Lord, J.S. Bach
Choir
Greeting from the mayor
Dr. Ruthemeyer
Certifications – on a Soest cowhide
First certifications with short greeting by:
Children of the community, as well as the following honourable guests: KR TR Franz Bamberger, Honourary President of the EACD/Soester Runde Cathedral Master Builder Michael Hauck M.A., Cologne Foreman Marcial Lopez, Basel Dr. Wolfgang Platter, Director National Park Stilfser Joch, Advisory Council EACD Ditrict President Dr. Gerd Bollermann
Hymn Soest Runde/EACD
Wind instruments

All names can be signed on the Soest cowhide; the parchment is installed in the helmet gable of the tower.

Gratitude and announcement
Extract of the stone crown through the rows out of the church for transportation to the tower frame, accompanied by “Exodus from Egypt / G.F. Handel”
Wind instruments
Catapulting the stone crown to the spire
Filmed and shown live in the church
Closing song, “Great God, we praise you”

With good weather, followed by outdoor festivities at the Wiesenkirche there was also the possibility of ascending the spire until dusk.

Certificate

For in his hand are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are his.
Ps. 95:4

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 Educational text 12/10/2013

On the twelfth day of October, two thousand and thirteen years after Christ, seven hundred years after the laying of the cornerstone, we set the highest stone finial on the southern tower spire of our beautiful church of St. Maria zur Wiese in Soest.

We have restored the assortment of forms of the tower in tried and tested stone.

Now we are endowing the tower helmet and placing the gable tips.

From next year, work will continue on the northern tower.

In a time described as globalization, we act in the hope that people living on earth will find peace.

May you, the finder of this lore, appreciate this work and honour our names.

With the motto of the builders’ hut, “to devotion of the trinity”: God honour the best of our work.

May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.
Ps. 90:17

Parish / Dombauverein, Dombauhütte / City of Soest / Citizens / State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia

Anniversary celebrations 2013 – Photos

Photos: Jutta Niggemeyer

At the entrance of the church, employees of the masons’ lodge presented the cowhide on which the master builder had written for the historical occasion of the anniversary.

Numerous individuals expressed their participation by signing their name.

Part of the parchment had been designed at the childrens’ service in the days prior. It was delivered by the children in an official ceremony and put together as a document.

The wind instruments group of the Möhne-Brass-Ensemble...

… and the Wiese church choir, supported by instrumentalists, and cantor, Klauf Haffke, designed the musical program.

The highest stone stood garlanded with boxwood, the pommel of the finial, on the cart in the middle choir. It was transported out of the church for relocation to the spire of the southern tower; from left: Vice-President of State Parliament, Eckhard Uhlenberg, District President, Gerd Bollermann, Minister Michael Groschek, as well as master builder, Jürgen Prigl, with Cologne’s master builder, Dr. Michael Hauck, on the drawbar.

Michael Groschek, Minister of Construction, Housing, Urban Development and Transport, as the official representative of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, during his ceremonial address, both the style and substance of which conferred dignity and grandeur to the anniversary celebrations.

Mayor, Dr. Eckhard Ruthemeyer, also held a speech.

In the meantime, the sunshine outside had been replaced by rain; but this did not bother anyone.

The vertically standing, 380 kg stone was always in safe hands.

It was safely suspended and locked in by rope…

…and while raised by a crane, took set its sights on the spire of the tower above.

The upper third of the tower was not accessible with the construction site elevator and had to be reached on foot by taking the stairs.

Like clockwork, the new identical spire was mounted into the historic doweling, into which the previous stone had been anchored and which, presumably, had been split into several parts as a result of damage during the Second World War.

After the crane operator had completed his work with the stone, he raised passengers through the air on a gondola to the site of operations above.

At the same time, events could be experienced live inside the church with a video broadcast.

Thus when the spire was mounted with precision, the joy was shared by all.

One wind instrument at the spire, another inside the church played the music to the closing song that was voiced by over 1000 people in and around the Wiesenkirche in Soest on 12 October 2013: “Holy God, we praise thy name; Lord of all, we bow before Thee! All on earth Thy sceptre claim, All in Heaven above adore Thee; Infinite Thy vast domain.”

Bright and early on 14 October, the lightning protection was completed, meaning that the dismantling of the scaffolding could commence immediately afterwards.

The dismantling of the modular scaffolding around the helmet tracery, followed the heavy, rigid pipe coupling scaffolding of the southern tower shaft, and gradually uncovered the restored assortment of Gothic forms.

The upper level of the northern tower will be scaffolded concurrently so that the 4th and final large construction section can still be started in 2014.