The oldest parts are the central and northern aisles. They received their church consecration in 1323, according to a record in the Goch church archive. It is assumed that a church had already stood in the same place, as Goch had already become an independent parish around 1200. The main nave of the church is the tall nave. Plans for this extension go back to the 15th century. The flourishing cloth weaving mill in Goch went hand in hand with the desire for a larger church. The south aisle was demolished and the tall nave was built as the main nave.

The situation for Catholics in Goch was dire at the beginning of the 17th century. Although 80% of the population were Catholic, the city's magistrate has consisted entirely of non-Catholics since 1617. From 1600 to 1621 the church was also used by the Reformed congregation. From 1621, the Catholics of Goch were allowed to use their church alone again, but the Reformed received the Beguine Monastery on Mühlenstrasse in return. As the city of Goch was quite rich from the cloth industry, there were up to 17 altars in this church, which were destroyed in the Goch iconoclasm in 1625 by the soldiers of the governor of Nijmegen, Lambert Charles. The Dutch troops let out their anger because the church had been closed to their Reformed co-religionists since 1621. Within a few hours, almost all of the furnishings such as the pulpit, statues and stone monuments were destroyed, as well as the altars. Only the old tabernacle, the baptismal font from 1516 and the only picture “Madonna with the Child” from the 14th century and a statue of the holy knight George have survived.

The furnishings grew again in the 17th and 18th centuries. The baroque pulpit is worth mentioning. The nave suffered severe damage in 1945. The demolition of a pillar damaged 14 of 22 vault fields. The church was restored in its old form in 1959. The churchyard served as a cemetery for the city's dead for centuries. At times Reformed and Lutherans were also buried here. The church tower was rebuilt in modern forms in 2003 - ten years after it collapsed.

(de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Maria_Magdalena_(Goch))

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Silbersöckchen

February 1, 2022

Nice starting point to get to know Goch.

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iRalf

June 30, 2024

The church is everywhere

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Elevation 20 m

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Location: Goch, Kreis Kleve, Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

St. Maria Magdalena Church (Goch)

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