St. Arnual collegiate church: Invested the future with a monument foundation

St. Arnual collegiate church: Invested the future with a monument foundation

In St. Arnual, an extensive restoration project for the collegiate church is promoted, which aims to constantly maintain this historical cultural heritage. A funding contract of 35,000 euros was recently signed by the German Foundation for Monument Protection (DSD) in order to tackle urgently needed measures to renovate the southern transept. The head of the Saarbrücken local board, Markus Otto, is particularly pleased with this support, since the DSD supports a total of more than 600 projects in Germany annually.

The collegiate church in St. Arnual is the oldest institution in Saarland and urgently needs these grants. Pastor Rolf Joachim Kiderle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: "We are dependent on every cent." The financial means are particularly important here because the institution does not receive any funds from church tax. Many funds that have been firmly expected have also been eliminated what the situation further tightened.

important restoration work

The restoration is carried out by a team under the direction of Steinmetz Markus Glöckner from Neunkirchen. A comprehensive plan provides for a total of one million euros to invest in the preservation of the collegiate church over the next five years. "The main thing is to take care of and prevent yourself early," says Glöckner. The first step already included a detailed inventory of the outer facade using drone shots and knock samples.

This first funded construction phase includes the exchange of over 200 sandstones. Glöckner emphasizes that this is not cosmetic measures, but the preservation of the substance. "It is about fixing the greatest damage," he explains, emphasizing that there must also be relevant historical characteristics, such as inscriptions and pliershöcher. These are referred to as "contemporary witnesses" that document the manual skill of the builders.

The commitment to the collegiate church not only shows how important this building is for the region, but also the interest of the public. Again and again visitor groups come, as recently from Metz, to visit the church. This not only emphasizes the cultural importance of the collegiate church, but also suggests the positive response that the monument finds in the population.

"The times are not easier," notes Markus Otto. The decline in willingness to donate significantly complicates the work of the DSD, since the attitude is often spread that new buildings are better to be promoted than maintaining old stocks. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic: "Positive examples" like the collegiate church are important in order to draw attention to the need for conservation measures. With the support of the German Foundation for Monument Protection, the collegiate church is given the opportunity to keep its gates open to the public in the future.