Elisabeth Church Louisendorf

In the midst of the open Louisenplatz stands the Protestant Elisabeth Church. Like the establishment of the locality itself, the church could only be realized with the help of the Prussian royal family. The construction of the church was estimated to cost 8,000 thalers. Since the Protestant congregation, founded in 1853, did not have these funds, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was asked for permission to hold a collection to raise the money. Queen Elisabeth of Prussia, the wife of the Prussian king, became involved in this endeavor and provided the funds needed for the church construction through the so-called Kettenbund, an association of noble ladies aimed at supporting needy Protestant congregations, of which she was the patroness. This led to a respectable amount of 10,600 thalers being raised. The financing was secured and the church could be built in the years 1860/1861 in the neo-Gothic style as a hall church with a 32-meter high tower and two bronze bells. In gratitude for this charitable support and in honor of the benefactor, with her consent, the church was consecrated as "Elisabeth Church" on November 13, 1861, the day of Queen Elisabeth's 60th birthday. The interior of the church is kept Calvinistically simple. A pulpit, surrounded by a granite frame with a relief representation of the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, created by the sculptor Alfred Sabisch from Kalkar, and an altar made of red Italian marble, also created by the aforementioned sculptor, which initially stood as a celebration altar in the Catholic Church of Sankt Nicolai in Kalkar, and has been in the apse of Elisabeth Church since 1998, as well as a tapestry created by artist Lotte Marx-Colsmann from Xanten, depicting the Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi, adorn the interior of the church. On July 17, 1960, the 150th anniversary of the death of Queen Luise of Prussia, the church received a new organ. The turmoil of World War II did not spare the church. The nave and the tower, including the roof, were heavily damaged. A storm that broke out on December 28, 1945, swept the tower helmet, which was still barely holding onto the tower, into the depths and completed the destructive work of the war. The church was restored after the war and was able to be re-consecrated on September 27, 1953, after the bells had been replaced in 1952 with three cast-steel bells. Since then, regular services have been held in Elisabeth Church.

Charly