Evangelische Dorfkirche Friemersheim

In the location's words:

Mentioned in a document in 1147: the village church of Friemersheim, the starting point for today's parish with its wider Kreuzkirche area. Exactly four hundred years later, pastor "Eberhard von dem Hof" converted to the Reformation.

Another four hundred years later, there was a new upheaval in the community: at the turn of the century, the Krupp company had the steelworks built, replacing the agriculture that had prevailed until then. Friemersheim grew by 1,000 new residents every year.
Krupp has since closed down the steelworks, destroying 30,000 jobs in the process. The incipient structural change poses new challenges for the village, as does the attempt to preserve the traditional rural culture in Friemersheim-Dorf. Today, around 4,000 parishioners live in the parish, which originally had a reformed tradition.

The parish maintains an integrative kindergarten in Clarenbachstraße. A large number of lively groups for all ages meet in the two churches and in the Old Pastorate, for example the confirmands, the Wednesday group and our circles for women, men and senior citizens. We live an active ecumenical life on site. A variety of cultural events have become established in the village church, and the "Niederrheinische kleinKUNST" is particularly popular. But it is also worth listening to the organ. In summer, the village church is the focus of the cultural summer festival, and on the Saturday before the first Advent, it provides a homely atmosphere for the Advent market.

The Kreuzkirche has been a striking building on the street In den Bänden since 1964. The church interior is designed like a tent to make it clear: as important as Christian commitment is in everyday life, we are and remain "only" guests on earth. The bell tower is reminiscent of a winding tower and thus pays tribute to the hard work of the former steel and mine workers.

A depiction of an angel on the back wall of the interior is a relic from the 1987/88 labor dispute, which was welded by Krupp workers. It represents people's hope for a better future and shows how important human solidarity is.