Churches and Monastery
Catholic church of St. Peter and Paul (Propsteikirche St. Peter und Paul) is the oldest church in Bochum. According to the legend, it stands in the place of the wooden chapel built in the 8th century upon the order of Karl the Great himself. Initially the church was only dedicated to St. Peter. In the 11th century the wooden building was replaced with a stone one that was destroyed in a large fire of 1517 and reconstructed again in gothic style. In this period the church received a second patron – St. Paul.
In the restored church you can see rare religious artifacts, and among them an arc with a part of relics of saint martyrs Felicitas and Perpetua, ancient 12th century Romanic font and a throne with a figure of Christ. The 68 metres tall church belfry is the symbol of Bochum. There are six locally produced steel bells mounted on it. The main protestant church of the city is St. Paul church (Pauluskirche). After the Reformation, Catholics and Lutherans shared the St. Peter and Paul church for a while, which often led to conflicts. As a result, in 1655 Lutherans started construction of their own church, partially with the help of donations from their brothers in faith from Holland, Sweden, Courland and Denmark. Church plays an important part in the life of the religious society of Bochum. There is a monument to peace next to the church. Among other places of interest in Bochum connected with religion, Cistercian monastery Stiepel (Zisterzienserkloster Stiepel) requires mentioning. It is located in the district of Bochum that has the same name. It is comparatively new: it was opened in 1988 in the place of the St. Mary community under the initiative of the Essen bishop. Concerts of church music are regularly conducted in the beautiful modern building of the monastery built according to medieval samples. On the 11th day of each month a procession takes the so-called “Road of St. Mary”.
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