Historischer Rundweg - Board 18

Saint John’s Chapel

Procession with a centuries-old tradition

Today’s chapel was built on a historical site in 1914. It is presumed that a brotherhood erected und maintained a previous building here in the 15th century. Franciscan monks from the Marienwasser Monastery taught the children of peasants from the local area at this location. As the chapel fell into decay, the Master of Hertefeld prohibited its restauration. The chapel collapsed in 1609 and was rebuilt in the 1650s after long years of war and “The Plague”. It was comprehensively restored in 1914 and freed of war-damage after 1945.

Pilgrimages

Pilgrimages to this chapel have been provenly dated back to the 18th century. Many pilgrims called upon St. John the Baptist in front of his chapel in order to get their headaches alleviated, something that apparently only helped at the gray of dawn. At the beginning of the 19^th century pilgrim stalls were set up and celebrations were held annually in front of the St. John chapel.

In the early years the chapel was often frequented by women, who called upon the saint for help in search of a suitable husband. “Saint John give me a good man!“ This prayer can be seen on a house gable on the nearby St.-Jan-estate.  From 1949 families from Weeze, and especially displaced families from eastern German areas, were given cheap building land on the so-called „St. Jan field“.

From time immemorial the parish of St. Cyriakus Weeze participates together with the St.-John-Brotherhood on pilgrimages to the chapel on the festive day of the saint, on June 24^th, or on the Sunday before or after this day. The procession begins at the parish church and heads to the chapel. After the public worship of the saint the believers make their way through the festively decorated Sent-Jan-Estate back to the Cyriakus church.

Having been completely forbidden by the Nazis the first procession to the war-damaged St. John‘s chapel took place as early 24.6.1945, on a Sunday, on suggestion from Weeze’s pastor Wilhelm Mütter. From 1946 on the procession returned to its traditional time of early in the morning hours when morning dew was still around.

St. John’s Shooting Brotherhood 1698

Up until today St. John’s Chapel is looked after, cleaned, maintained and renovated regularly, most recently with a donation from the Volksbank trust, by the brotherhood’s members.

The family of Gerhard Dicks, which lives right next to the chapel, has been involved in it for decades. During the festive day for St. John the Baptist the „chapel team“, made up of members of the brotherhood, takes care of sprucing up the area around the chapel and for the appropriate decoration. Since 2016 the chapel is owned by the brotherhood.

The St. John’s Shooting Brotherhood 1698 has been in existence now for more than 300 years.

It is safe to say that next to the Bachelors Brotherhood Wissen/Laar a St. John’s Shooting Brotherhood existed in Weeze in 1698. Its oldest shooter’s chain of office, which was lost during the Second World War in the Kalbeck Manor House, carried a King’s badge with the year 1698 engraved on it.

Impressum

Content: Municipality of Weeze and Hans-Gerd Vrede (St. Johannes-Schützenbruderschaft 1698 Weeze e.V.)

Photographs: Municipality of Weeze and Hans-Gerd Vrede (St. Johannes-Schützenbruderschaft 1698 e.V.)