Rise and fall of a Danube-Swabian place of worship in Banat
On November 1st 1977 the Rudolfsgnad church would
have been 100 years old, if it still existed. With its destruction in autumn of
1944, began the fall of the once flourishing pure-German settlement Rudolfsgnad
on the Theiss River, opposite from Titel. The church served the believers
for only 67 years. This place of worship still exists in the memory of all
Rudolfsgnaders.
Rudolfsgnad was, with few
exceptions, a catholic parish, belonged in church relationship to the
Csanad bishopric and the
Weisskirch Dekanat district. Administratively the municipality
was constituent of the Torontaler Komitat and belonging to the Betschkerek central justice system. The Segedin building contractor (Architect) Josef
Kowatsch accepted the building (construction) contract and was able to bring
the nave under the roof by onset of the 1876 flood and raised the masonry up to
the height of the steeple. During the time of the 1876 inundation various
church-building material, scaffolding and other things were used to stem the
floodwaters.
In his novel “The Bells of the Homeland" (“Glocken der Heimat”), Adam Mueller-
Gutenbrunn gives a dramatic description of the inundation of Rudolfsgnad, which
he however calls Karlsdorf. Since Karlsdorf is not situated at the Theiss
River, Gutenbrunn’s descriptions partly apply to Rudolfsgnad.
Consecration
(Dedication) of the church (Kirchweih) in Rudolfsgnad
They all
suffered greatly, the Swabian Colonists, but hardly any other community was hit
quite as hard as Rudolfsgnad on the Theiss River, close to the Danube River
delta. The joy therefore was great, when the church built in the gothic style,
could be dedicated to the holy Catharine on November 1st 1877. The
Rudolfsgnaders found their church beautiful and were proud of it. At the front
of the tower was a red marble slab with the inscription: "In memory of the
25th anniversary of the reign of his majesty the emperor and king
Franz Josef I. The Grateful Community." Church and inscription were to be
a lasting memorial by the grateful inhabitants to the illustrious founder of
the flourishing parish. The large and beautiful altarpiece, representing
Christ’s Resurrection, was a gift of the blessed bishop Bonnaz. The remaining
church furnishings were provided by the members of the parish and by voluntary
donations.
The particularly good and large organ was a
masterpiece of the famous organ builder Josef Angster from Fuenfkirchen. The
high altar, likewise in the gothic style, was a successful work by Leo Werl from Wuerzburg