Churchyard

Before the separation from the parish of Oberzier, the people of Huchem-Stammeln and Selhausen were buried in Oberzier. However, with the erection of their own church came the establishment of a churchyard. The area designated around the church was completely sufficient in 1864 due to the relatively small number of inhabitants. In 1865, the churchyard was surrounded by a hedge and decorated with a Gothic crucifix designed by Michael Stephan of Cologne. In 1870, a boundary wall was built with 14 niches housing The Stations of the Cross  cast in iron.

The churchyard was enlarged in 1920 and 1958. During the latter enlargement the graves of soldiers killed in the two World Wars were also included. The new part of the churchyard was additionally considered a suitable place to raise a monument to the victims of the two wars. The parish chose a large cross with a crown of thorns as symbol of suffering and the cross as symbol of deliverance. The symbols Alpha and Omega also refer to this. The dates 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 are engraved at the sides of the memorial. The memorial was designed at the school of arts in Cologne and crafted by a stonemason in Mayen.

On 25th November 1975, the mortuary was consecrated by parish priest of Oberzier Hermann Krolage. The mortuary was designed by the architect Helmut Lüttgen and civil engineer Horst Böhm

Special remembrance is granted to the kindergarten teacher Nelly Pütz from our parish. She lost her life on 22nd July 1959 during a holiday camp at the coast of Middelkerke, Belgium, when she rescued four children from drowning. A street and a kindergarten in our parish are named after her, a memorial tablet is mounted in the community centre, and a cenotaph is in the churchyard reminds all visitors of this brave and selfless young woman.

 

 

 

 

 

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