War Memorial Chapel and St. Brigid
A neo-Gothic brick chapel in Kempen-Schmalbroich, built in 1875 and transformed into a war memorial in 1926.
A niche above the portal holds a roughly 100 cm statue of St. Brigid of Kildare (453–521), lending the chapel the second part of its name.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Chapel in neo-Gothic style, brick construction
- Location
- Kapellenweg, Kempen-Schmalbroich (Ziegelheide)
- Coordinates
- 51°22'21.0" N, 6°23'03.7" E
- Year built
- 1875
- Heritage status
- Listed on 27 March 1990 (No. 146)
- Responsibility
- Chapel community
- Function
- Spiritual center of the Ziegelheide section of Schmalbroich
The chapel was originally built in 1875/76 as the "Maria-Hilf-Kapelle" as an act of defiance during the Kulturkampf, and was only converted into a war memorial site half a century later, in 1926.
History
On 19 October 1873, the residents of Ziegelheide decided to build this small church. Amid the rising Kulturkampf, they wished to affirm their fidelity to the faith and their bond with the Catholic Church in the spirit of the First Vatican Council's decrees (1870–1871). The building was meant to honor the Mother of God, which is why it was initially called the "Maria-Hilf Chapel." The plot was purchased in 1874, the foundation stone laid on 10 June 1875, and the chapel consecrated on 22 October 1876. Master builder Franken drew up the plans. On 22 October 1926, the chapel was converted into a war memorial site.
St. Brigid
The statue above the portal depicts St. Brigid of Kildare (453–521). As an abbess, she founded the monastery of Kildare and, alongside St. Patrick, is venerated as a patron saint of Ireland. In rural areas in particular, she is honored as the patroness of domestic animals and livestock. The figure wears a white head veil over a brown habit, with a rosary hanging at the right side of her robe, and a cow lies at her feet as her attribute. In her outstretched right hand she holds something close to her chest, though the source does not specify what object this is.
Timeline
- 187319 October: Residents of Ziegelheide decide to build the chapel
- 1874Purchase of the plot of land
- 187510 June: Foundation stone laid
- 1875Year of construction of the chapel
- 187622 October: Consecration of the chapel
- 192622 October: Converted into a war memorial site
- 199027 March: Listed as a historic monument
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Kapellenweg
47906 Kempen
You might also like — related or nearby
Comments
- Loading comments…
Sources & links
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-09-04)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-09-04)
- Official website (retrieved 2026-09-04)
- openstreetmap.org (retrieved 2026-09-04)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-04
How this page is made
This page draws on open sources — Wikipedia, Wikidata, official websites and the city’s open data. Every statement is checked against the sources linked here, and pages are refreshed regularly.
Spotted a mistake anyway? Tell us below — we read every submission.