St. Rochus Kirche Bruch
Bruch
When Bruch was declared an independent parish in 1805, it was obvious to build a church. Although the castle chapel existed in Bruch, it was privately owned. There was no parish chapel. In a time when church building in general came to a standstill all over Germany, the people of Bruch started to build their parish church in 1807. It was built by the inhabitants from Bruch and their own property, as the inventory of 28.10.1823 proudly points out. The parish chose a rocky hill below the Galgenberg for its church. Since then the church of St. Rochus has been enthroned over a large part of the village. The church is a simple hall building, whose masonry is largely made of quarry stones. There were two main reasons for the extension between 1872 and 1874. Firstly, the church became too small due to the increasing population, and secondly, the western church gable had become dilapidated. The simple hall building was enlarged to a length of approx. 31.30 m and extended by a high, pointed bell tower, which was moved away from the front. The interior of the church could accommodate more visitors in the extended nave, the side chapel and the gallery. At the place where the church was extended, there is a sandstone on the outside of the base. It bears the name of one of the first stoneware pottery makers who came to Bruch from the Westerwald. In front of the church there are symbols of the pottery craft on another sandstone. These stones are supposed to remind of the pottery craft which flourished in Bruch at that time. Why the people of Bruch appointed Saint Rochus as their patron saint cannot be clearly traced back. It can be assumed that it was "in" at that time to choose one of the most popular plague patrons. Worth seeing in the church are among other things: the high altar from 1908, the baroque pulpit from 1816, the richly decorated confessional from the 18th century, the Pieta made around 1700, the organ donated by Father Schröder, the altar of the Virgin Mary and the round-arched Nazarene windows.