Fire damage to historic German church altar irreparable

Sun, 02 Jan 2011

Aachen, Germany - Damage caused to an historic German church altar, which caught fire after probably being hit by a stray firework, appears to be irreparable, an official said Sunday in the western city of Aachen.

Paintings dating back to the 17th century and four medieval stained-glass windows were wrecked in the blaze early Saturday.

Dieter Spoo, a lay official of the Catholic Diocese of Aachen, estimated the cost of the damage at 300,000 euros (400,000 dollars).

He said the wooden back of the 8-meter-high baroque altar was completely destroyed along with a painting on the front side of Christ's crucifixion and four wooden statues flanking the 1630 altar.

"I don't believe it can be restored," said Spoo.

Police suspect careless New Year revelers fired a firework sideways into the Gothic church, which was built in 1327.

The altar paintings are attributed to the school of Flemish old master Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640).

The altar had been the dominant feature of the Nikolaus Kirche in the inner city of Aachen near the Dutch border. The church is jointly used by Catholic and Lutheran congregations.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360421,german-church-altar-irreparable.html.