Emotional farewell: Last service in the Friedenskirche in Solingen

Emotional farewell: Last service in the Friedenskirche in Solingen

On Sunday morning, June 29, 2025, numerous churchgoers gathered in the Friedenskirche on Uhlandstrasse in Solingen for an emotional farewell. The last regular service before the church was closed was experienced by many participants as particularly moving. Although many of them are not regular worshipers, the event brought them back to the roots of their faith community, which has been an integral part of the neighborhood for almost 70 years. Farewell to a familiar place like the Friedenskirche, which was dedicated on July 24, 1955, deeply touched the hearts of those present as Pastor Ailish Eickhorn discussed the importance of the place for the community and recalled that many life milestones were celebrated in this church: baptisms, confirmations and weddings. Many parishioners, including Wolfgang Bauer, expressed regret at having to leave the church of their childhood behind because they had experienced many important events there. Solinger Tageblatt reports that despite the sadness, the mood was also characterized by a certain gratitude for the time together.

Bruno Wienert, also part of the community, saw the closure as pragmatic. He turned his attention to the future and pointed out that recently the services had often only been attended by a small group. He suggested that the discussion about ecumenism be conducted more openly and recalled the alternative churches in the area. This pragmatism reflects the developments that have already been initiated since a decision by the presbytery in 2019: In the future, the congregation will concentrate on the Ohligs town church on Wittenbergstrasse. From July 2025, all church services and group activities will take place there, while the Friedenskirche will be taken out of service for the first time on July 1st. The decision became necessary because the Solingen Evangelical Church District plans to halve its building stock by 2040. Solinger Nachrichten noted that this change also affects the possibilities for gatherings of groups that will in future be accommodated in the Evangelical Elderly Center and the Catholic Liebfrauenkirche.

Special memories and a new future

The last service was not only a farewell to a church, but also a place to come together to share memories. After the celebrations, coffee and cake were offered, and community members had the opportunity to record their fondest memories of the Friedenskirche in a souvenir book that was available. Pastor Eickhorn encouraged those present to accept change with calm and pointed out that the community is not tied to a specific place.The church district is sticking to the vision that the community will continue to exist at its new location in the town church of Ohlig.

The Ohligs music association, which previously rehearsed in the Friedenskirche, will also become part of the new community life in Ohligs. During the farewell service, musical contributions, including works by Johann Sebastian Bach, were the icing on the cake and ensured a festive atmosphere until the end. The final farewell celebration is also crowned with a symbolic act: After approval from the regional church office, an altar Bible is carried out of the Friedenskirche to mark the final farewell, and the collected memories of the past 70 years are taken into the future.