THE CHURCH

The neo-Gothic basilica was built from 1882 to 1885 according to the plans of architect Hilger Hertel the Elder from Münster. Hertel inspected the site on April 5, 1867, and presented the initial construction plans on September 24, 1868. After some modification requests, Bishop Johann Georg Müller reviewed and approved the plans. On June 6, 1871, a formal construction contract was signed with Hertel, but due to the Kulturkampf, the construction start was aborted. Architect Hertel revised the original plan and presented new plans on February 10, 1877. Instead of the initially planned massive building, a lively structure in Gothic style was now planned. Round columns made of sandstone were erected instead of the originally planned rectangular brick columns in the interior. The old tower base was not preserved; instead, a new one more suitable for the Gothic church was constructed. The cornerstone was laid on June 3, 1877, and on May 1, 1878, the transept and choir were consecrated, with the first masses being celebrated. The nave was completed on November 1, 1879, and the building received the planned furnishings by Hertel. Bishop Johannes Bernhard Brinkmann had been forced to leave the bishopric during the Kulturkampf and lived in exile in the Netherlands. He returned to Münster in 1884 and consecrated the St. Vitus Church on October 6, 1885.

The building is 46.10 meters long and 21.55 meters wide, with the transept being 1.25 meters wider on each side. The church interior is 16.55 meters high, and the tower, including the cross and weathercock, has a height of 66 meters (the cross and weathercock have a height of two meters). A total of 1,113,600 bricks were used in the construction. The path around the church was paved at the end of the 19th century. The interior lighting was improved in 1893 by installing nine large oil lamps. Decorative painter Anton Schräder from Münster was commissioned in 1894 to paint the interior. The sound openings in the tower are planned to be reduced and renewed in the foreseeable future to achieve a more harmonious and melodious blending of the bells during a full peal.

THE ORGAN

Until 2015, there was an organ on the west gallery dating back to 1885, built by organ builder Friedrich Fleiter (Münster). The current organ, constructed in 2015, was built by the company Orgelbau Merten (Remagen), incorporating nine stops from the Fleiter organ. In addition to some new stops, pipes from an organ built in 1872 by the British organ building company Willis & Sons for a church in Lancaster were also reused. This organ stood in Liverpool from 1950 to 2012. The historical case of the Fleiter organ was reused. The organ comprises 31 stops, including an extended stop, distributed across two manuals and pedal. The Swell division (2nd manual) is divided into a Labial division (Division A) and a Reed division (Division B). Both divisions can be played independently and coupled.