Anyone who hears "Gelsenkirchen" today might still think of coal mining, then structural change, Schalke and high unemployment. But we are also in the ancient settlement area of ​​the Brukterer, in the mission area of ​​St. Ewalde and St. Suitbert and also St. Liudger and Altfrid, close to the border between Franconia and Saxony. The village of Gelsenkirchen, first mentioned in documents around 1150 as "Geilistirinkirkin", had, according to tradition, already had a church of the Essen Abbey dedicated to St. George around 1000. It stood roughly on the site of today's Protestant Old Town Church. Even before the "Peace of Westphalia" after the Thirty Years' War, St. George's Church was used jointly by Protestants and Catholics in 1638. This simultaneum lasted until 1845, when a (again) separate Catholic church, St. Augustinus, was consecrated. At that time, the village probably had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. In the Ruhr region, the population shot up with industrialization. In 1874, in the midst of the Kulturkampf, the foundation stone for today's Augustinus Church was laid when the number of souls reached 16,000. First, the choir and transept were built according to plans by AC Lange, Cologne. After the old church was demolished, the nave and tower were completed in 1880-84. The tower was 85-87 meters high, depending on the foot size. The reconstruction, which was reduced after the war, brought it to a height of 75 meters. The interior has an almost cathedral-like effect; it is remarkable that the liturgical furnishings, which were essentially created in 1972, have survived to this day. The new church received its first bell in 1882 from Rudolf Edelbrock from Gescher. The tone sequence is given as a° c' d' e' f' a', due to the very light rib - the large Augustinus bell weighs ~2.9 t - it could have been a b° chime. Even then the chimes were housed on 2 floors. The author does not know whether the chimes survived the First World War. After almost total war destruction in 1944, it was rebuilt between 1948 and 1960. In 1952 the church received a new chime made up of 6 steel bells from the Bochum Association, which have a special figurative decoration made in line reliefs based on designs by Hilde Broer, Kressbronn am Bodensee. After the new chimes of Paderborn Cathedral were designed in this way for the first time in 1951, 3 chimes of this form (Dortmund provostship, St. Bonifatius Duisburg-Hochfeld and Gelsenkirchen) came to the region in 1952. The ideal bell chamber acoustics also mean that the bells of St. Augustinus ring out with remarkable sonority and verve – they are further proof of the high level of performance of the Bochum association in bell casting at that time. This peal is probably one of the follow-up orders directly prompted by the Paderborn peal. Further information on the equipment, the organ and the peal can be found in the photos in the film and in the 1st commentary. Pealing data: 1. a° =0, ~1980 mm, 2798 kg, casting no. 4000 ST. AUGUSTINE PATRON OF THE CHURCH PROTECT YOUR CONGREGATION AND ITS PRIESTS 2. c' =0, ~1690 mm, ~1810 kg OUR LADY ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN PRAYER+FOR+YOUR+CHILDREN Below are 2 bridges. 3. d' =0, ~1510 mm, ~1350 kg ST JOSEPH STAND WITH THE SICK AND DYING 4. f' =0, ~1260 mm, ~780 kg ST FAMILY BLESS OUR (further illegible, presumably FAMILIES) Below 1 bridge. 5. g' =0, ~1110 mm, ~520 kg ST GEORGE PATRON OF THE OLD TOWN CHURCH + PROTECT THE TOWN AND ITS INHABITANTS 6. a' =0, 981 mm, ~360 kg ST FRANCIS ASK FOR US FOR PEACE Below 1 bridge. All bells bear the BVG foundry mark and the year 1952 on the back. The weight at Gl. 1 is the weighing weight, the other dimensions are taken from the rib table for the V7 rib. Minidisc recording: June 19, 2003 Black and white photo of the provost's office before World War II: Source 1. All other photos, unless otherwise stated, are of our own provenance. Many thanks to Provost Pottbäcker for permission to visit the tower and publish it, and to the sexton for the uncomplicated contact and trust. Sources/literature used: Propstei Gelsenkirchen (ed.): Propsteikirche St. Augustinus Gelsenkirchen 1874/1974 (Festschrift), Gelsenkirchen 1974. Propstei Gelsenkirchen (ed.): Propsteikirche St. Augustinus Gelsenkirchen (church guide), Gelsenkirchen, before 1988. G. Hoffs: Bell catalog of the diocese of Essen (precursor to the bell book), edited by S. Schritt, Trier, no year. Petit & Gebrüder Edelbrock Gescher i. Westf. - Certificates, examination reports and letters of recognition, Coesfeld, around 1915. KH Göttert, E. Isenberg: Organs in the Ruhr area, JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2010. Wikipedia article on the provost church, accessed on November 22nd, 2020: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propste... Wikipedia article on the city of Gelsenkirchen, accessed on November 22nd, 2020: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelsenk...