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Kevelaer - Cloister

City: Kevelaer is a town in the northwestern part of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The first time that the city is mentioned in an official document was in the year 1300. There are many objects however, that testify that the area was inhabited a long time before this, it is believed 800 B.C. Kevelaer, small-Kevelaer, Wetten and Twisteden belonged in the past to the Duchy of Gelder and therefore to the southern Netherlands. The area however was in 1701, at the time of the Spanish Succession war, occupied by Prussia. Today there are 28,296 people living here.

Building: On the left hand side of this church is a cloister.

Object: On the right hand side of the portal is a niche. Let us describe the stone tablets: on the bottom is an image of a menorah (a candle-stick with seven arms). The menorah was used by the Jews in the tabernacle and later on in the temple. Above the menorah are two stone tablets. The text on these tablets begins with "Ich bin der Herr dein Gott." ('I am the Lord your God'). Beneath this is written "Ex. 20:1-17" (the Ex. stands for the bible book Exodus). This text is followed by the 10 commandments. On the stone tablet at the top God's name is written twice. The text begins with: "Hore Israel! Jahwe, unser Gott Jahwe ist einzig." ('Hear, Israel: Jahwe, our God Jahwe, is one.) The text on the tablet is based on Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

 

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