St Lambert's Catholic Church

The parish church of St Lambertus towers slightly above the village square and the main street of Witterschlick - seemingly for centuries.
However, this impression is deceptive. At the end of the Second World War, the nave was completely destroyed in a bombing raid. Only the tower of the church, built in 1875, remained standing. On the other hand, the square itself can look back on a long history. Almost 2,000 years ago, the Romans excavated this small elevation to build a fort platform for the 1st Roman Legion, which was based in Bonn. It was not until the 12th century that a church was built on the former Roman hill. As the Witterschlick chronicle reports, this building, constructed in a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic, already had 3 naves and 3 choirs. And yet it became too small for the steadily growing number of worshippers in the 19th century. Demolition of the church began on 3 May 1875. In just under 3 years, a new church was built, a stately 3-nave Gothic hall church. The furnishings were added gradually, including the erection of a new high altar by church sculptor Mengelberg from Cologne in 1885/86. The Romanesque baptismal font from the early village church of the 12th century was saved over time. It was reworked in 1895 and brought into its current version.
On the north side of the church, there are further testimonies to history that have been preserved over the centuries and even through the Second World War, such as the Scharpmann  tomb slab from 1555, which comes from the first village church, or 4 grave crosses from the beginning of the 17th century. The high cross comes from the old cemetery, which existed around the church until the middle of the 19th century. On 4 February 1944, the nave of the church was completely destroyed during a bombing raid on Witterschlick. The tower miraculously survived. Reconstruction of the church began in 1848 and was completed in 1950. In 1965, the church was extended once again to the east. A square extension, which also stands out in terms of architectural style, was built to house the choir. At this time, the old school building next to the church was also demolished and a square was laid out around the church for the first time, opening up access from the north and east. Over the years, however, the square became overgrown and lost its function. In 2008/2009, the municipality of Alfter completely redesigned the village square and the adjoining school square with the help of EU funding and created the open and bright space and meeting place in the centre of the village that it is today, which also brings the church back into focus.