Catholic parish church of St. Peter and Paul

An unconfirmed tradition mentions a chapel as early as the 13th century. A chapel was documented in 1550 and 1582. Offermannsheide originally belonged to the parish of Kürten, was run as a chapel parish from 1790-95 and as an independent rectorate parish from 1906.

The chapel was financed by the income from a leased farm (Kapellengut). This income was used to maintain and repair the chapel. Part of the income had to be paid to the responsible parish priest in Kürten. It can be assumed that the chapel led a rather lonely existence for many centuries, with church services taking place sporadically.

This changed in 1882/83 when the existing church was rebuilt on the site of the old and demolished chapel. The new building was driven forward by Pastor Herwegen. The building plan was drawn up by the Düsseldorf Franciscan Brother Paschalis. Under his direction, the master builders Lob (Lindlar) and Hellman (Much) carried out the construction. It was inaugurated after a construction period of just 18 months. It is a neo-Romanesque hall church with a protruding west tower made of graywacke quarry stones. The semi-circular choir is designed with a porch and apse. The exterior façade has reinforced pillars (pilaster strips) with round arch friezes. Inside there is a ceiling with a beautiful cross vault.

The church has been renovated and repaired several times. The first repair had to be carried out in the early 1930s. New bells were hung in the tower in 1930. The tower had been built incorrectly during construction. Due to the operation of the bells, cracks soon appeared in the masonry. As a result, the church was closed by the building police. The repair of the tower dragged on for years; the church could only be used to a limited extent. After the installation of new bells in 1958, cracks appeared again. The tower had to be reinforced in the area of the belfry and the masonry had to be strengthened. The interior of the church was completely restored in 1956/57. A further general renovation of the church took place in 1969/70. After a lightning strike to the church in 2004, mechanical damage to the masonry and plaster had to be repaired and the electrical systems completely replaced. It is worth mentioning that one bell was confiscated for weapons production during the First World War and one during the Second World War.


The church has been a listed building since 1984. The parish was abolished in 1993 and incorporated into Biesfeld. It has been part of the parish of St. Marien Kürten since 2010. The original parish of Offermannsheide included the villages of Engeldorf, Linde, Unterbörsch, Oberclef, Heidmannsauel, Welpertsiefen, Oeldorf, Kleverhof and Schmitte. Between 1906 and 1909, the Sülztal villages of Bilstein, Wallerscheid, Georghausen, Hommerich, Welzen, Welzenberg and Tüschen were added.

Next to the church is a memorial plaque to the Bergisch freedom fighter and priest Johann Peter Ommerborn, who was active during the French occupation at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. He worked as a vicar in Offermannsheide from 1793 to 1796. The memorial plaque was erected in 1925, donated by Baroness von Landsberg.

Before his time as vicar in Offermannsheide, the French Revolution broke out in 1789. Initially, the goals and ideas of freedom, equality and fraternity generated great enthusiasm in Germany. From 1792, French troops occupied the Rhineland on the left bank of the Rhine and from 1795, troops advanced across the Rhine into the Bergisches Land. There were battles with the imperial troops and attacks on the local population. This prompted Johann Peter Ommerborn to warn the farmers on their farms when the French were on the prowl. Together with his friend, the lawyer Ferdinand Stucker from Bensberg, a small army of peasants was assembled. The small army succeeded in disrupting the French with pinpricks. Overall, this approach did not help. So the plan matured to use a large peasant army to drive out the French, who were camped behind Bensberg Castle with 1200 soldiers. Johann Peter Ommerborn and Ferdinand Stucker were to lead the peasant army. On November 18, 1795, groups of armed Bergisch peasants were camped on the Hohnsberg (municipality of Much) between Much and Marialinden, who, together with imperial hussars, were to advance via Overath to Bensberg to attack the French troops. However, this plan was betrayed to the French. The assembly point was already surrounded by French troops when the peasants arrived. The approaching French troops scattered and defeated the Berg farmers. Most of them were able to flee due to their better local knowledge. Ferdinand Stucker was wounded and taken prisoner. The forewarned Johann Peter Ommerborn was able to flee. Most of the hussars were taken prisoner. The peasants' uprising had thus failed. A price was put on Johann Peter Ommerborn's head. He had to go into hiding and joined the imperial army as a field chaplain. After the peace treaty between Austria and France in 1797, he was able to resume his position as vicar in Offermannsheide. However, on May 1, 1797 he was transferred to Frielingsdorf as vicar. On March 15, 1826, he was appointed pastor of Sand.