A "danação" da cultura edificada : a demolição da igreja matriz de Erechim

Abstract

The present work arose from the need for a research on the demolition of the Erechim’s Mother Church in the 1960s. We sought to analyze how this event occurred, how society reacted to that episode, what motivations triggered this destruction, and how these events are alive in the memory of the oldest inhabitants of the city, since this church had a significant symbolic value for much of the local society. The non-preservation of this historical patrimony is a fact that generates a deep regret for the municipality residents. For this purpose, the whole context of the period will be analyzed: the pre-colonization phase, the Erechim Colony and the municipalization, and the progress of Erechim throughout its history. Parallel to the narrative of the evolution of the municipality, it will be exposed how difficult it was for the pioneers of this city to build the Mother Church so that, many years later, this temple of baroque style would be demolished to make room for the new and modern Cathedral. The research is based on the analysis of a bibliography of works pertinent to the theme, in the records of the São José Parish, in several publications and in oral history reports. The results of this analysis will show that the process that culminated in the demolition of the Mother Church has been curtailed by obscure interests and that there are many contradictions between the official history of the parish board composed at the time of the event and between the story described in the reports of interviews of elderly residents of Erechim.