Old Island Church (Spiekeroog)
The Evangelical Lutheran Old Island Church was built in 1696 on the East Frisian island of Spiekeroog . It is the oldest surviving church on an East Frisian island.
history
A church on Spiekeroog is mentioned for the first time in 1525 and the first structural defects were reported in 1527. The brickwork began to crumble and needed to be repaired. Around a hundred years later, a new building was erected, which soon after turned out to be too small for the islanders. Therefore, this church was replaced in 1696 by the rectangular brick building that still exists today.
There is a report from 1765 which describes the church as in fair condition , i.e. renovated. In 1840 galleries were built into the building.
The western porch was added later and in the meantime also served as a boat shed and morgue. The roof turret with bell was added in 1865.
In 1869, a skeleton was discovered while working under the floor, which is assigned to the island pastor Brüggemeier, who died in 1721.
Like other roofs on the island, the roof is constructed as a floating roof .
In 1961 another house of worship was built on the island in order to have enough space for the numerous guests of the island in the summer months. Since then, services have been held in the Old Island Church from the beginning of November to mid-March. However, weddings, baptisms and funerals of islanders take place in the church all year round. Foreigners can exceptionally get married in the church if they are particularly connected to the island , a prominent example of this was Federal President Johannes Rau , who was married in 1982 in the island church.
Furnishing
According to tradition, the late medieval Pietà and parts of the pulpit come from a ship of the Spanish Armada that was stranded off the island in 1586.
The altarpiece is neo-Gothic . The altar table and the altarpiece were made by the islanders. The altarpiece by the Berlin painter Engels was bought by the island community in 1896 for 300 marks.
The painting of the interior from 1901 as well as the windows fitted with evangelist symbols that were installed in the same year bear traces of Art Nouveau . The windows were donated by regular island guests.
The Renaissance pulpit is dated to the 16th century and is decorated with Low German inscriptions and floral motifs. The offering box was made from flotsam in 1676.
The church was restored in 1980.
There are several gravestones from the 18th century in the cemetery at the island church.
organ
The in 1961 as Opus 9 of the Lower Saxon organ builder Rudolf Janke from Bovenden built organ with five registers on two manuals and an attached pedal already had two predecessors.
See also
Web links
- Homepage of the parish
- Genealogy forum: Spiekeroog
- Church district Harlingersiel: Old island church Spiekeroog
- Nordwestreisemagazin.de: Inselkirche Spiekeroog
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Genealogy forum: Spiekeroog ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 26, 2010.
- ↑ Bremen Evangelical Church: For vacationers and islanders. Church on Spiekeroog , accessed on August 22, 2018 (PDF).
- ↑ a b Nordwestreisemagazin.de: Inselkirche Spiekeroog - the oldest church on the East Frisian Islands , viewed on September 26, 2010.
- ↑ a b Church district: Alte Inselkirche Spiekeroog , accessed on September 15, 2019.
Coordinates: 53 ° 46 ′ 12.6 " N , 7 ° 41 ′ 43.6" E