Christoph Opitz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christoph Opitz (born June 5, 1815 in Dobra near Schmölln ; † October 4, 1885 in Grünberg near Schmölln, formerly the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg , now Thuringia ) was a German organ builder .

Life

Christoph Opitz was born as the sixth child and fourth son of the day laborer and manual worker Hanns Opitz. Growing up in poor conditions, however, he left school in 1829 with a very good school report when his parents realized that getting out of simple conditions was only possible through good education and upbringing . He completed his apprenticeship with Johann Hartmann Bernhard near Alsfeld in Hesse . After his death in 1839, he and a colleague completed the Ober-Hörgern organ .

Then he went into business for himself in his hometown Dobra. In 1842 and 1843 repairs are documented in the region around Dobra, and in 1844 the first new building contract in Mehna . In 1846 he expanded his parents' much too small house, which also housed the workshop. In the same year he married Christine Strauss from neighboring Mohlis and was mentioned in his marriage certificate as an organ and instrument builder and landowner (with 738 m² probably an exaggeration). But it was not until 1854 that Opitz was listed as the home owner. On November 25, 1846, the first child - Amalia - was born. By this time he had already built three new organs. He must have had good references in order to be able to penetrate the area of ​​the organ builder Poppe in Altenburg together with a good price and good work. He also seemed to have won the benevolence of experts, parishes and church administrations, without whom there were hardly any contracts to be won. In 1848 he employed two journeymen. In 1848 his son Edmund was born, in 1849 Emil, who was only a few months old, in 1851 Bruno. His two sons learned the trade of organ building from him and also practiced it.

Christoph Opitz put an end to his life on October 4, 1885 at the age of 70 in the “Flur zu Grünberg” south of Schmölln by suicide after his wife had died in 1883. His son Edmund gave his parents' house to a day laborer in 1882 after buying another house in 1881, which he converted into an inn in 1883. In 1880 he was mentioned as an organ builder, around 1890 one spoke only of "Opitzen's Gasthaus". Edmund Opitz died childless in 1925; a new organ cannot be proven. Edmund's brother Bruno died in 1878 at the age of 27.

plant

In the middle of the 19th century, Christoph Opitz, together with Carl Ernst Poppe, was one of the organ builders who had the greatest influence on the organ landscape in the Altenburg area. Opitz created a total of 33 new organs.

He had always tried to innovate. He was also open and wrote to pastors such as B. Pastor Alberti in Hohenleuben, what innovations he would use in the new organ if he got the order. But he was also so self-confident that he recommended to the pastor that he should make sure that the other organ builder should also use these innovations in his new building if Opitz himself did not receive the order.

Proven work

In the fifth column of the table, the Roman number indicates the number of manuals , a capital "P" indicates an independent pedal and the Arabic number in the sixth column indicates the number of sounding registers .

year place church image Manuals register Remarks
1844 Mehna Mehna village church II / P 14th his first independent work; replaced around 1965
1845 Mohlis Mohlis village church I / P 6th largely preserved
1847 Göllnitz Village church II / P 16 after 1923 change of disposition
1847 Bad Köstritz Ev.-luth. church II / P 18th
1848 Hainspitz Hainspitz village church II / P 14th receive
1849 Geussnitz Village church II / P 13
1852 Hohenleuben Hohenleuben town church II / P 25th receive
1853 Frankenau Frankenauer Church FrankenauKirche4.JPG I / P 7th receive
1855 Jonaswalde Village church II / P 13 receive
1857 Nauendorf Protestant church II / P 9 receive
1858 Heyersdorf Village church II / P 11 original received
1859 Mennsdorf Village church I / P 7th
1861 Rudelswalde St. Catherine's I / P 8th
1862 Reichstädt Protestant church II / P 12 receive
1862 Paitzdorf Ev.-luth. church II / P 17th
1863 Gurgling Protestant church I / P 7th receive
1863 Dobitschen Ev.-luth. church II / P 20th receive
1865 Mannichswalde Ev.-luth. church II / P 12
1865 Dürrenebersdorf Village church I / P 10 receive
1866 Gleina Protestant church I / P 9
1866 Buchheim Protestant church II / P 15th receive
1867 Thieschitz Protestant church II / P 14th modification
1869 Summer seat Village church I / P 9 receive
1870 Weissbach Ev.-luth. church II / P 11 Housing, keyboard and wind turbine in Vollmershain, village church preserved
1871 Broeckau Protestant church II / P 11
1871 Altkirchen Altkirchen village church II / P 26th his greatest work, largely preserved
1871 Serba Protestant church II / P 17th
1872 Lower limit Ev.-luth. church II / P 13
1872 Altenburg Teacher training college? II / P
1876 Taltitz Village church II / P 16 with cone shop ; 1953 and 1984 changes in the disposition
1877 Braunichswalde Ev.-luth. church II / P 18th
1878 Rositz Protestant church II / P 20th
1879 Groan Village church I / P 6th his last assignment; receive

literature

  • Wolfgang Bauer: The organ builder Christoph Opitz from Dobra (1813–1885). In: Acta Organologica . 26, 1998, pp. 243-288.
  • Hartmut Haupt: Organs in the Gera district. An overview of the organ landscape in East Thuringia. Council of the District of Gera, Dept. Culture, Gera 1989.

Web links