Jasper Carstens

The Propsteigebuilding in Uetersen

The Uetersen monastery church

Jasper Carstens (* February 1705 in Bargfeld , Stormarn district ; † 1759 in Wulksfelde ) was a German architect and builder .

Life

Japer Carstens was born in February 1705 as the first of three children to farmer Vogt Jasper Carstens and his wife Trincke . Later he became serf of the landlord Benedikt von Ahlefeldt and lived on the Jersbek estate . With the benevolence of his master, he was trained as a builder. Jasper Carstens lived mainly in Uetersen from 1734 until shortly before his death, but died in the spring of 1759 with his brother in Wulksfelde.

Buildings

His first renovation work after completing his training was on the Jersbek manor house in 1739. For the composer Filippo Finazzi , he built the "Lombardy" house near Jersbek. His architectural talent later shaped the landscape of the Upper Alster in the second half of the 17th century. He combined music and theater with architecture and horticulture.

One of his first structures outside of Jersbek was the Propsteigebuilding, which still exists today, on the site of the Uetersen Monastery from 1734, which he built for his Lord Benedikt von Ahlefeldt. This building was rebuilt again in 1829 and is now a listed building . One of the main works was the pompous summer palace of Duke Friedrich Karl of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön in Traventhal . The castle, which was built under Carstens' direction from 1740 to 1749, was a long, eleven-axis, single-storey rectangular building with a garden hall and a gabled risalit . In the subsequent building, the so-called manor house, there is now a retirement and nursing home. The associated stables were leased to the Schleswig-Holstein Riding and Driving Association and are used as a training center. This building complex is also a listed building.

The Bergstedt Church

Another well-known building is the Bergstedt Church , which was built in the 13th century from Romanesque field stones and early Gothic house stones. In the period from 1745 to 1750, Jasper Carstens rebuilt the church building in the late Baroque style, expanded it to the west by 20 feet and built a half-timbered tower with a pyramid top over the west gable. It is Hamburg's only church without electric light and is only lit by candles.

In the period from 1747 to 1750 he built his most famous work, the new monastery church in Uetersen , whose building plans he submitted to the land builders Otto Johann Müller and Cay Dose as early as 1738 . It was built on parts of the foundations of the old church from 1234, which was demolished in 1738 due to dilapidation. The church is a late baroque brick building. The entire church building rests on granite ashlar pedestals that were extracted from a megalithic grave. This church is one of the most respected baroque sacred buildings of the 18th century with a rectangular floor plan in Schleswig-Holstein and is a listed building because of its architectural and historical value.

The last known work of his was the appraisal of the southern extension of the old Rellinger Church , which was later rebuilt by Cay Dose.

Literature and Sources

• Johann Friedrich Camerer : Historical-Political News II page 262 u. 355-400 (1758)
• Wilhelm Ehlers: History and folklore of the Pinneberg district page 503 (1922)
• Hans Ferdinand Bubbe : Attempt of a chronicle of the city and the monastery Uetersen. Volume 1 & 2, 1932-1938.
• Yearbook for the Pinneberg district 1982/83: A serf built the monastery church in Uetersen
• Yearbook of the Stormarn District 1984: Jasper Carstens / A serf from Stormarn became an important architect
• Ralf Lange: Architecture Guide Hamburg (1995)
• Curt Davids: Chronicle of the old manor district Jersbek-Stegen (1954)
• Hermann Heckmann : Builder of the Baroque and Rococo in Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Hamburg (2000)
• Uetersen City History Museum (2008)