Johann Hellwig (organ builder)

Johann Hellwig (also Hans Hellwig ; * around 1560 , † after 1611 ) was a German organ builder who worked in Holstein and Polish Prussia .

life and work

In 1589 he repaired an organ in Lübeck and was referred to as coming from Hamburg . 1591/92 was a Hans Hellwig citizen in Thorn . This came from Grünberg (in Lower Silesia?). It is uncertain whether both were the same person.

In 1602 Johann Hellwig took over a new building in Thorn from Neustadt in Holstein . In 1603 Master Hellwich from Lübeck signed a contract in Danzig . In the same year, an organ builder Hellwig received money for repairs in Plate in Lower Saxony . It is not certain whether this was the same.

In the next few years he worked in Danzig and Thorn and was last mentioned in Danzig in 1611. In 1622 a Hans Hellwig wrote his will in Thorn

Organs (selection)

Three new organs and some repairs and other work by Johann Hellwig are known. The prospectuses from the Church of St. Mary and St. James in Toruń , as well as parts of the prospectus from the Church of St. Catherine in Gdansk, have been preserved .

year	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1589	Lübeck	St. Mary				Repair of the dance of death organ and addition of a shawm register
1602-1609	Thorn (Toruń)	St. Mary		II / P	30th	Continuation of the new building by Lorenz Weistock, reconstruction by A. Terletzki in 1879 , new building by D. Biernacki in the old prospectus in 1925 , electro-pneumatic action and new console by Cech in 1976, restoration by Cech in 2004, prospectus preserved
1603	Plate	St. Mary				Repairs cost 100 rthlr , a few years later another 50 rthlr
1603-1607	Danzig (Gdansk)	St. Catherine's		III / P	33	New construction of the large organ and restoration of the choir organ, 1910 new construction by Wittek in the old case, this was relocated in 1943. Got parts of it (in the museum?)
1609	Marienwerder (Kwidzyn)	Dom		II / P	16	New building, demolished in 1860
1611	Thorn (Toruń)	St. Jacob		II / P	23	Organ builder uncertain, probably only additions to the organ from 1565, in 1882 new building by W. Sauer in the old prospectus, after 1925 pneumatic reconstruction by Wybrański, today II / P, 25, prospectus preserved
Danzig (Gdansk)	St. Mary					Repairs

Another new building is possible in Langenau.

literature

• Werner Renkewitz , Jan Janca : History of organ building art in East and West Prussia from 1333 to 1944. Volume 1. Weidlich, Würzburg 1984, pp. 99–111.
• Uwe Pape : Hellwig, Johann . In: Uwe Pape, Wolfram Hackel, Christhard Kirchner (Eds.): Lexicon of North German Organ Builders. Volume 4: Berlin, Brandenburg and the surrounding area including Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Pape Verlag, Berlin 2017, p. 215.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The information probably meant that he lived in the Neustadt of Thorn and came from Holstein, he was referred to again as Johann Hellwig from the Neustadt in Thorn. An origin from Neustadt in Holstein was mistakenly assumed several times . Upon request, Werner Renkewitz was unable to find any person with the name Hellwig in this city in 1970 in the local archive .
2. ↑ Toruń. Kościół Wniebodzęnia NMP MusicamSacram, organ with a history (Polish)
3. ↑ Torun Orgues France (French)
4. ↑ Plate, St. Mary nomine.net
5. ↑ Inscription in the organ 1611 , builder unknown, Johann Hellwig received 100 fl. for work in Thorn, so it was assumed that this could have been for the Jakobskirche. The prospectus rather suggests that it was built in the 16th century, in 1565 a new organ was reported, see Renkewitz, Janca, 109
6. ↑ Toruń, kosciół sw. Jakuba MusicamSacram (Polish)