Church of Crostau

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Church and rectory in Crostau

The Church of Crostau is an Evangelical Lutheran church in the municipality of Crostau in the Bautzen district in Upper Lusatia . It is particularly known for its organ built by Gottfried Silbermann .

Building history

Previous buildings

The small chapel originally in Crostau , whose historical beginnings are in the dark, served as a burial church where masses were occasionally read. In the 16th century it was expanded under Hans Christoph von Rechenberg . In 1732 Christian Heinrich von Watzdorf , chamberlain to August the Strong , had a new organ installed by the well-known organ builder Gottfried Silbermann at his own expense. As early as the first half of the 19th century, due to the poor structural condition of the church, due to the irregular appearance of the building caused by various (re) building phases and due to the occasional lack of space for the growing parish (there were 228 male and 250 female stands ) Demands for a new church to be built. The poor condition of the building also affected the organ. In 1739 the organist Mönch from Crostau complained about swollen and obdurate registers. In 1860/61 repairs had to be made to the organ case as the lowering church ceiling had damaged it.

Construction of the New Church

After several gable stones fell during a baptism , an expert opinion on the dilapidation of the church was made in March 1862. On this basis, the representatives of the parish asked the Royal Saxon District Directorate Bautzen for approval to initiate measures for a new church building. This was granted on May 31, 1862. Financing should come from a building fund and loans . In addition, the “Royal Ministry of Culture and Public Education” should be asked for aid. Meanwhile, the church bells stopped ringing to reduce the risk of the church collapsing.

In March 1867 plan drawings and a cost estimate from the chief inspector Götz from Bautzen were presented to the parish. Construction costs of 13,013 RT 28  Ngr were calculated  . 2  Pf. A master bricklayer Thomas noted similarities in the building plans with the Steinigtwolmsdorf church , after which the parish asked for some changes to the design. On March 18, 1868, the construction of the New Church was approved according to the plans of Chief Inspector Götz with the changes incorporated by master mason Thomas. In addition, a grant of 1,000 thalers was approved by the Ministry of Culture. The start of construction of the church was delayed a little longer, but after a gallery collapsed again during a service on May 17, 1868, the building contract was awarded to the master mason Karl August Thomas von Neusalza. This should complete the building by the end of 1869 for 12,330 thalers. For each week of delay, 25 thalers should be deducted from the accord amount. The financing came from church facilities, which were collected by the parishioners from 1863 to 1887. They amounted to over 550 RT annually. Donations were also collected and the speech given by Pastor Thomas from Oppach on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone was later driven out. In addition, the community took out a loan of 7,000 thalers from the state bank of the Royal Saxon Margraviate of Upper Lusatia . Requests for further aid were rejected by the responsible ministry.

On June 14, 1868, the old church was passed by the community. Services could be held temporarily every 14 days in Großpostwitz . The Silbermann organ and the bells were outsourced. In order to build the new, larger church at the old location, parts of the earth had to be removed from the construction site and filled in another place, as the parish refused to relocate the site. The foundation stone was laid on July 14, 1868.

The altar and pulpit were made according to Steinigtwolmsdorfer patterns - only smaller and more delicate - by the master carpenter Brückholdt from Neugersdorf .

In October 1869 the building inspection was carried out by Chief Inspector Leuthold (Chief Inspector Götz had since died).

inauguration

According to inscriptions in the altar and baptismal font, the inauguration took place on November 8, 1869. For a long time, the parish fair was celebrated on the last Monday in October, but was later moved to the 3rd Sunday in October.

Later construction work

In 1893 the church was given a painting that was planned earlier. It was discovered that the iron tower flag was badly damaged by rust, it was replaced by a cross. Since the tower roof was repeatedly damaged, it was finally completely covered with copper in 1977. Copper nails and gold leaf for gilding the cross came in gifts from the western Federal Republic.

In 1983 a sponge was discovered and fought on the north side of the church. The church was repainted several times and partly re-plastered. Smaller repairs or renovation work, such as painting the windows, were regularly carried out by members of the community on their own.

In the years 1956 to 1958 there was extensive renovation work inside the church for the first time since it was built. Although the office for the preservation of monuments suggested the use of glue paint , the gallery parapets, the boxes and the pulpit were painted with oil paint. This changed the original character of the church. After various discussions, the organ was finally painted in oil in 1961.

Interior and equipment

Nave with organ

Silbermann organ

Silbermann organ from 1732

In 1732 the organ builder Gottfried Silbermann (1683–1753) set up a two-manual organ with the following disposition :

I main work CD – d 3
Principal 8th'
Octava 4 ′
Quinta 3 ′
Octava 2 ′
Mixture IV
Quintadina 8th'
Pipe flute 8th'
Spitz flute 4 ′
Cornet III
II Hinterwerk CD – d 3
Stuck 8th'
Reed flute 4 ′
Nasat 3 ′
Octava 2 ′
Tertia 2 ′
Quinta 1 1 ⁄ 2  ′
Sifflet 1'
Cymbals II
Pedal CD – c 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Octave bass 8th'
Trombones bass 16 ′
  • Tremulant
  • Coupling : manual slide coupling, pedal coupling
  • Playing aids : Calcantenböcklein
  • 2 bellows
  • Mood :
    • Height a 1 = 446 Hz (high chorus tone)
    • Neidhardt II, 1724

The organ was changed and repaired several times. In 1795, 38 of the largest pewter pipes were stolen. The background may have been that due to the bright sound of the organ, the population assumed it was made of silver. In 1933 the instrument was restored by Hermann Eule Orgelbau Bautzen . In 2016 there was another repair and restoration. Among other things, the wind turbine and the organ prospect were reconstructed.

Peal

In the new building of the Crostau church, the bells of the previous building were originally supposed to be used for cost reasons. In April 1869, however, a Johann Gottlob Ulbricht made an offer to donate the small bell if the parish would buy the two larger ones. The community did not want to refuse this gift and asked the Kollaturherrschaft for the approval of a new bell. In July 1869, approval was given for a maximum pound weight of 30 quintals . The order went to the company Große from Dresden and on September 1st, 1870 the three bells were hung. In the period that followed, a violent dispute broke out about the quality of the bell. Two reports, some of which contradicted each other in their statements, found that the bells were not correctly tuned. The proposal by the Große company to exchange the clapper was rejected by the Crostau church council. In the autumn of 1871, the large and medium bells were cast for the second time and the small bell even for the third time and finally accepted.

During the First World War , the two larger bells were supposed to be given to be melted down for war needs. The church council only supplied the medium and small ones. As a result, the royal administration threatened with coercive measures. Thereupon the community prepared an opinion that the bell in question was one of the best works of the now defunct company Große. This was granted and the community saved a lot of money after the war. On December 14, 1920, the inauguration of the two new, smaller bells, which were manufactured by the Schilling Söhne company from Apolda , took place. The middle one was donated by a factory owner from Kirschau in memory of his son who died in the war and in the following years it was rung every year on July 31, from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. (the date of death of the founder's son).

During the Second World War in May 1942, two bells for the war economy had to be handed in again , but this time the two larger ones were hit.

After the war in 1949, the big bell was found in Hamburg . This means it is still in its original condition from 1871. The parish decided to have the small bell, which dates from 1920, re-cast together with the middle one. The order went back to the Schilling company from Apolda. On August 26, 1951, these bronze bells were brought to the church in a large parade through Callenberg and consecrated. In 1962 the bell was electrified.

The inscriptions on the current bells read:

  • Big bell (e) 1871: "Behold, the eye of the Lord looks upon those who fear him and hope in his goodness." ( Ps 33,18  LUT ) and "I am the way, the truth and the life" ( Joh 14.6  LUT )
  • Middle bell (G sharp) 1951: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth and a pleasure to men." ( Lk 2,14  LUT ) and "Come to me all who are troublesome and burdened. I want to refresh you. "( Mt 11,28  LUT ) and" Margaret bell "
  • Small bell (h) 1951: “Those who are driven by the Spirit of God are God's children” ( Rom 8:14  LUT ) and “Let the little children come to me and do not prevent them, for such is the kingdom of God” ( Mk 10.14  LUT )

Crostau parish

Crostau is traditionally an evangelical place. More than half of the population of the community of Crostau also belongs to the parish of Crostau. This is around 900 people (as of 2006). This proportion used to be significantly higher, but fell sharply, especially in the GDR era. Today, a large part of the population does not profess any religion. The proportion of other religious groups is still very small.

For a long time, the parish of Crostau also looked after the Protestant population in the nearby Catholic-influenced Schirgiswalde until it built its own Protestant church. In 2006 the Protestant parishes of Crostau, Kirschau and Schirgiswalde worked very closely together and had only one pastor (the one from Crostau), whom various pastors occasionally helped out with the three services on Sunday.

Pastor of the Crostau parish
  • 1600 - Landof, Melchior
  • 1604 - Kremitz, Johann
  • 1604 - Lochmann, Johann
  • 1606 - Holstein, Kaspar
  • 1608 - Fleischmann, Johann
  • 1615 - Heugel, Asmus
  • 1619 - Marcus, Adam
  • 1619 - Walther, Elias
  • 1624 - Hermann, Abraham
  • 1627 - Walther, Elias
  • 1631 - Schulze, Matthäus
  • 1632 - Franke, Abraham
  • 1641 - Eger, Georg
  • 1665 - Marche, Jeremias
  • 1702 - Marche, Liebfried
  • 1738 - Uhlich, Johann Gottlieb
  • 1768 - Fritzsche, Heinrich Friedrich
  • 1795 - balance, Christian Gottlob
  • 1808 - Schulze, Johann Friedrich
  • 1818 - Michler, Ernst Gotthelf Wilhelm
  • 1857 - Hilliger, Bruno
  • 1875 - Scheibe, Paul Adolf
  • 1905 - Reil, Theodor * Johannes
  • 1912 - Probst, Georg * Friedmar
  • 1924 - Schneider, * Ernst Georg
  • 1928 - Mildner, Richard Kurt
  • 1935 - Krauspe, Richard * Hans
  • 1954 - 1973 Pech, Friedrich * Werner
  • 1975 - Pöche, Rainer
  • 1979 - stamp, Bernhard Heinrich

literature

  • Dorothea Fiedlschuster: The construction of the new church in Crostau and its history . January 1994 (created on the occasion of the preparation of a commemorative publication for the 125th anniversary of the New Church in Crostau. For this purpose, extensive files of the church council in Crostau, parish files for Crostau and other sources were viewed, including representations of the monuments and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony by Cornelius Gurlitt ).

Web links

Commons : Evangelical Church Crostau  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Organ by Gottfried Silbermann in the church in Crostau , on silbermann.org, accessed on February 25, 2020.
  2. ^ Ludwig Güttler: Music for trumpet and organ from the church in Crostau. 1984, accompanying text.
  3. ^ The Silbermann organ in the Crostauer Church , accessed on February 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ https://pfarrerbuch.de/sachsen/stelle/566 , accessed on March 8, 2020

Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 59 ″  N , 14 ° 27 ′ 7 ″  E