Kriisa (organ builder)

Organ in Rõuge

Kriisa are a family of organ builders and an organ building company in Estonia .

history

The brothers Juhan (1858–1942), Jakob (1861–1949) and Tannil Kriisa (1866–1940) founded an organ building workshop in Kokemäe, Estonia, and in 1886 they built their first larger organ. Eduard Kriisa (1902–1968), the son of Tannil, continued this. His brother Harry Kriisa (1911–1976) emigrated to the USA in 1949 and built 18 organs there.

Hardo Kriisa (* 1940) took over the workshop in Kokemäe and moved it to Rakvere in 1976 . There it still exists today as the only one in the country and is mainly dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of existing organs.

Organs (selection)

Europe

Of the organ builders Kriisa, 23 new organs are known in Estonia, others in Russia , Ukraine , Finland and Sweden . Some have been preserved.

year	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1926	Rakvere	Kolmainu kirik (Trinity Church)		II / P	27 (29)	receive
1928	Pechora , Russia	Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Peter		II / P	21st	not received
1930	Rouge	Maarja kirik (St. Mary's Church)		II / P	29 (30)	receive
1937	Suure-Jaani	Kirik (church)		II / P	25 (26)
1939	Rapla	Maarja-Magdaleena kirik (Mary Magdalene Church)		II / P	28
2010	Parnu	Eliisabeti kiriku (St. Elisabeth Church)		II / P	31 (35)	Choir organ

United States

Harry Kriisa built 18 organs in the USA.

year	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1970	Decatur, Illinois	First Evangelical Lutheran Church		IV / P	41 (48)	its largest organ

Web links

• Kriisa orelihitus website (German)
• History of the organ builder family Kriisa. Rõuge Municipality, accessed December 31, 2019 (Estonian).  , with list of works in Estonia
• The organ masters Kriisa Visit Estonia (German)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Organ in Pärnu Orgeldatabase (Dutch, German)
2. ^ Organ in Decatur Orgeldatabase