Mennonite Church North

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Mennonite Church

The Mennonite Church in the East Frisian city ​​of Norden is a listed building and is located on the south side of the spacious Norder Marktplatz.

inside view

Building description

Mennonite Church North - historical engraving

The main building of the Northern Mennonite Church is a former patrician house, built in 1662 and known in old sources as the Kettler House . The building came to the Mennonite community in 1795, which - in the absence of corporate rights of its own - acquired it through the Neustadtgödens- born northern merchant Doede Lüberrts Cremer. Extensive renovation work was then carried out inside the house. In the left part of the building, the false ceiling was removed so that a two-story church hall for around 150 people could be created. Incidentally, the interior design is uniquely influenced by the Rococo style among the German Mennonite churches . A special eye-catcher - apart from the pulpit and the Last Supper table - is the ceiling decorations, a stencil painting from 1900.

The facade facing the market is adorned with so-called fruit hangings. The buildings to the right and left of the main house were only acquired later and the facade design was adapted to the main building. There is a small church tower on the roof of the main house, but it has no bells.

Two previously privately used apartments within the Mennonite Church were converted into group rooms in 2009 and given their use at the end of August of the same year.

organ

Link organ from 1900

The organ was built in 1900 by the Link brothers. The slider chest instrument has 12 stops on two manual works and a pedal. The actions are pneumatic.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Principal 8th'
2. Gamba 8th'
3. Covered 8th'
4th Octave 4 ′
5. Transverse flute 4 ′
6th Octave 2 ′
II breastwork C – g 3
7th Gemshorn 8th'
8th. flute 8th'
9. Aeoline 8th'
10. Vox celeste 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
11. Sub bass 16 ′
12. Violon 8th'

Mennonite Congregation North

The free-church Mennonite congregation in the north is rooted in the northwest German Anabaptist movement , whose center was for a long time the city of Emden . A specific date of foundation is not known. However, in 1556 a religious conversation took place between the pastor of the Reformed church and the northern Mennonites.

Even before the church was built, the congregation had its own house of prayer ( Vermaning ). In the 18th century the community split into a Flemish and a Waterland community. In April 1780 the two northern parishes finally reunited. The Mennonite congregation in Krummhörn had already joined the Flemish congregation beforehand .

Today the community consists of about 50 members. Together with the parishes of Emden, Leer-Oldenburg and Gronau, it forms an association that is responsible for the financing of the common pastor. In addition, a Mennonite Brethren Congregation has now formed, which the church also uses. Church services take place every Sunday, some of them - especially for Russian-German parishioners - in Russian.

The Mennonite congregation works intensively in the ecumenical working group of the East Frisian city and describes itself as a liberal Mennonite congregation in terms of its theological position .

See also

literature

  • Hans-Bernd Rödiger, Heinz Ramm: Frisian churches in Auricherland, Norderland, Brokmerland and in Krummhörn , Volume 2. Verlag CL Mettcker & Söhne, Jever (2nd edition) 1983, p. 100.
  • Gretje Schreiber: The North market place and its history until today , Aurich 1994, ISBN 3-925365-79-6
  • Jan Hendrik Bas: 200 years of the Mennonite Church “Am Markt” to the north , in: Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter Vol. 54 (1997), pp. 220–223.
  • Mennonite community in the north (ed.), Ursula Boll (collaborator) : 450 years of Mennonites in the north (1556–2006). Anniversary publication June 16-18, 2006. Mahler, Ellerbek 2006.

Web links

Commons : Mennonite Church North  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German Foundation for Monument Protection ( Memento from January 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Michael Clemens: Article A community with tradition , in: Ostfriesischer Kurier of June 17, 2006, p. 33
  3. ↑ Article in Mennonews of August 20, 2009 ; accessed on October 15, 2009
  4. ↑ Information on the organ , accessed on May 1, 2019.

Coordinates: 53 ° 35 ′ 40.9 ″  N , 7 ° 12 ′ 19 ″  E