Saxdorf parish garden

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Saxdorf Parish Garden (2014)

The Pfarrgarten Saxdorf located in the district Saxdorf in the Elbe-Elster region located southern Brandenburg Town Uebigau in today Elbe-Elster and covers an area of about 4000 square meters. The original parish garden of the parish homestead of the Saxdorf village church has been continuously redesigned and redesigned into a garden work of art by the artist Hanspeter Bethke († 2018) since the late 1960s .

The gardens attract several thousand visitors a year, not least because of their diversity of plants, and together with the neighboring village church from the 13th century, it has been the focus of numerous cultural events for decades. This includes, in particular, the “Saxdorfer Musiksommer” series of events, at which many well-known cultural workers have already performed.

Location and local environment

Site plan parish farm Saxdorf 1912 e.jpg
Excerpt from the map of the Saxdorf parish farm with church, rectory, stable and kitchen garden around 1912, which is still valid today
Saxdorf stone cross section 2t.jpg
Atonement Cross (2014)


The Saxdorf parish garden is located in the middle of the village of Saxdorf, which has around 140 inhabitants and which came to Wahrenbrück in 1998 and has belonged to Uebigau-Wahrenbrück since 2001. The cities of Bad Liebenwerda , Mühlberg / Elbe and Wahrenbrück are each about 10 kilometers away, Torgau about 30 kilometers. Immediately to the east of the small town is the approximately 600 hectare forest area of ​​the Green Heath .

The parish garden is part of a three-part ensemble, which, in addition to the garden, includes the village church, which is now under monument protection and dating from the first half of the 13th century, and the parsonage built at the end of the 19th century. There is also a gallery in the rectory , which is also used as an event pavilion, and a greenhouse . The complex covers a total of around 7,500 square meters. The local cemetery is right next to the church .

In front of the two-storey, striking clinker building of the rectory, there is also a memorial to the fallen in honor of the villagers who died in the First World War . Other architectural monuments in the immediate vicinity are a historic Kumthalle at Mittelweg 3, which is dated between 1830 and 1880, as well as the 19th century adobe building of today's parish hall at Mittelweg 2. The stone cross at the southern entrance portal of the church originally stood at Exit towards Kauxdorf ; In 1980 it was moved to its current location.

History of origin

The beginnings

The historic brick building of the village church of Saxdorf (2014)

The Saxdorf village church is a late Romanesque hall building made of brick from the 13th century, to which a slightly recessed semicircular apse adjoins in the east of the nave . In the 16th century, the building was destroyed during the Schmalkaldic War and later rebuilt, shortened by about six meters. The renewed west side was made from lawn iron stone . In the west of the nave there is a boarded-up octagonal roof tower with a tail hood and lantern from 1765.

The red brick building of the parsonage, located a little to the south, was built from 1896 to 1898 by the Falkenberg master mason Erler. The parish garden between the rectory and the church only served as a simple kitchen garden, as it had already lost its original importance for supplying the pastor's family with a reasonably adequate salary for the respective office holders at that time.

The young pastor Karl-Heinrich Zahn (* 1939) took over the Saxdorf pastoral post after his studies in 1967. A few years earlier he had met the painter and graphic artist Hanspeter Bethke (1935–2018) in Halle , whose lovingly designed allotment garden fell victim to earthworks a short time later. Bethke relocated part of his plant collection to Saxdorf and from then on worked there - in addition to his painting work in his Halle studio  - as a garden artist. Bethke and Zahn began redesigning the original kitchen garden. Karl-Heinrich Zahn had moved into the apartment on the upper floor of the rectory and Bethke initially commuted between Halle and Saxdorf for many years. It was not until 1985 that he finally moved his permanent residence to Saxdorf.

Bethke and Zahn were very busy right from the start. The venerable church, which was in need of renovation, was restored by Bethke from 1972 to 1974. During the restoration work, among other things, medieval frescoes on the north wall and remains of ornamental paintings in the apse were uncovered. The pointed arched windows of the apse were also reconstructed. The church and garden quickly developed into the focus of many cultural events - see section “Saxdorfer Musiksommer” and other cultural events .

Saxdorf's garden, the work of a painter

Crocus bloom in March 2017

The formerly overgrown parish garden, which, according to the two protagonists, began to be renewed with the planting of a primeval sequoia that still exists today , has been expanded. With the support of his partner Karl-Heinrich Zahn, the artist Hanspeter Bethke created a particularly diverse garden within more than four decades on the property, which was characterized by elderberries , blackberries and nettles in the mid-1960s . In the GDR era, botanical rarities could often only be obtained through good relationships, and building materials were sometimes fetched from the local rubbish dump. Even then, the garden was a popular attraction, so that tour groups from other socialist countries also visited the small village via Intourist .

“Saxdorf's garden is the work of a painter who painted garden pictures in his studio in winter and later repeatedly created new colors and structures in the garden. He took out plants, combined them differently and created new garden images over and over again. "

This is how landscape architect Jörn Löffler described it, who examined the Saxdorf parish garden as part of his diploma thesis on gardening studies in a private garden in the state of Brandenburg . Bethke himself later described his approach to planting with the words: "My eye is my plan."

Over 3000 different plant species from five continents can be found in the Saxdorf parish garden today, giving it the character of a botanical garden . Jörn Löffler listed over 800 of them in his work. The large stocks of early bloomers such as winter lumps , elf crocuses , snowdrops and mugs , which completely cover the garden soil in spring and early spring, are significant . The garden is home to numerous rare woody plant ( Magnolia , Baumpäonien , Nashi trees , leather sleeve trees , redwoods  , etc.), shrubs and bamboo . The largest bamboo species in the garden, the Spectabilis , is almost 8 meters high here. The greenhouse offers sheltered space for around 150 species of  camellia . Over three hundred varieties of historical and modern roses can be found in the parish garden, because Bethke was also a rose breeder here. Varieties from his hand include the shrub and climbing rose "Kloster Altzella" (2006), the ground cover rose "Lenné Rose (LennBo1)" (2009), the rose "Maria Josepha vom Elsterschloß" (2011) and the "Proschwitzer Schlossrose" (2008), which are now available in stores.

After a long illness, the artist died in Saxdorf in February 2018 at the age of 82. He found his final resting place on the south side of the church between two trees he once planted himself.

Present and future development

View with the rectory in the background in June 2003

The association "Art and Culture Summer Saxdorf", founded in 1992 with the aim of the permanent preservation of the work of art, is today the sponsor of the gardens and is the organizer of the numerous cultural events. In 1992 he initiated the construction of a gallery in the rectory and in 1996 the construction of a greenhouse.

The ensemble of parish garden, church and parsonage is now visited by several thousand visitors a year. Today the gardens are among the most beautiful in the Berlin - Brandenburg region . In 2012 the parish garden was voted 15th by viewers of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) on the occasion of the program “The 30 most beautiful parks and gardens”.

The two main actors, Bethke and Zahn, received temporary support through a job creation scheme and voluntary work. For years, however, attempts had been unsuccessful to find a permanent successor for the maintenance and operation of the garden. The sponsoring association finally commissioned the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) for almost 50,000 euros to create a development and marketing concept that was presented at the beginning of 2017. It relates to the total potential of the parish garden and shows fields of action and solutions for sustainable development. In the summer of the same year, a nursery from Uebigau was commissioned with the implementation and support of the resulting measures. Since January 1, 2019 there is now a full-time gardener on site. The position is to be financed through a crowdfunding campaign , among other things . There is also financial support from the Elbe-Elster district, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD for short) , the Sparkasse Elbe-Elster and private donors.

In order to preserve this ensemble, which is unique for the region in this form, for posterity, efforts are currently being made to extend the monument protection of the neighboring church to the rectory and the garden. At that time Löffler had already pointed out in his work that this was possible on the basis of the Brandenburg Monument Protection Act (BbgDSchG) and tried to provide suggestions for preserving the garden.

  • Clematis in the parish garden of Saxdorf (2011)

  • Autumn impressions in the parish garden of Saxdorf (November 2014)

  • Rose Lykkefund in the parish garden of Saxdorf (June 2003)

“Saxdorfer Musiksommer” and other cultural events

  • Günter Sommer (2018)

  • Dietmar Diesner (2016)

  • Dirk Zöllner (2013)

  • Conny Bauer (2018)

The church and the parish garden have been the focus of many cultural events for decades. The “Saxdorf Summer Concerts” have been taking place here regularly since 1974, but originally under the guise of church services. Because artists from all over the GDR met in Saxdorf for so-called pleinairs . “The result was a free space in which you could do, say and experience things that were not possible elsewhere and also offered the freedom for a special way of life.” Which ultimately did not remain hidden from the State Security ( Stasi for short ). A series of concerts emerged from the obligatory final concerts, which today, under the name “Saxdorfer Musiksommer”, is an important cultural pillar in the Elbe-Elster region.

Ensembles such as the well-known Dresden vocalists (vocals), the Amacord ensemble (vocals), the Leipzig Chamber Choir and the Leipziger Saxtett (vocals) were guests in Saxdorf. Musicians from the Philharmonics in Dresden and Leipzig often show their skills in Saxdorf and the list of cultural workers and other personalities who have performed in Saxdorf over the past forty years is extensive. Some of them perform here regularly: Warnfried Altmann (saxophone), Gert Anklam (saxophone), Conny Bauer (trombone), Gert Becker (bassoon), Anke Becker (viola da gamba), Trio Bravo (jazz), Dietmar Diesner (saxophone), Markus Hansel (tenor), Stephan Hilsberg (piano), Marlis Jakob (piano), Silvia Kissig (block), Stephan Lewandowski (piano), Hermann Naehring (percussion), Johann Plietsch (trumpet), Günter Baby Sommer (percussion), Sybille Specht (mezzo-soprano), Klaus Sticken (piano), Juliane Tief (guitar), Hans Günther Wauer (organ), Dirk Zöllner (vocals), Ilan Schneider (violin), Ithay Khen (cello), Markus Schlemmer (piano), Andreas Göbel (Piano)

Book readings, exhibitions, garden festivals (rose festival, bamboo festival ...) and performances as part of the international puppet theater festival in the Elbe-Elster-Land also take place here.

On July 26, 2020, Deutschlandfunk broadcast a service from the Saxdorf parish garden. The sermon was delivered by Superintendent Christof Enders.

Main actors

The artist, born in Magdeburg in 1935, studied from 1954 to 1959 at the Institute for Artistic Design in Halle-Burg Giebichenstein . In 1967 he was accepted into the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR . As an artist, he worked primarily as a painter , graphic artist and restorer . Works by him are now in the cultural history museum in Magdeburg and in Senftenberg . Larger solo exhibitions with works by Bethke took place in Berlin , Bernburg (Saale) , Dessau , Dresden , Erfurt , Greifswald , Halle (Saale), Leipzig , Lübbecke , Magdeburg, Merseburg , Middelhagen , Senftenberg, Suhl and Lutherstadt Wittenberg . He was later publicly recognized for his artistic work. Several exhibitions of his works took place on the occasion of his 75th birthday in 2010. The artist friend Paul Böckelmann initiated the photo exhibition "Magic Garden" in Altenau in his honor . Two years later, Bethke was also awarded the culture prize of the Elbe-Elster district and, on March 11, 2017, the "Peter Joseph Lenné Medal", which he received from the "Lenné Academy for Horticulture and Garden Culture".
Karl-Heinrich Zahn was born in Pomerania and grew up in Querfurt in the Harz foreland . From 1957 to 1962 he completed a theology degree in Halle / Saale and then practical training as a pastor. In 1967 he became the 27th pastor since the Reformation to take over the Saxdorf pastorate. In 1999, Karl-Heinrich Zahn was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his cultural work in Saxdorf .

Publications on the subject

Literature (selection)

  • Saxdorfer Gartenbuch 2008 - The parish garden of Hanspeter Bethke photographed by Paul Böckelmann (2008)
  • “Zaubergarten” (2010), photos: Paul Böckelmann, text: Hanspeter Bethke
  • Stefan Leppert: His garden: when men become gardeners . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 2012, ISBN 978-3-421-03792-3 .
  • "Everything already colorful in the magic garden", Flyer, 2015
  • Helga Panten: Plant collectors and their passion: 34 portraits, tips, addresses . Köllen Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-88579-145-4 .
  • Kara Huber: Brandenburg and its churches - presented by prominent sponsors . Prestel Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7913-5044-8 .
  • Petra Bahr , Klaus-Martin Bresgott , Hannes Langbein: Cultural churches - A journey through Germany . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2011, ISBN 978-3-374-02906-8 .
  • Maria Mail-Brandt: Rose people: rose growers, rose painters, rose book authors, rose companies, rose garden planners - a "who's who" of the German-speaking rose world . 2018, ISBN 978-3-7528-1957-1 .

Press (selection)

  • Klaus-Dieter Steyer: "Paradise in the pastor's garden" in Der Tagesspiegel , August 3, 2008.
  • Jonas Reif: "Pfarrgarten Saxdorf" in Gartenpraxis , issue 2, 2012.
  • Frank Claus: “Where a garden has become a work of art” in Lausitzer Rundschau , April 17th, 2014.
  • Simone Schmollack: “The Stasi lived downstairs ” in taz on the weekend of May 17, 2014.
  • Ida Kretzschmar: "Spontaneous healing at Saxdorf, a place of longing - What the painter Hanspeter Bethke and Pastor Karl-Heinrich Zahn are hoping for in the parish garden's anniversary year" in Lausitzer Rundschau , July 21, 2014.
  • Heiko Lübeck: "Saxdorf parish garden is still at risk" in Wochenkurier , March 26, 2015
  • Birgit Rudow: "For the future of the parish garden in Saxdorf - extreme hobby as a mammoth task" in LR online , December 26, 2017.
  • "Future debate about the Saxdorf parish garden" in Lausitzer Week , July 25, 2018.
  • Frank Claus: "It's already spring in Saxdorf" in Lausitzer Rundschau , December 30th, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Pfarrgarten Saxdorf  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes and individual references

  1. ↑ Population: 2016
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Uta Graf-Schlesinger: "Church, rectory, garden - The Ensemble Saxdorfer Pfarrgarten" at www.saxdorf.de, accessed on March 17, 2019
  3. ↑ a b Database of the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and the State Archaeological Museum ( Memento of the original from December 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on March 29, 2019. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / bldam-brandenburg.de
  4. ↑ Georg A. Kuhlins: "The stone crosses of the Bad Liebenwerda district" in "The Black Elster - Our home in words and pictures" . No. 579 . Bad Liebenwerda 1980, p. 4 to 9 .
  5. ^ A b Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments - Brandenburg . 2nd Edition. 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 , pp. 1008-1009 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Simone Schmollack: “The Stasi lived downstairs ” in taz on the weekend of May 17, 2014
  7. ↑ a b Andreas Pöschel: Laudation - “Flower pictures and other works on paper” on the occasion of the exhibition opening on October 14, 2010 in the district museum Finsterwalde, accessed on January 23, 2019
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g The Saxdorf Church ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the private website www.saxdorf.de, accessed on January 23, 2019. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.saxdorf.de
  9. ↑ Jonas Reif: "Pfarrgarten Saxdorf" in Gartenpraxis , No. 2, 2012, pp. 33–38.
  10. ↑ Frank Claus: “Spring blossom in garden art” in Lausitzer Rundschau , March 11, 2018
  11. ↑ a b Jörn Löffler: "Garden monument conservation studies on a private garden in the state of Brandenburg" . Technical University of Applied Sciences Berlin , department: V, course: Land maintenance July 2000 (diploma thesis).
  12. ↑ Ida Kretzschmar: “Spontaneous healing at the place of longing Saxdorf” in Lausitzer Rundschau , October 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ a b c "Everything already colorful in the magic garden", Flyer, 2015
  14. ^ Frank Claus: "Where a garden has become a work of art" in Lausitzer Rundschau , April 17, 2014.
  15. ↑ Ida Kretzschmar: "Spontaneous healing at the place of longing Saxdorf - What the painter Hanspeter Bethke and pastor Karl-Heinrich Zahn are hoping for in the anniversary year of the parish garden" in Lausitzer Rundschau , July 21, 2014.
  16. ↑ A selection of some of the plants in the Saxdorf parish garden at www.saxdorf.de, accessed on January 24, 2019
  17. ↑ Internet presence of Zeischaer Baumschule Graeff , accessed on January 24, 2019
  18. ↑ a b Frank Claus: “Spring is already in Saxdorf” in Lausitzer Rundschau , December 30th, 2018
  19. ^ "On the death of Hans-Peter Bethke, Saxdorf" on the homepage of the German Society for Garden Art and Landscape Culture, accessed on March 28, 2019
  20. ↑ "Pfarrgarten Saxdorf" on www.elbe-elster-land.de , accessed on March 17, 2019
  21. ↑ List of Brandenburg personalities at www.brandenburg-sehenswert.de, accessed on January 23, 2019.
  22. ↑ a b The concept for the Saxdorfer Pfarrgarten on the private website www.saxdorf.de, accessed on January 23, 2019.
  23. ↑ a b The association “Art and Culture Summer Saxdorf” on www.daxdorf.de, accessed on March 17, 2019
  24. ↑ Sponsors and friends of the parish garden at www.saxdorf.de, accessed on March 17, 2019
  25. ↑ As of January 2019
  26. ↑ Artists performing in Saxdorf on www.saxdorf.de, accessed on March 16, 2019
  27. ↑ Events in the Saxdorfer Pfarrgarten in 2019 at www.saxdorf.de, accessed on March 16, 2019
  28. ↑ "Mass: Übetragung from the parish garden Saxdorf" on www.deutschlandfunk.de, accessed on July 26, 2020
  29. ↑ "The Lenné Academy mourns the horticultural artist Hanspeter Bethke, Saxdorf" in Newsletter 35 of the Lenné Academy for Horticulture and Horticulture, March 2018 ( online as PDF file )
  30. ↑ Volker Frank: Entry by Hanspeter Bethke In: General Artist Lexicon - International Artist Database - Online . De Gruyter. (accessed via De Gruyter Online, January 23, 2019).

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '7.3 "  N , 13 ° 17' 4.4"  E