Schönefeld (organ building)

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Residential and workshop building from Orgelbau Schönefeld, Bahnhofstr. 11 in Stadtilm

The organ building company Schönefeld has developed from a centuries-old tradition in the Thuringian city ​​film .

history

Petrus Kramer

Probably the oldest known organ builder in the city was Petrus Kramer, who already created an organ in 1625, which in 1885 was still in the Cruciskirche in Sondershausen .

Salfields

St. Burkhard (Hohenfelden)

Other organs still preserved are in the churches of Hohenfelden ( St. Burkhard and Windischholzhausen (St. Michaelis)), both of which were created by the organ builder Salfelder in 1819 and 1820.

J. Benjamin Witzmann

In 1809 J. Benjamin Witzmann (1782 (?) - 1814) became a citizen of Stadtilm. He received the title of "Ducal Gotha licensed organ builder". Among other things, in 1810 he supplied the Witzmann organ for St. Peterskirche in Oßmannstedt . Witzmann had two sons: Heinrich Louis (* August 5, 1812 in Stadtilm; † August 11, 1877 in Kleinrudestedt ) and Karl-August-Eduard. Both learned the profession of organ builder in Milbitz and Paulinzella from Johann Friedrich Schulze . This organ building company was one of the best-known companies in Europe at the time and delivered its instruments far beyond the borders of Germany. An organ built by Friedrich Schulze in 1830, which is in the Marienkirche in Gräfinau-Angstedt , is currently (2014) being extensively restored by the Schönefeld company.

Karl-August-Eduard Witzmann

Around 1835, Karl-August-Eduard Witzmann reopened his father's orphaned workshop in Stadtilm. Numerous medium-sized, mostly two-manual organ works in the southern Thuringian Basin left his workshop in the period that followed.

Heinrich Louis Witzmann

Heinrich Louis Witzmann started his own business in Kleinrudestedt near Erfurt in 1840. Among other things, he supplied the organs for the churches in Erdeborn and Schraplau , both in 1848. In 1853, he rebuilt the organ in Niederroßla , on which Karl-Heinz Schönefeld carried out maintenance and repair work in 2002 and 2007. In 1854 Witzmann renewed the organ in the Marienkirche in Artern , which was rebuilt in 1880 by Julius Strobel and restored in 1995 by Thomas Hildebrandt (Halle).

Adam and Johann Eifert

The organ builder Adam Eifert from Grebenau in Hesse came to Stadtilm in 1866 and married the daughter of his boss Karl-August-Eduard Witzmann in 1867. Logically, as a son-in-law, he was promoted to workshop master. In 1871 he set up his own workshop in Stadtilmer Bahnhofstr. 11 self-employed. The organ building company Schönefeld is still at this address as the legal successor. By 1907 he had delivered 141 new organs. His nephew Johann Eifert ran the workshop from 1907 to 1936 and delivered 42 other organs during this time.

Otto Schäfer

Another change of ownership took place in 1936, when the employee Otto Schäfer took over the organ building. Probably because of the chaos of the war, he was only able to build two smaller organs.

Lothar Heinze

Organ in St.Jakobus, Uder

After the Second World War, the organ builder Lothar Heinze (1905–1969) took over the workshop in 1946. He was the son of the organ builder Friedrich Ernst Gustav Heinze . He had made a good reputation for himself as an organ builder in Upper Lusatia . After the father moved to Rudolstadt , his son Lothar, who had also been an organ builder since 1935, took over the vacant workshop of the former company "Adam Eifert Nachsteiger" in Stadtilm. He led this until 1967; During this time he built 19 organs.

Karl-Heinz Schönefeld

Karl-Heinz and Dirk Schönefeld

Hezee's successor was the master organ builder Karl-Heinz Schönefeld, who had been running the business since 1967. Under his leadership until 2003, the company built another 82 new organs.

Dirk Schönefeld

The last generation change so far took place in 2003, when son Dirk Schönefeld took over the business.

Range of services

The company's field of activity is not limited to the construction of new mechanical organs, but also to the restoration of historical organs with various mechanical and pneumatic systems. The existence of organ blueprints, tools and other documents from the predecessor companies, some of which are centuries old, are the cornerstones for work on new and historical organs.

Works (selection)

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the Thuringian Organ Summer, July 4 to August 23, 2015 p. 17: by Johann Joachim Schulze, 1831, restored 2003–2006. Cf. http://orgelsommer.de/ ( Memento from 7 July 2015 in the Internet Archive )