St. Gertrud (Hamburg-Altenwerder)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Gertrud in Hamburg-Altenwerder , together with the cemetery that is no longer used, is the last remnant of the former fishing village, which has now been completely replaced by the Altenwerder container terminal (CTA) and an adjacent industrial area. The green belt with church and cemetery is now within this industrial park.
History and construction of the church
There is evidence that the village of Altenwerder had its own church as early as 1436. A new church was built in 1659, which in turn was replaced in 1769 by the immediate predecessor of the still preserved church.
The current church was built between 1830 and 1831 as a classical gallery hall with high arched windows. The neo-Gothic tower designed by the architects Ohnsorg and Facklam was built in 1895 with a height of 62 meters so high that it could also be seen from what was then Neuhof (now part of Wilhelmsburg ) on the other side of the Köhlbrand . At the same time as the tower, the church received a mechanical church tower clock that is still functional today.
During the Second World War , the church was damaged by a bomb in 1945 due to its proximity to the port facilities. After repairs, it was able to be consecrated again in 1948 as one of the first churches south of the Elbe. It survived the storm surge of 1962 largely undamaged, and a smoldering fire in 1964 destroyed the organ at the time.
The Hamburg Port Expansion Act of 1961 had a significant impact on the fate of the village and the church. From 1973 to 1978 a large part of the houses and land, including the church, were bought by the city. The area of the former village lay fallow for many years until the site was washed up and the new Altenwerder container terminal was built.
The church is now a listed building .
In January 2018, the Hausbruch-Neuwiedenthal-Altenwerder parish and the HPA port administration , which owns the church, signed a five-year lease and agreed on the running costs.
Furnishing
The high interior is spanned by a wooden barrel vault and strongly structured by the galleries supported by Tuscan columns . The organ is located on the western gallery, the southern and northern gallery have benches.
On the eastern side of the nave, a pulpit altar flanked by two columns with a carved altar crucifix occupies the entire height of the room. The dominant element here is the pulpit halfway up, the rest of the altar is sparsely decorated. There is a baptismal font between the altar and the first rows of pews. There are eight memorial plaques on the walls for the members of the community who died in the two world wars.
The church can be entered today through the entrance on the north side, the former main entrance on the west side under the tower is no longer used. In this area and in the former sacristy there is a permanent photo exhibition with pictures of the history of the village of Altenwerder.
After the organ was destroyed by the fire in 1964, the "new" Beckerath organ was inaugurated in 1969 . Since 1971 she has been accompanying the annual tree blossom concerts. The ecumenical seafaring missions and churches in Hamburg celebrate seafaring services there.
graveyard
The beginning of the cemetery can be traced back to around 1600, but the oldest graves still in existence today date from the 19th century. Many of the funerary inscriptions show the former character as a farming and fishing village. The most impressive tomb stands on the north side of the church and shows an upright angel sculpture on a stone base.
The cemetery is no longer used today.
Photographs and map
Coordinates: 53 ° 30 '22.1 " N , 9 ° 55' 3.5" E
View 2012 with wind turbine in the background
Church on a map from 1615
Altar crucifix
Tomb with angel figure
Illuminated church from the northeast
literature
- Ralf Lange : Architecture in Hamburg . Junius Verlag , Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-88506-586-9 , p. 303 .
- Matthias Gretzschel : Churches in Hamburg: history, architecture, offers . Axel Springer Verlag , Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-921305-92-6 , pp. 100 f .
- Friedhelm Grundmann, Thomas Helms: When stones preach . Medien Verlag Schubert, Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-929229-14-5 , p. 91 f .
- Barbara Leisner, Norbert Fischer : The cemetery guide . Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1994, ISBN 3-7672-1215-3 , p. 198 f .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Future secured for the church in Altenwerder. Retrieved January 8, 2018 .
- ^ Reference list from Beckerath Orgelbau GmbH. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 11, 2016 ; accessed on January 8, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ First International Ecumenical Seafarers Service in Hamburg. Retrieved January 8, 2018 .
Web links
- Homepage of the community
- Information about the church on the homepage of the North Elbian Church.
- History of Altenwerder on a private homepage about Moorburg / Altenwerder.
- Brief history of the church with photos of the bells and clock tower.