Wilhelm Rühlmann

Wilhelm Rühlmann (born December 6, 1842 in Zörbig ; † January 8, 1922 in Zörbig) was a German master organ builder .

life and work

Wilhelm Rühlmann, son of the master organ builder Friedrich Rühlmann (June 1, 1812 - October 25, 1878) learned organ building from 1856 to 1860 from his father. He had founded an organ workshop in Zörbig, but only built six small organs. After completing his apprenticeship, Wilhelm Rühlmann was a journeyman with Friedrich Ladegast in Weißenfels from 1860 to 1866 . His first work was the organ from 1866 in the village church of Dornitz bei Könnern . When his father fell ill in 1866, Wilhelm took over the management, which he held until 1912. His younger brother Theodor, who had completed the same training, worked for the company from 1872 to 1910. Wilhelm Rühlmann deepened his knowledge on two trips to Baltic Livonia (1869 and 1871). A study trip to France followed in 1879.

In 1883 he set up the “Orgelbau-Anstalt W. Rühlmann” on the outskirts of Zörbig, which was expanded in 1892 and 1914 and was one of the most important companies in Central Germany. During this time, more than 300 organs were built, mainly in central Germany, including the organ of the St. Agnus Church in Köthen , the Luther Church in Bad Kösen and the Church of St. Martin in Zwochau (opus 201, according to another count opus 200). Wilhelm Rühlmann was one of the first German organ builders to use the pneumatic action , for example in the Martinskirche in Bernburg .

Wilhelm Rühlmann was a founding member of the "Association of German Organ Builders". After his death the workshop was taken over by his son Wilhelm Rühlmann jun. (1882–1964), who was managing director from 1912. After the First World War, the order situation fell sharply. In total, the company produced more than 460 organs (including major modifications). It was dissolved in 1945 because Wilhelm Rühlmann jun. went blind and his son Albrecht (March 18, 1927; † September 26, 2015) had no training and was taken prisoner by the Soviets. Albrecht Rühlmann learned organ building from Klais , but had to break off the apprenticeship in 1952 for health reasons. He stayed at Klais for 19 years in the field of technology and planning as well as in the field. The estate that Albrecht Rühlmann was able to carry with him after he “emigrated” from the GDR was given to cantor Matthias Müller and his organ and harmonium workshop. With him he initiated the "International Rühlmann Organ Festival".

List of works (selection)

The organ building company W. Rühlmann created 460 new buildings and conversions from 1866 to 1939 (from 1912 under W. Rühlmann junior), mainly in the then province of Saxony (today Saxony-Anhalt), but also in the neighboring areas of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg .

year	opus	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1872	16	Großkorbetha	church		II / P	16	receive
1876	19th	Large lines	St. Michaelis		II / P	16	receive
1877	24	Eisleben	St. Andrew		III / P	34	received several times rebuilt; today III / P / 41; Original gaming table in a modified form in St. Petri Pauli Church
1881	36	Koethen	St. Agnus Church		III / P	33	receive; Monument organ
1884	58	Grossmuehlingen	St. Peter's Church		II / P	17th	received, badly damaged
1884	59	Hecklingen	St. George and Pankratius		II / P	22nd	receive
1885	70	Ilberstedt	St. Severin Church		II / P	16	receive
1886	80	Glinde	St. Matthew's Church		II / P	15th
1886	82	Barby	St. John's Church		III / P	35	The organ case was made by the Gustav Kuntzsch Company , Institute for Church Art, Wernigerode . receive; Monument organ
1887	88	Koethen	seminar		II / P	17th
1889	96	Neugattersleben	St. Gertrude		II / P	25th
1889	101	Atzendorf	St. Eustachius Church		II / P	25th	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; receive
1890	105	Delitzsch	St. Peter and Paul		III / P	35	receive
1890	107	Staßfurt	St. Peter's Church		II / P	27	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; receive
1891	114	Schwittersdorf	St. Vitus Church		II / P	12	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; receive
1891	117	Gnadau	Common room Gnadau		II / P	22nd	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; receive; Restored in 2011 by the organ building company Albert Baumhoer from Salzkotten .
1893	136	Leipzig- Volkmarsdorf	Lukas Church		II / P	32	received rebuilt
1893	141	Halle (Saale)	St. Stephen Church		III / P	30th	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; after the church was deedicated (1967) moved to Pauluskirche (Halle) ; preserved in a modified form (III / P, 39)
1894	150	Skills	St. Wenceslas		II / P	24	receive
1894	156	Bad Kosen	Luther Church		II / P	25th	receive; Monument organ
1896	178	Staßfurt	St. Mary		II / P	30th	Originally preserved, restored in 1989, worth seeing as a monument
1896	180	Herzberg (Elster)	St. Mary's Church		III / P	47	receive; Monument organ
1896	182	Magdeburg	Pauluskirche		II / P	30th	Organ case from Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode; organ
1897	186	Kleinmühlingen	St. Salvator Church		II / P	13	receive
1897	187	Halle (Saale)	Marktkirche Our Dear Women		III / P	61	its largest organ, behind the prospectus by Christoph Cuntzius (1716), has not been preserved
1899	208	Magdeburg	German Reformed Church		III / P	37	Destroyed in 1945
1899	211	Halle-Trotha	St. Briccius		II / P	18th	receive
1900	222	Schkeuditz	Albanus Church		II / P	25th	complete renovation
1901	228	Löbejün	St. Petri		II / P	22nd	receive
1901	229	Brotterode	St. Nicolai (Brotterode)		II / P	23	receive
1901	230	Halle-Kröllwitz	Petruskirche		II / P	25th	receive
1902	241	Hassenhausen	Protestant church		II / P	14th	receive
1903	251	Magdeburg-Buckau	St. Norbert Church		II / P	22nd	received with changed disposition. Restored in 2011/12 without restoring the original disposition.
1905	264	Hettstedt	St. Jakobi Church		III / P	45	Restoration by Baumhoer
1905	270	Hall	Ulrich Church		III / P	51	replaced around 1970
1906	280	Kölsa	Kölsa village church		II / P	14th	Organ case from the company Gustav Kuntzsch, Wernigerode, old baroque case served as a model; receive
1906	284	Magdeburg-Buckau	St. Gertrauden Church		III / P	37	Restoration / reconstruction from 2005
1907	292	Herrnhut	Church hall of the Moravian Brethren		III / P	40	Destroyed in 1945
1907	294	Bad Düben	City Church		III / P	30th	behind prospectus from 1819
1908	300	Jueterbog	St. Nikolai		IV / P	44	1929 addition of a Rückpositiv on IV / P, 49, 2019 restoration of this version - organ
1908	303	Hall	Diakoniewerk, Church of St. Martin		II / P	20th	receive
1908	306	Leipzig-Großzschocher	Apostle Church		II / P	23	receive
1910	325	Mulhouse	St. Petri		II / P	28	behind the prospectus by Johann Friedrich Schulze (1834); receive
1912	352	Blönsdorf , Brandenburg	Blönsdorf village church		I / P	12	Restored in 2004
1913	363	Hall	Francke Foundations , Freylinghausen Hall		II / P	18th	receive
1913	372	Rohr , Thuringia	Michaeliskirche		II / P	19th	behind historical prospectus (1667)
1924	409	Langeneichstädt	St. Wenceslas		II / P	21st
1928	428	Hall	Christ Church		II / P	14th	receive
1929	437	Lutherstadt Eisleben	St. Petri Pauli Church		III / P	34	rebuilt by Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau A. Voigt

Web links

Commons : Rühlmann organs  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Matthias Müller : family and organ building dynasty Rühlmann & Rühlmann organ festival. Retrieved June 30, 2020 . 
• Organ building = anſtalt of Wilhelm Rühlmann, Zörbig. Friends of the Orgelbauanstalt by W. Rühlmann, accessed on June 30, 2020 . 
• Christian Schmidt and Daniel Ulrich: List of works of organ building = institute by Wilhelm Rühlmann (Opus 001 - 467). In: Orgelbau = Anſtalt von Wilhelm Rühlmann, Zörbig. Friends of the Orgelbauanstalt by W. Rühlmann, accessed on June 30, 2020 . 
• Rühlmann, Wilhelm (organ builder). In: Music case Saxony-Anhalt. Musical Competence Center Saxony-Anhalt, accessed on June 30, 2020 . 

literature

• Uwe Pape (Ed.): Lexicon of North German Organ Builders . tape 2 : Saxony and bypassing . Pape Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-921140-92-5 , pp. 323-324 .
• Hermann Fischer : 100 years of the Association of German Organ Builders . Orgelbau-Fachverlag, Lauffen 1991, ISBN 3-921848-18-0 , p. 286 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Pape: Lexicon of North German Organ Builders. Volume 2, 2012, p. 323.
2. ↑ Official website of the Rühlmann Organ Workshop: History , accessed on August 20, 2018.
3. ↑ Official website of the Rühlmann Organ Workshop: List of works , accessed on August 20, 2018 (PDF).
4. ^ Pape: Lexicon of North German Organ Builders. Volume 2, 2012, p. 324.
5. ↑ organ (Dutch)
6. ↑ organ (Dutch)
7. ↑ organ (Dutch)
8. ↑ Gnadau's "Queen of Instruments" sounds ... Accessed on May 18, 2020 . 
9. ↑ organ (Dutch)
10. ↑ organ (Dutch)
11. ↑ organ (Dutch)
12. ^ Rühlmann Organ Staßfurt. Retrieved August 11, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Herzberg St. Marien organ
14. ↑ organ (Dutch)
15. ↑ organ (Dutch)
16. ↑ Organ (Dutch) e.g.
17. ↑ organ (Dutch)
18. ↑ organ (Dutch)
19. ↑ organ (Dutch)
20. ^ W. Rühlmann organ St. Norbert Magdeburg-Buckau - Vogtland organ building Thomas Wolf. Retrieved August 12, 2020 . 
21. ↑ Rühlmann-Orgel Hettstedt Baumhoer Orgelbau, about restoration, with disposition
22. ↑ organ (Dutch)
23. ↑ organ (Dutch)
24. ^ Organ building company of W. Rühlmann. Retrieved August 11, 2020 . 
25. ↑ organ (Dutch)
26. ↑ organ (Dutch)
27. ↑ organ (Dutch)
28. ↑ organ (Dutch)
29. ↑ Press release , accessed June 27, 2019