Organ in Holtriem-Westochtersum

The late Romantic single-room church from the second quarter of the 13th century was built of bricks and is standing on a plinth of so-called granite ashlars (see church at Marx). The eastern apse was replaced in 1675 by a rectangular choir. The narrow, high positioned pointed arch windows have round poles, the round-arch doors are enclosed by granite ashlars. In the south-west of the church, there is a closed belfry from the 13th century.

The interior of the church was traversed by square bays. Wall arches and rests of the wall ledges are clear indicators of this. Between choir and nave you can see wall pieces of a late Gothic jube. The winged altar shows paintings from 1740. Between 1734-37, Christian Klausing from Herford built the single-manual organ with attached pedal and 9 organ-stops. The organ builder came from an important organ building family in Westphalia and worked in Ostfriesland only during the construction period of this one organ.

Upon a modern western gallery, the organ screen is of rare beauty. From the high middle tower containing the bass pipes, the other pipe fields and towers are forming groups, descending to the exterior side, the smallest pipes are arranged in two-floor high pointed towers – a typical characteristic of the Westphalian organ building. This organ too had to face a fate that deformed its wonderful sound. In 1972/83, the organ builder Jürgen Ahrend from Leer-Loga could renew the fresh, original sound with his restoration. Since then, the instrument is one of the most important sound monuments of Ostfriesland.

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Address
Ev.-luth. Pfarramt
Siefke-Kunstreich-Str. 6
26489 Holtriem-Westochtersum
Tel 0 49 75 / 2 34

Internet
www.kirche-ochtersum.de