HE views above are of the Triptych by master from Gosciszowice C1400; with it shown open on the left and closed on the right. (All the other decoration in the church is by un-named and unknown artists. It is more than likely that they were artists from within the Brandenburg area and not well known in Europe itself. I suspect that the benefactors while well off would not be rich enough to import any well known painters and woodcarvers.) The inside has carved, gilded and painted figures. It shows the virgin and child in the central panel with four other figures who are probably the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. The six figures on either side are probably the 12 apostles; St. Peter; St. Andrew; St. James Major; St. John; St. Philip; St. James Minor; St. Thomas; St. Bartholomew; St. Matthew; St. Matthias;
St. Thaddeus, or Jude; St. Simon. Below the Triptych is a painting of the Last Supper dated 1610. On the right the Triptych doors are closed and show the angel bringing to Mary, the news of the annunciation as the mother of the Christ Child. There is a story that the Lutherans wanted to dismantle the tryptych but it was protected by the almighty and resisted this action. It is more likely that members of the congregation who would have been converts to Lutherism would not wish to see this happen to their church property.
HESE two pictures show the magnificent paintings within the church. The whole ceiling in this part of the church has painted figures of prophets and other characters from the bible. This together with the paintings on the balustrades on the galleries (C1593) shown in the other picture make it such a colourful interior.
N the pictures above we see the wall paintings on each end of the nave of the church. On the left is The Last Judgement (C1612) and that on the right above the gallery is a wall painting including two angels on each side of a framed quotation (probably from the bible). Above the Triptych is a painted depiction of Christ on the cross (part of the altar decoration C1667). Click on the picture on the right to open in a new page and then enlarge (if your browser allows) and you will note how relatively small the church is when using the people in the gallery as a guide to distances.
To look at another picture of the gallery area showing the angels and part of the ceiling:
N the left above is a depiction of the founder of the Lutherans, Martin Luther on the stairs to the pulpit (C1614). For any one who knows what he looks like from the paintings it is an interesting depiction. Since Luther had died in 1546 it is probable he had to do the work from a description if he had not seen Luther's portrait or even a printed picture. To see portrait of Luther click here. I do not know who the other figure is at this time. It could be Justus Jonas, Philipp Melanchthon or Johannes Bugenhagen who were all supporters, assistants and early adherents of Lutherism. On the right is the painted wooden christening font (a covered water container, the handle of which is just visible; would be inside) which is dated to C1581 and continues the beautiful decoration which is throughout the church.
N the left is a painted panel of an architectural scene in which there is a door. On the right the painted panel shows the Epitaph of Zacharia Kalkreut from C1612 (one of the benefactors of the church). Other families that were benefactors were Unruh, Treppelen and Schlichting. Most of the painted/carved figures in the panels are less than life size but seem to have reasonably adult faces and bulky bodies. Makes them look more childlike than adult.
ANY of the galleries were boxes used by the leading families in the area and decorated under their auspices. Picture on left was decorated in C1586 and the one on the right is that of Alexander and Helena Kalkreut from Kolesin (Golzen) dated from C1698 and is situated at the rear of the church adjacent to the organ gallery. Note that the decoration is more restrained being 100 years later than much of the other decoration.
The tower of the church was rebuilt in 1657 after being burnt down during the 30 years war
The organ was installed in 1822 and was made by Ludwig Hartig, Orgel & Instrumentmacher of Neusalz.
I do not have a great deal of detail about its set up. It appears to be a pipe organ with only a single keyboard and foot pedals. A set of 11 stops seem to be available.
My correspondent in Klepsk has advised that the organ is scheduled for restoration and will cost around 50,000 euros ($A 75,000) approximately. As this was the church of Pastor Kavel and he would have known the organ then it would be great for descendants in Australia to subscribe to the restoration fund. If readers are interested please contact me and we can discuss how this can be done. I am trying to interest the Lutheran Community in subscribing towards the cost of restoration. This would seem to be a fitting tribute to Pastor Kavel and his flock who left their homeland to start again in a country on the otherside of the world to them and even more adventurous as the colony was only 2 years old!
The 30 years war was caused by a highly complex set of circumstances. The following is a short explanation - Background to the Thirty Years War:
Under the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 Lutheranism had been given official recognition in the Holy Roman Empire. Lands of the Roman church which had previously been taken by secular powers were retained by them. German rulers could also impose their religion on their subjects. However, the Peace did not provide a permanent framework for religious settlement in Germany. A number of rulers became Calvinists and thus at least arguably outside the pale of the Peace. Protestants continued to take over Catholic properties, particularly in North Germany. The Catholics commanded a majority in most of the organs of government; the Protestants came to distrust these bodies and the machinery of government began to break down. The Catholics and Protestants formed armed alliances to preserve their rights: the Catholic League under Maximilian I of Bavaria and the Protestant Union under Frederick V of the Palatinate. Meanwhile, in Bohemia, Moravia and Austria dissension between the Habsburgs had enabled the local elites to extort religious freedom from their rulers. The Habsburgs gradually began to chip away at these concessions. The war began in 1618 consisted of a number of phases The Bohemian Phase, The Palantine Phase, The Danish Phase, The Swedish Phase, The French Phase
It finished in 1648 with The Peace of Westphalia. Over the last four years of the war, the parties were actively negotiating at Osnabrück and Münster in Westphalia. On 24 October, 1648 the Peace of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years War. The Swedes received a large cash indemnity and control over western Pomerania, Bremen and Verden. The French recieved rights (nature unclear) over Alsace. The control of the Emperor over the German territorial rulers was reduced to a nullity. Within the German portion of the Empire, private exercise of non-conforming religion was permitted and the organs of government were rendered religiously neutral. Lands secularized by the Protestants in 1624 were generally allowed to remain so. However, in the Habsburg territories of Bohemia and Austria the Emperor was given a nearly free hand to re-impose Catholicism.
After most of the residents of Klemzig left in 1838 the village was sold to The Royal Company of Sea Trade. The last owners of Klepsk to 1945 was the family von Philipsborn.
