Stralsund, Marienkirche

Friedrich Stellwagen 1653-1659

State of preservation: heavily altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. After storage reestablished in several steps by Alexander Schuke from 1951 on. After thorough documentation in 2000 restored 2004 to 2008 by Wegscheider and Böhme (Dresden) and van Rossum (Andel/NL).

Friedrich Stellwagen undoubtedly was one of the most important organ makers of the Baltic, in those days predominantly ruled by Sweden which explains the close cultural links in this region across language and political borders. The Stralsund organ is one of the biggest organs of the time in this region. Stellwagen reveals himself as an important intermediate for the rich sound elements of the 16th century after the 30 years' war. The wealth of reed stops including the the once popular regal stops is still rooted in the sound ideas of the Renaissance. The differentiated stopped and flute stops, too,  were Renaissance achievements integrated by Stellwagen into an organ of baroque monumentality.

The design of the case resembles the structures developped in and around Hamburg at the time with a visible separation of divisions. Stellwagen's graduation of heights of Rückpositiv and Hauptwerk topped by the Oberwerk and flanked by impressive pedal towers gives an almost pyramidal total, matching the gothic church interior in a spectacular way.