A legend says that there had been a church before in a place nearby, being the common church of Grünendeich and Twielenfleth, but it was swept away by floods in the 16th century.
The „new“ church of Grünendeich was built on ground which was donated to the church by Margareta Peders Dotte Skuthe, a woman from Sweden who lived nearby, in 1608.
The wooden bell tower was added to the church in 1625.
The inside of the church is mainly painted white, a ton-shaped roof of wood forms the inside of the roof.
The interior of the church dates back to 1616-18.
The upper sides of the church interior are decorated with the coat of arms of the various families living in Grünendeich and Steinkirchen. Some of the paintings have been added later.
The thing that is considered most precious in this church, however, is not the painted altar from the 15th century. No!
It’s the organ which was built in 1766 by Dietrich Christoph Gloger, a famous organ builder. This is one of the three only surviving Gloger organs in the world. It has been restorated often, last time in 1959. Currently the church in Grünendeich is collecting money for another restoration which is desperately needed for the precious instrument.
My very personal opinion, which is of course not relevant, is that the paintings, especially the coat-of-arms paintings and the altar, could desperately need a restoration as well.
An organ might be important for a church, but if everything else is falling apart then a well-sounding organ won’t make the church better, either….
However, if you should ever visit Germany, especially if your journey takes you anywhere close to Hamburg, then you should consider taking a boat and spending a day in Grünendeich / Steinkirchen. It’s really a beautiful place, plus the churches of these two villages, which are – surprising and strange – only separated by a road are really worth a visit.
If you decide to visit either of these churches, please let me know about it – I’m living on the opposite side of the above described church and would be most pleased to give you a tour, as long as you wouldn’t try to make me believe that the Christian belief is the only belief worth living for…
As much as I like churches for historical reasons, as much I dislike the Christian belief for various reasons, some of them being the fact that no Christian church ever apologized for hunting and burning „witches“ plus most Christian churches consider abortions – no matter if the child-to-be was made with love or is the product of a rape – illegal. I’m pro choice, and this defines me in the eyes of most churches as no Christian.
And did you know that the Vatican holds a share on factories which produce bombs, chemical weapons and the pill…? False moral in my humble opinion, which, of course, doesn’t need to be relevant to you.