What makes empty sandbags and a typo so unique?
Episode 3 of the journey through the cultural heritage sites
The northern Oderbruch has a geographical peculiarity: in the middle of the Oder valley, the landscape rises to up to 90 meters above sea level. The elevation, the Neuenhagen Island, other names also refer to it as the Neuenhagen Spur, is a westward-facing offshoot of the steep Polish bank of the Oder. It was once separated by the river. During the last ice age, extensive clay deposits were also deposited there. Their discovery was the reason for the local brickworks industry to flourish in the 19th century. Attentive observers will find former clay pits in the region, some of which are now bathing lakes, or even ruins of brickworks, such as the Dornbusch brickworks between Bad Freienwalde and Altglietzen. The combustion chambers and, even from afar, the chimney can still be seen. Unlike the brickworks in Altglietzen, it seems to have fallen into disrepair.
This brings us to the first of four cultural heritage sites on Neuenhagen Island: the Hoffmann ring kiln in Altglietzen was built in 1878 and operated until the mid-1980s. Although shaped bricks have been produced on the site again since the mid-1990s, they are no longer in the historic ring kiln. The technical monument now houses a small, interesting museum on the history and tradition of the region's brickmaking industry. A support association founded in 2006 is working to preserve the monument, which was renovated in 2012. On a guided tour, you can learn interesting facts about the principle of modern brick-making developed by Friedrich Eduard Hoffmann. The engineer applied for a patent for his invention in 1859. A visit to the ring kiln in Altglietzen is a journey through regional industrial history.
A good three kilometers south of Altglietzen we reach the village church of Neutornow. What makes it a cultural heritage site? Among other things, it has a special burial site. At the foot of the church, with a wonderful view over the Oderbruch, the father of the Brandenburg poet Theodor Fontane found his final resting place.
And another place that I am connected to
mountain slopes, the Oder flows along them,
passes by in a lazy course,
yellow mumblebees swim on it.
On the shore shipyard and reeds and rushes,
and crosses shimmer on the slope,
bright sunshine falls on one, –
there my father has his stone.
Theodor Fontane, from his poem "My Graves"
That stone hides a little secret: Louis Henri Fontane, the father's name, was probably pronounced French in his time. This may be the reason that led the stonemason to make a spelling mistake on the gravestone. Find out!
Neo-baroque elements and a precursor to Prussian classicism characterise the form and architectural style of the Neutornow church, which was built in 1770. However, the building initially stood on the mountainside without a tower. The congregation had to wait more than a hundred years for one. Originally, the church housed an organ made by the well-known Berlin company Lange and Dinse. After a fire on the Day of Repentance in 1929, it was no longer playable. It was replaced in the 1950s by an organ made by the Eberswalde organ builder Gerbich. Its pipes are covered by wooden frames covered with fabric. The ravages of time have eroded both the fabric and the organ over the years. After the last restoration of the organ, the desire arose to replace the old covering as well. For this, not just any fabric was used, but one that is very symbolic in the Oderbruch. "The great Oder flood in 1997 caused the dyke to break and flooded parts of the Oderbruch. The sections of the dike that had been softened by the water were secured with sandbags at great expense and risk. After the flood was tamed, there were bags left over that no longer needed to be filled," says Johanna Lukas. "They were used in the organ paneling." A nice anecdote and proof of the pragmatism of the Oderbruch people.
Johanna Lukas leads us up the church tower to the mechanical clockwork and winds the tower clock by hand. Three families from Neutornow share this duty and one of their members regularly climbs the many wooden steps of the tower to keep the clockwork running.
Down the mountainside, a few steps along the road and we are standing in front of another cultural heritage site, the Neutornow pumping station, built in 1895. In the ensemble with the houses of the pumping station masters, it is considered an important technical historical testimony to flood protection in the Oderbruch. It can usually only be viewed from the outside.
Back to the Fontanes: Before Louis Henri Fontane was buried in Neutornow, he spent the last years of his life with his housekeeper in the neighboring town of Schiffmühle. On the occasion of the 200th birthday of his son Theodor in 2019, his father's house was renovated and reopened with a contemporary exhibition. Since then, the fourth cultural heritage site on Neuenhagen Island has counted many thousands of visitors. Read more about this place in episode four of the journey through the cultural heritage sites.
For more information about the Oderbruch Museum and the cultural heritage in the Oderbruch, please see here.