Organ landscape of East Frisia: History and Key Facts

With more than 90 important organs from six centuries, the Organ landscape East Frisia is one of the richest organ landscapes in the world. The term organ landscape alone refers to the historically determined regional characteristics of the organs. 60 of the East Frisian organs date from before 1850. In addition, there are 15 historical Prospekt, behind which new Werke are installed. While Dutch organ building was influential for East Frisia in the 15th and 16th centuries, influences from Hamburg and Westphalia were added in the 17th and 18th centuries. East Frisian organ building in the 19th century was conservative until around 1870 and created instruments according to Baroque building principles. As relatively few new organs were built between 1870 and 1950, many historical instruments were preserved. Almost all of the original instruments have been restored in an exemplary manner over the last 50 years, bringing them back to their original sound and providing impetus for restoration practice and organ building worldwide. In recent decades, the public has become increasingly aware of the value of these instruments and the organ landscape of East Frisia has been made accessible to organ builders and organists from all over the world, as well as to the general public.

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