Schrotholzkirche (Scrap wood church) Wespen, Barby, Germany
Posted by: 
DH5MM
N 51° 57.553 E 011° 49.600
32U E 694209 N 5760276
Schrotholzkirche in Wespen is the only shingle-roofed scrap wood church in Germany
Waymark Code: WM13Q36
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Date Posted: 01/29/2021
Views: 2
The only shingle-roofed scrap wood church in Germany is located in the small village Wespen. This construction technique - characterized by the use of roughly hewn wood - was mainly used in Silesia. The fact that such a church can be found in the middle of Saxony-Anhalt can be traced back to the Thirty Years' War. The village of Wespen had been abandoned by its inhabitants and was increasingly deteriorating. Regent Duke August campaigned for Bohemian religious refugees to settle in the village. The new residents finally built the church from 1687-89 on a small hill in the middle of the village. The rectangular block building has a drawn-in polygonal east end, with a roof tower boarded over the west gable. Renovation work on the church took place as early as the 18th and 19th centuries. There were also plans for a new building, but they were never implemented. Even after the building was severely damaged by air raids in 1941, the original building was restored. In 1968 the church was renovated again, but the cement plaster was applied too thickly, which led to the formation of dry rot. This and damage to the western base meant that the church had to be closed in 1986. The impending collapse could be prevented by an emergency protection program of the German Foundation for Monument Protection. From 1991 to 1996 the foundation participated in the necessary measures and so the church could be returned to its intended purpose at the end of June 1997.
source:
Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz
Wikipedia