ISO Congress Pomerania 2008

The Congress was organised by Kristian Wegscheider with assistance from Andzej Szadejko, Szymon Januszkievicz, Matej Podzencek, Jan Drozdowicz, Christian Scheffler, Martin Rost, Ilka Kühne (Wegscheider workshop), and Matthias Weisbach (Wegscheider workshop), and attracted 150 participants.

Kristian Wegscheider

Those who had registered for the Pre-Congress were shown round the magnificent castle at Malbork/Marienburg and the church in Pelplin with its historic organ case where a concert was given on both organs.

The start and opening of the Congress was in Gdansk with a concert in the magnificent St Mary's Church. The next day the participants could see organs in Gdansk and its surroundings. The Gdansk section of the Congress ended with an evening concert on the large organ in Oliva Cathedral where all the moving elements on the magnificent organ case were demonstrated. The evening was rounded off with a splendid meal and jazz concert in the City Hall Cellar.

Later the Congress moved to Stralsund in Germany, and on the way we were able to see organs in Stolp, Bialogard. On the ship that was to take us from Poland to Germany, colleagues from Kristian Wegscheider's workshop provided lively entertainment with traditional German folk songs and sea shanties accompanied on harmonium and violin. For the first time ever, the first session of the General Assembly took place on board whilst sailing to Usedom in Germany, whence we continued by train to Stralsund, passing the birthplace of our former President Fritz Noack.

Despite having spent a long day travelling, many participants accepted the tempting invitation to go to the Marienkirche and Nicolaikirche for late night music and those who did were richly rewarded. In the soothing atmosphere the instruments enveloped us with intimate sounds; surely one of the most unforgettable moments of this Congress.

Happy train enthusiasts

The next day was taken up with a visit to the island of Rügen where we saw the Kindten organs at Gingst and Sagard, as well as the Grüneberg organ in Bergen. The day continued with a trip on the narrow gauge steam train Rasende Roland; interest in trains and organs often go together. Dinner was served at the hunting castle Granitz where most of us, overcoming our vertigo, climbed the 38 metres high open iron spiral staircase up to the top of the tower from which there was a stunning view over the island.

Kindten organ at Sagard

The following day saw a trip to Nehringen where we sang hymns and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the parish which had struggled very hard to restore their church and Mehmel organ after war damage and neglect during the communist era. We continued to Demmin where our former ISO Secretary Kurt Lueders gave a concert on the Buchholz-Grüneberg organ. We then went to the almost circular wooden chapel in Griebenow with its delightful two-stop positive from the end of the 17th century. The evening was spent in Barth around the Buchholz-Grüneberg organ, finishing with a grand concert during which parts of Mendelssohn's "Elias" were sung accompanied on the organ.

Friday was spent in Stralsund where the participants had opportunity to listen to and inspect the organs of Marienkirche and Nicolaikirche. Lectures were also held in the Marienkirche during the day. We were privileged to hear the newly restored organ in the Marienkirche prior to its re-inauguration. The final banquet was held in the former St Catherine's monastery. The second session of the General Assembly was held in the Jacobikirche with its magnificent 1741 organ case still awaiting restoration.

The organs visited during the Congress were very well demonstrated by, amongst others, Andzej Szadejko and Martin Rost.

After an intense week with much to assimilate, both Congress organisers and participants began to feel some weariness after so many early mornings and late evenings (for some even later nights in the bar). As always on ISO Congresses, there were plenty of opportunities to talk to colleagues and friends and discuss common interests.

ISO Congress 2008 participants at the Griebenow chapel

A very big and hearty thank to Kristian Wegscheider and his team for their efforts and thorough preparation and organization of this enriching Congress, which gave us organbuilders a renewed collective awareness of our tasks, and joy for our work.