Leck in Schleswig-Holstein
Leck now is a small community with about 7.000 inhabitants. The local tourism organisation has developed the region arround Leck in an attractive manner. The center of the village will not have changed substantially since the
middle of 19th century. Especially St.-Willehad-Church presents itself
the way the Nagel family knew it from church-going.
The nave of the romanic building presents itself with the typical mixture
of granit, soft volcanic stone (frequently imported from the Eifel region)
and red brick. This was the way small churches of Schleswig-Holstein were
mostly built because of the absence of natural stone material in this
sandy region. By the enlargement of 1807 the choir and the apsis of the
old church had disappeared.
When I visited the church in Summer 2002 I was impressed by the results
of restauration from 10 years ago. There is a beautiful old furnishing
consisting in beam ceiling, gallery and altar wood carving
from 1520 by Master Claus Berg from Odense. But I rather appreciated
the wonderful Renaissance pulpit. There are some peculiar objects within the church ground, i.e. stone
coffins from 12th century which were washed ashore from the North
Sea. The information board explains: "Probably before 1150 christianised
immigrants from East and West Friesland brought the custom of burying
rich people (e.g. salt merchants) in stone coffins to North Friesland.
These Rhine land made coffins consisted of sandstone from Mainz and were
exported as merchandise by ship. Centuries later, these coffins were found
repeatedly in the Wadden Sea as remnants of settlements sunk by storm
tides. People then often used them as cattle troughs. [...]."
Leaving the village center and following the Bahnhofstrasse (railway-station-street)
you will see the building of the now abandoned rail way station from the
beginning of the 20th century. Also some brick houses seem to be from
those times. |
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