Köln-Bickendorf, Epiphaniaskirche - Weimbs Orgelbau GmbH

— Restoration of the Sauer organ (1938) —

In the course of the redesign of the church of the Protestant Epiphaniaskirche in Cologne-Bickendorf, the existing Sauer organ was also to be given a new location.

The organ was built in 1938 by the renowned organ builder W. Sauer of Frankfurt/Oder as Opus 1554. The instrument has 11 stops, divided into 2 manuals and pedal. The wind chests are manufactured as electro-pneumatic membrane chests.

The instrument was originally built for another church building. It stood in a wall recess before being installed in the Epiphaniaskirche. This is also the reason why a new organ case had to be made before moving it to Epiphaniaskirche. The front pipes made of zinc have been kept and are still speaking into originally intended direction.

After conversion and restoration, the case work’s colour was adapted to the newly designed church interior. The organ’s electrical system has been completely revised, taking into account the safety regulations in force at the time of the measure. However, special emphasis was placed on the fact that the new electrical system is optically oriented to the style of the organ. Thus, the aesthetics of the organ-building was preserved despite the installation of the new electrical system and once again a piece of organ culture could be secured and preserved.

Also, the partly still original membranes of the wind chests were not simply replaced, but with extensive manual labour technically revised and re-leathered. Thus, the original membranes with the stamps of the Sauer company remain working parts of the organ.