Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf

What if I told you this Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf wasn’t always a church? This sanctuary, consecrated in 1967, has a past as vibrant as its stained-glass windows, created by the artist Werner Juza. Before the hymns echoed within these walls, laughter and music filled the air. This building, you see, began its life as a dance hall, part of a local inn known as the “Schweizerhaus”. The Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf’s journey began long before 1967, though. Before the Reformation, local Christians belonged to the Panitzsch Church and buried their dead in Zweenfurth. As Borsdorf grew, it established its own cemetery and eventually, in 1906, its own parish, separate from Beucha-Zweenfurth. Church services initially took place in repurposed classrooms in the school’s east wing. They even had a bell tower atop the school, where a 130-kilogram iron bell, inscribed with “Come, let us return to the Lord”, first rang out in 1907. The purchase of the “Schweizerhaus” in 1925, with its attached dance hall, marked a significant step for the Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf community. Not only did the inn provide a residence for the pastor, but the dance hall also became the new space for worship. In 1961, Pastor Gottfried Schille, a young man of 32, arrived in Borsdorf. He had a vision for a dedicated church building. So, in 1964, the old dance hall was demolished. In its place, using the existing foundation and some of the original walls, the Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf began to rise. Interestingly, the plot’s shape and the retained walls dictated a north-south orientation, rather than the traditional east-facing alignment. This unique construction, a transformation from a place of revelry to a place of reverence, was made possible through the combined efforts of the Gossner Mission and the Gustav-Adolf-Werk. Young volunteers from Hungary, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland all contributed to building this special place. The consecration ceremony on February 26, 1967, was a momentous occasion. The community gathered, and the four newly cast bronze bells of the Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf chimed for the first time. Fifty years later, in 2017, another celebration marked the church’s anniversary. And so, the Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Borsdorf continues its story, a testament to the enduring spirit of faith and community, a story etched not just in stone and glass, but in the hearts of those who gather here. A unique feature is the Christusmonogramm, instead of the traditional cross, adorning the church, a reflection of the political climate of its birth in East Germany.