Friesenkapelle Wenningstedt, Lutheran chapel in Wenningstedt-Braderup, Germany
The Friesenkapelle is an Evangelical Lutheran chapel in Wenningstedt-Braderup on Sylt, built in 1915 to designs by Swedish architect Kristoffer Zetterstrand. Its whitewashed interior has a vaulted ceiling painted with eleven biblical scenes in peasant style, including Christ calming the storm and the apostles Paul and Peter. Behind the altar, a cross of white-and-blue Delft tiles forms the wall decoration.
The foundation stone was laid in December 1914, and the chapel was consecrated on 20 June 1915. It was built as the parish church for Sylt's northern villages, and its design is attributed to the Swedish artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand. The first bell was cast in 1897 and hung in 1932; two more followed in 1966.
Inside, a painted band beneath the ceiling carries the Lord's Prayer in a rhymed version of Sölring, the Sylt North Frisian dialect. Services are held in High German, while the neighbouring village of Westerland has a Danish-language congregation at Staldkirken.
The chapel stands in the centre of Wenningstedt, with the village pond in front of it and the Denghoog passage grave directly behind. Services are held in High German, not in the Frisian of the inscription inside. The neighbouring Danish-language congregation meets in the Staldkirken in Westerland.
The three bells differ in age and maker: the h' bell of 238 kg was cast by Ulrich in 1897 and bears the inscription "Christus ist unser Friede"; the d" and e" bells, 184 kg and 129 kg, were cast by Rincker in 1966, the larger inscribed "Gott der Herr ist Sonne und Schild anno domini 1966". The first bell rang from March 1932, the other two from 1966.
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