Dr. Dietrich Diederichs-Gottschalk (Padingbüttel/Wurster Nordseeküste): Stage of Ducal and Civic Representation – The St. Severi Church in Otterndorf with its Protestant Furnishings

The Land Hadeln, with its town and residence church in Otterndorf, is a region characterized by Hanseatic urban culture. The reasons for this lie in the wealth of the small exclave of the Duchy of Lauenburg at that time, as well as in the specific shaping of a communally organized, self-responsible marsh society. Their expressions of life in representative artworks at the symbolic locations of their independently organized parishes serve as a picture book of social, economic, artistic, and religious history. They are material testimonies of a culture that encompasses more than the narrative of picturesque rural churches. The example of the Otterndorf church illustrates the high-quality artistic creations that emerged in the dialogue between the city's upper class and in competition with the ducal court. These artworks and church furnishings are significant sources that need to be deciphered from a social and religious historical perspective. Dr. theol. Dietrich Diederichs-Gottschalk is a retired pastor and author of several publications on art and confessional history.