"Altstadt" Stolpen Off The Beaten Path Tip by german_eagle

Below the actual town, close to the small Wesenitz river, is a district of Stolpen that is named "Altstadt" (old town). At first this sounds weird, one would assume that the picturesque town around the Market square *is* the old town. The reason is that originally the settlement (named Jockgrim back then) was founded down by the river, quite a distance from the castle. A century or so later the authorities thought it would be more convenient - and safer - to have a town right by the castle. So they founded what is nowadays the proper town, and really, it grew quite fast and the former settlement with name Jochgrimm was renamed "old town".

Anyway, nowadays this is a cute village-like place with some beautiful, large farmhouses in typical local style (timber-framed and some even "Umgebinde" houses). They all assemble around the small parish church. The walls go back to the Romanesque era. The simple portal is Gothic style, the interior (after several re-designs) is from 1832. The altar with integrated pulpit - typical for Lutheran churches in Saxony - is from the late 18th century, a former - beautiful - altar painting is from 1664. There are two baptismal fonts in the church, one from 1832 and another one from 1570 that was found on nearby farmland (!) in the late 20th century.

A remarkable piece is the organ by local Wilhelm Leberecht Herbrig from 1859. It's a very good work, only few of his organs are preserved. Watch out for concerts!

Sometimes the doors are open during the day, if not, ask at the nearby carpenter workshop. The lady in the office will get Frau Löbel who lives in the house vis-a-vis. Frau Löbel will give you a detailed tour of the church. Plan for a half hour (or longer) :-)

Website: http://www.herbrig-orgelstrasse.de