April 21, 2002

Just outside of Westertimke, Spring is a little late in coming, so the leaves are just forming. The landscape includes large fields as well as patches of leafy-treed forests and pine forests. The land is pretty flat. Our visit occured on a clear, sunny day, a little unusual for this time of year.

The fields are used to grow grains for livestock. Some cattle are seen in the distance. Near this wooded area is another clearing used by a gliderport. There were dozens of gliders queued up when we passed by yesterday, since it was such a nice, clear day.

All German towns are marked with a sign at the entrance (and exit) indicating the town's name and the region. Westertimke has only houses, no businesses, and belongs to the regional area of Rotenburg. Since Rotenburg (red castle) is used for three other towns in Germany, this particular Rotenburg is identified by the river that runs through it (Wümme). The population of Westertimke and Kirchtimke together is perhaps 1000 residents; Rotenburg has about 10,000.

In addition to the official traffic sign, Kirchtimke had a special sign put up a few years ago to celebrate its 850th anniversary. Note the town seal has a drawing of our church. "Kirch" means "church", and "timke" is derived from "meeting place on a hill".

The front of the Lambertus-Kirche in Kirchtimke, named after St. Lambert.(7th century saint from Northern German area). The church is part of the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church in Germany. The current building was built in 1739. I was able to get a 40-page brochure of the church history with lots of construction details. The tower was rebuilt in 1884.

Just to the right of the church is a small cemetary, with perhaps 20 markers.

Above the front door is the phrase "Er is unser Friede"; a literal translation is something like "God is our Peace".

The inside of the church is rather plain. The pews are painted white, the floor is the original tile, and the pulpit and the altar are on new foundation stones. The roof is wooden and the walls are tinted yellow plaster. I haven't read enough of the book to determine how old the windows are, etc. It is certain that our Holtzen ancestors walked on these same floors.

During a minor refurbishment in 1962, the crucifix was to be replaced with a more attractive one. It was found out, however, that the crucifix was hollow, and contained a small container of sand from the Holy Land as well as relics from St. Lambert! The crucifix was dated to about 1280. It was restored and replaced in the church.

The pulpit was built in 1739, and includes paintings of the "SALVATOR" (Savior) and the four gospel writers. Sermons from this pulpit were made at the funerals of all the Holtzen ancestors.

Looking at the left side of the front, the baptismal font is seen. The liturgists were seated behind the little railing during the Sunday morning service we attended. The service included lots of singing, accompanied by the organ and a trombonist.

A baptism was about to take place after the service, but we did not stay for it. This baptismal font was used for all our ancestors - it is dated to about 1200 AD!

In the side of the church are several wooden walls decorated with names of those members who were killed in WWII.

There are several names that also occur in the Holtzen family tree; GERKEN, OTTEN, BRASE, HOLSTEN, MANGELS, and for the Bruns side; BRUNS and HEITMANN. Since most of our ancestors came from the surrounding villages, its likely we are related.

(click here to go to the Kirchtimke page or the Scheessel page)