ST PAUL’S CHURCH
HAHNDORF LUTHERAN
PAUL SCOTT
A brief history of this Church is given below. However, if you want to begin your tour of the Church immediately, tap / click on START . You can also access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
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SATELLITE VIEW
From Adelaide we travel down the South Eastern Freeway before turning left at the Hahndorf exit. We then drive along Mount Barker Road – the main street of Hahndorf – coming out at top left of our satellite view. St Paul’s Lutheran Church can then be seen on our left, set back from the road. There is ample parking in the Church grounds, with entry just south of the Church.
The Church is aligned with the town grid, meaning that the main axis of the Church is angled some 20° away from due east – west. We shall find it convenient to use liturgical directions (as indicated by the compass rose on the roof of the Church hall!) with the sanctuary pointing due East (with a capital letter) and the other directions accordingly.
We see that the main Church is essentially rectangular in shape. It looks as though a rectangular sanctuary addition has been added at the East: I suspect this private area is a vestry. There is also a tower in the Northwest corner, and a small entry porch added to the West wall in the Southwest corner. As well, there is a large well-designed complex of buildings attached to the Church at the Eastern end incorporating a foyer, hall, kitchen, toilets and offices.
HISTORY
Year Built: 1890
Address: 10 Main Street, Hahndorf SA 5245
Hahndorf was settled by persecuted Lutherans fleeing for their faith from Prussia and East Germany in 1839. Through their hard work, these people made a significant contribution to the progress of the new colony of South Australia which had become a British province in 1836 and later joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. It was the first Australian town specifically planned for and settled by a group of non- British immigrants. Hahndorf is Australia's oldest surviving Germanic settlement.
https://localwiki.org/adelaide-hills/Hahndorf_-_Emigration
The first St Paul’s Church erected in 1858 is still standing in Windsor Avenue.
The present St Paul’s Lutheran Church, with its distinctive 20-metre bell tower, was built in 1890 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first Lutheran church in Australia and because of it’s prominent position on the Main Street and traditional 19th Century architecture, has become a landmark to local residents. It was designed by well-known Adelaide architect F.W. Dancker, and built by D. Both of Eudunda, at a cost of £1,260. The stone was carted from behind the Verdun Hotel, and the bell tower was imported from Germany.
This predominantly Gothic-style church replaced a former (1858) St Paul’s Church. The original St Paul’s Church was located on Windsor Avenue and is now the Louise Flierl Mission Museum, honouring the memory of those who completed missionary work in Papua New Guinea and South East Asia. St Paul’s has been an integral part of Hahndorf’s history since 1839, establishing and maintaining a ministry of care for its congregation and the wider community.
In 1846, doctrinal differences between Pastor Kavel and Pastor Fritzche saw Hahndorf’s population divided into two separate Lutheran churches. Pastor Fritzche and his followers retained the original church property (St Michael’s), while Pastor Kavel’s group built the small brick church that was the original St Paul’s.
In 1970 St Paul’s built sixteen independent living units known as St Paul’s Court on Windsor Avenue. Following soon after, another eight units were built on Windsor Avenue (Fischer Court) and twelve units on Church Street (Kavel Court), and in the 1990’s St Paul’s built a facility to house low care hostel beds on Braun Drive. To continue the mission to service the elderly in the community ten serviced units were added to the facilities available, and in 2002 a twenty unit cottage was constructed to service clients with dementia and offer a comprehensive range of care for specific needs.
St Paul’s hopes to continue to expand the provision of services for the elderly in our community. St Paul’s also offers a variety of friendship groups with the aim of meeting various age related needs.
https://localwiki.org/adelaide-hills/St_Paul%27s_Lutheran_Church_-_Hahndorf
