The king among musical instruments
The largest, original Baroque organ in Europe, designed by Arp Schnitger and completed by his sons Frans Casper and Johann George.
The organ has been called the king among instruments. The music touches you and the size of the organ captures your imagination. Our Schnitger organ, the largest baroque organ in Europe, was built in 1721 and is considered a true masterpiece.
The Schnitger Organ
Het grootste, originele Barokorgel van Europa – het Schnitgerorgel – bevindt zich in Academiehuis Grote Kerk Zwolle. Het orgel was bij de oplevering in 1721 – door de gebroeders Frans Casper en Johann George Schnitger, zoons van Arp Schnitger - het grootste instrument in ons land en wordt nog steeds gerekend tot een van de beste Barokorgels ter wereld. Het orgel bevat ruim 4000 pijpen en telt 64 sprekende stemmen. Het orgel wordt in stand gehouden door Stichting Schnitgerorgel Zwolle. Voor meer informatie over het orgel kan je dan ook kijken op de website van het Schnitgerorgel.
Restoration
Investigations into the condition of the organ revealed that it is in worse shape than previously thought. The restoration plan of consultant Cees van der Poel gives a lot of guidance for the restoration to be carried out. An interesting fact here is that during the 1954-56 restoration, Flentrop left a lot of surplus original material with the organ, which has been quietly lying around for the past decades. This material can now serve as an example for the original design of the organ. The total cost of this intervention is estimated at over €1.9 million. We hope to have a restored sound and color of the Schnitger organ in optima forma by 2023!
