At the beginning of August as the city was preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the Lutheran church in Marx (Saratov region) had almost regained its original form. Built as a church on the central town square, it was turned into a “house of culture” during Soviet times; now it is a church again, with a new tower and bell.
The congregation in Marx, then Marxstadt, was closed exactly 85 years ago, on the 5th of August 1930. In 1941 its cross was removed, and the clock on the tower stopped working. It is said that someone took home the keys to the clock, waiting for a time when the Russian Germans, exiled to Siberia by Stalin, could return. Unfortunately, the bell tower was destroyed long before that could occur. The excuse for taking down the tower was that some boys had climbed up it chasing pigeons, and one of them fell. This might have been the case, but the real reason for its destruction was that the tower of the former Lutheran church, located just across the street from the Communist Party headquarters, irritated local officials. Long-time local residents say that those few Germans who had escaped deportation stayed home and prayed in quiet on the day the tower was torn down, while Russian women who walked by had angry words for those doing the destruction – it might not have been their church, but it was a church nonetheless, and they knew that it was wrong to destroy it.
The building hosted the town's only cultural events in the Soviet period, but in the 1990s it changed hands a number of times before it was finally returned to the Lutheran congregation for its use. It is not the church's own property yet, though, and that is a matter of time and money. It is a huge building and the congregation, even though there are around 300 people there for worship on Christmas, the congregation still cannot maintain a building that was meant for 3000. Yet a local sponsor, Vitkor Schmidt from Saratov, is doing a lot to restore the building. For now the congregation is grateful for the cross that acts as a sign and even beacon of faith for all who live in the city.
The congregation in Marx, then Marxstadt, was closed exactly 85 years ago, on the 5th of August 1930. In 1941 its cross was removed, and the clock on the tower stopped working. It is said that someone took home the keys to the clock, waiting for a time when the Russian Germans, exiled to Siberia by Stalin, could return. Unfortunately, the bell tower was destroyed long before that could occur. The excuse for taking down the tower was that some boys had climbed up it chasing pigeons, and one of them fell. This might have been the case, but the real reason for its destruction was that the tower of the former Lutheran church, located just across the street from the Communist Party headquarters, irritated local officials. Long-time local residents say that those few Germans who had escaped deportation stayed home and prayed in quiet on the day the tower was torn down, while Russian women who walked by had angry words for those doing the destruction – it might not have been their church, but it was a church nonetheless, and they knew that it was wrong to destroy it.
The building hosted the town's only cultural events in the Soviet period, but in the 1990s it changed hands a number of times before it was finally returned to the Lutheran congregation for its use. It is not the church's own property yet, though, and that is a matter of time and money. It is a huge building and the congregation, even though there are around 300 people there for worship on Christmas, the congregation still cannot maintain a building that was meant for 3000. Yet a local sponsor, Vitkor Schmidt from Saratov, is doing a lot to restore the building. For now the congregation is grateful for the cross that acts as a sign and even beacon of faith for all who live in the city.
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