Out in the middle of the Northern Free State farm land is a little church. Not a very special building, not very large, not very beautiful but it has history and this is the reason I have decided to write about it.
This church is the Groenvlei German Lutheran Church. It gets its name from the farm roughly in the middle of the triangle formed by Heilbron, Koppies and Sasolburg. Click here to view the exact position.
The building was erected in 1921 on a foundation of natural stone. The walls, judging by the thickness, are constructed using burned bricks. On the broad side are support pillars put in from the beginning to prevent the building from slipping. In addition there are some tension bars to keep the two walls together. No major cracks can be seen. The structure is very solidly built (as I would expect from a team of German builders).
The only reminder of the German origins of the church is the marking on the toilet doors, saying 'DAMEN' and 'HERREN'.
Groenvlei German Lutheran Church (Horst Müller)
Inside the church are wooden benches, all still in good order. The altar is also wooden with no excessive decoration. The church used to have an organ, a small one about the size of a piano. This has been removed and is in private hands for preservation purposes. The church has a capacity of approximately 80 people.
The plain design and...
