AUGUST 2025 – Interior of the historic St. Jürgen church in Grube i. Holstein, Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is a photo from our 2025 trip to the German Baltic Sea. It shows the interior of the historic St. Jürgen church in Grube i. Holstein which dates back to the 13th century. My 5x great grandmother, Sophia Elisabeth Klöppins (“Sophie Lisebeth Cloppin”) was baptized there in 1746. Her father got baptized here, too, and he married Sophias mother here. They probably were rather poor, because Sophia grew up from early childhood with her uncle, Thomas Klöppin, a carpenter and pub owner in Sipstorp.
It was truly exciting to visit the place where 300 years ago members of my family tree were baptized and got married. The church probably has not changed significantly over that time – a strong, re-assuring signal that has survived wars and crises throughout the centuries.
But the signal gets weaker. Fewer and fewer worshippers are attending church services these days. Thus, since 2020 the parish of Grube has exhibited life-size, contemporary-looking wooden sculptures of people by the German sculptor Stephan Guber in the church. This enables churchgoers and visitors to encounter these unfamiliar “visitors”, reflect on their own lives and join them in their silent prayers.
Read more about the church on the official homepage (in German.)
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 21-AUG-2025, 10:13 |
| Location | Grube i. Holstein, Germany |
| Camera | Canon EOS 1D Mark IV |
| Lens | Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM |
| ISO | 800 |
| Exposure | 1/25 sec at f/2.8 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4767 x 3178 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
Zanzig.com Photo Hub 