About the organs of the Taubach church St. Ursula
is not known before 1670. The pastor Mr Prediger suspects in his explanation, that an existing organ might have been destroyed by plundering soldiers during the Thirty Years' War.
On 15th(Jul.)/25th(Gre.) January 1670 the Taubachien Mr Caspar Fritsch and Mr Hans Krippendorf, the baker, handed over the half of a bass viola which they bought together. The second half was donated by the Jena town piper Mr Erhardt Krippendorf. Whether this bass viola was a miniature organ, the part of a large organ or a viola is still unclear.
A large organ was set in Taubach first in 1680. This was the used organ from the church in Tiefengruben. The organ was bought from the Weimar organ builder Mr Georg Bernhard Rücker for 16 thalers. The case blends cost further two talers and twelve groschens, another twelve groschens received the organ builder journeyman as tip. The sum was raised by the pastor Mr Müller and the schoolmaster Mr Johann Philipp Zohn, they who each gave a thaler, Mr Hans Mönch, who also gave a thaler of his legacy, the former Councilor and tanner Mr Hanns Zwanden from Pößneck, who donated six thalers and 19 groschens, as well as the unmarried virgin Ms Magdalena Schenck from Taubach, who gave nine thalers and five groschens.
On 05th July 1709 the General Superintendent Mr Johann Georg Lairitz, in the presence of pastor and Adjuncto Mr Johann Rüdiger Bönnecke as well as the Taubach justice assessor Mr Hans Michael Gottschalk, ordered a new organ by Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs, who later became the official organ builder to the Duchy of Saxony-Weimar, for the Taubach Church. This should be made "mit nach beschriebenen Registern und tüchtigen Pfeiffen zu verfertigen" (accorded to described stops and stalwart whistles); 110 thalers were negotiated as price, of which 30 thalers were immediately paid out in cash. The organ was checked, played and accepted by the famous composer Mr Johann Sebastian Bach, who received 16 groschens for his work, which corresponds to the purchasing power of about 50 euros.
After the construction of the nave of the Taubach church St. Ursula in the years 1849/50 a new organ was needed. This was crafted by the organ builder August Witzman from Stadtilm in 1851, and has two manuals and a pedalboard as well as 21 sounding stops. The Kantor-Catechet Mr Peter Vieweg (1937-1990) actively serviced the organ during the GDR period. Since 2011 the organ is no longer playable and the Taubach parish decided in 2016, that the parish let the not only historically valuable instrument renovate by the firm Orgelbau Waltershausen in a historical compatible manner. As this project need to be financed, the Taubach parish solicits for donations - you are able to help too, please. Thank you.
Now it is almost done - on 07th June 2020 at 10:30 a.m. the restored organ should be sound again during a dedication service with Superintendent Herbst, Pastor Oberthür, sacred music director Dreißig and the organist Schurig. So the plan, then Corona came around the corner. Unfortunately, the author does not yet know how and when it does proceed.