Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: folding altar

The fortified town of Stendal was founded by the first Brandenburg Margrave Albert the Bear and granted Magdeburg rights about 1160. A deed issued by Emperor Heinrich II in 1022, in which the village appears among the possessions of the Michaeliskloster in Hildesheim, is a 12th-century forgery. Stendal quickly prospered as a center of commerce and trade. The parish of St. Jacobi was founded in the 12th century. The construction of a Franciscan monastery began in 1230. In the 13th century, the Stendal Seafarers' Guild was formed, which traded its own ships in the Baltic and North Sea areas. The oldest documented mention of the church of St. Marien dates back to 1283. Stendal received city walls around 1300 and in 1338 a Latin school was built. The local merchants joined the Hanseatic League in 1358 and purchased the privilege of minting from the Brandenburg margraves in 1369. Just like in neighboring Tangermünde, the citizens of Stendal rebelled against the beer tax in 1488. - In 1188, Margrave Otto II and his brother Heinrich von Gardelegen, both sons of the Ascanian Otto I, founded a collegiate monastery in Stendal. The chapter consisted of twelve secular canons. It was independent of the bishop, was directly subordinate to the pope, and was, therefore, an important spiritual center in the Altmark area. The canons had church patronage over all Stendal parish churches, as well as numerous churches in the surrounding villages. Around the same time, the construction of the first collegiate church is started. It was a three-nave basilica with a transept and choir apse, similar to the monastery church of Jerichow. Of this first building, the lower part of the west facade is preserved, below the two early Gothic towers. The present building was erected from 1423 onwards. Towards the middle of the 15th century, the new church was probably largely completed. It is a three-nave, four-bay hall church with a transept and nave choir. The west building from the second quarter of the 13th century was taken over from the foundation building. The top floor of the towers dates from the 15th century and is crowned by pointed helmets. The transept has a richly decorated stepped gable on the north side. - The folding altar was reassembled from the remains of three altars and shows Mary with the Magi (~ 1430) in the center. The five people (incl. infant Jesus) share three nimbuses.

The town of Adenau, located in the Eifel, a mountain range stretching west to Belgium, is known since 992 when it was mentioned in a document by King Otto III under the name "Adenova". In 1162, Ulrich von Are donated his manor in Adenau to the Knights of St. John (Sovereign Military Order of Malta). Adenau thus became the third oldest branch of this order in Germany. A church dedicated to St John the Baptist probably already existed in the 10th century. When Ulrich von Are had his manor in Adenau to the Knights of St. John "his" church was probably part of the deal. In the 12th century, two side aisles were added and in the 13th century a new choir, which was used exclusively by the Knights of St John. At the end of the 15th century, the nave was vaulted. In 1908/09, the old choir and sacristy were demolished and a new building erected. The old nave was completely destroyed at the end of WWII, so that a new building was erected in 1969. Parts of the old outer walls were converted into an atrium. Following the information given in the church, the Gothic winged retable was created in the early 16th century and renovated in the 1860s.

Lügde was first mentioned in 784 in the "Annales Regni Francorum" ("Royal Frankish Annals") when Charlemagne celebrated his first Christmas in what was then the Duchy of Saxony, namely in "Villa Liuhidi". The "Villa Liuhidi" was probably a small fortified place. The town of Lügde may have had "some importance" as early as 1195, as a coin minted that year exists. It is certain that the city charter was granted in 1246 at the latest, as the town plan, which is still in its original form today, and the fortifications, such as the town wall, moat and defence towers, were created during this time. Lügde was a planned foundation by the Pyrmont Counts. It has the typical three-street system with the main axis and two side streets. For a while, Lügde was the capital of the County of Pyrmont and the seat of the counts. As the older St. Kilian (see previous. uploads) church was located outside the now fortified town, a new church was erected inside the walls from around 1250 on. An inscription tells us, that in 1353 Magister Edulus and Thiderius completed (the tower). The nave was completed in an early Gothic style, the choir (in 1408) was late Gothic. In February 1775 Lügde was hit by a flooding catastrophe. The church was severely damaged and could not be used for a long time. In September 1797 Lüdge was nearly completely gutted by fire. The church was burned down and even the bells were melted. The church got rebuilt, but finally replaced by today´s neo-Gothic church at the end of the 19th century. This work of art is much older than the church. It is the center part of a late Gothic folding altar. The other parts of the triptych are lost. It was probably carved in Antwerp around 1520.