This page has been translated by Sophie Visser®. Short history of the congregation "Vloedschuur" (tidal shed) and her organ Decennia ago in Heteren, in the East of Holland, there was a little old church, in which the small reformed community met. After a while the church was demolished because it was in a bad state and they built a temporary wooden church. This church lasted several years until the council instructed that it be pulled down. From then on people went to attend church in the community centre. This was problematic for the reformed community because this building was not exclusively for religious purposes. Because of that, around the turn of the century, an old barn was seen as a solution. This barn had been in use for several centuries as a shelter for cattle, especially during periods of high tide. For that reason the floor had been heightened with earth. As the shed was nearly falling into ruin, it had to be restored urgently. A building plan was made and after a lot of discussion the builders agreed to leave the front and rear wall, as well as the beams. In fact, it was not possible to remove these beams, existing of complete tree trunks, because otherwise all of the building would have collapsed. With the effort of many voluntary workers the ruined barn was changed into a fine building with a thatched roof which was baptized "De Vloedschuur" (The Tidal Shed). An organ had not been thought about, as there was no money. It went without saying that the simple electronic organ should be kept in use. However, totally unexpectedly the community heard that a pipe organ had to be removed from a nunnery in Tegelen, a nearby city. This nunnery, and the accompanying chapel needed to be restored and because of that the organ had to go. For the nuns it was very important the organ would get a religious destination and they agreed to donate it to the religious community of De Vloedschuur. The nuns in front of the organ at the celebrational introduction of the instrument at 21 September 2002 The organ was built in 1959 by Vermeulen Brothers at Weert in the South of Holland. On the 8th of March, Laetare Sunday, of the same year, the new organ came into use. Mr. Hub Houet, a well known organist and composer, gave assistance to the introduction. He was a member of the Roman Catholic clocks and organs council and advised frequently about organs. In 1995 the whole organ had been cleaned thoroughly and reconditioned. Until the end of 2001 the instrument had been in maintenance with the Vermeulen Brothers. Organ builder Witteveen, who was called in, dismantled the organ with some volunteers after which it was stored until De Vloedschuur would be ready for it. In August 2002 people started to rebuild the organ under the direction of Witteveen. Again volunteers dedicated themselves fully to the project. There was a problem with the front of the instrument because in the convent the organ had been situated in a niche while in De Vloedschuur it had to be situated in an open space. To give the front a good look an interior architect designed a front from wooden strips which was constructed by the organ builder. At the 2nd of September 2002 the instrument was inaugurated by Theo Hess, a professional organist from Venlo. Since then it has been in weekly use during a service and four or five times a year during a concert.   Hauptwerk.nl is an initiative from Sygsoft Holland. KvK 24400165. Last updated 2010-08-16