Former Quaker Meeting House (Ehemaliges Versammlungshaus der Quäker)
The Religious Society of Friends, also known as “Quakers”, was originally a Protestant Christian movement founded in the mid-17th century.
In Friedrichstadt, the Quakers appeared in 1663. The Quaker meeting house in the Westerhafenstrasse street was built in 1677–1678 on the initiative of William Penn, a Quaker leader who visited Friedrichstadt in 1677. The town’s Quaker community was small and for this reason it was dissolved in 1727.
The Meeting House was heavily destroyed by a bombing attack on the town during the First Schleswig War (1848–1850). Later, it was rebuilt. The house bears a plexiglass plate showing the “Oldest coat of arms of Friedrichstadt” (“Ältestes Friedrichstädter Stadtwappen”) and the following text in German:
“Ehemaliges Versammlungshaus der Quäker, Westerhafenstr. 14. 1648 formulierte George Fox in England seine religiösen Visionen. Seine Anhänger werden im Spott Quäker (“Zitterer”) genannt 14 Jahre später entsteht in Friedrichstadt eine Quäkergemeinde. Ihre Mitglieder lehnen kirchliche Hierarchie, Sakramente, den Eid, Kriegsdienst sowie Feste ab. Gleichheit, Freiheit und soziale Verantwortung sind ihre Grundsätze. 1677 errich Hendrick Siemens im Vorgängerbau des Hauses Westerhafenstraße 14 das erste “Vergaderingshaus” (Versammlungshaus) der Quäker auf deutschem Boden. Die kleine Gemeinde mit etwa 10 Familien besteht hier am Ort fast 70 Jahre. Bis ins 19. Jahrhundert bleit das Haus im Besitz der Londoner Quäker – Gemeinde. Im Jahre 1713 besucht Zar Peter der Große während seiner Anwesenheit in Friedrichstadt auf eigenen Wunsch einen Quäker-Gottesdienst, was alllerdings in den Aufzeichnungen der Gemeinde nicht besonders erwähnt wird. Heute zählt die “Religiöse Gesellschaft der Freunde (Quäker) Deutsche Jahresversammlung” (gegr. 1925) bundesweit etwa 300 Mitglieder und unterhält ein Andachtshaus in Bad Pyrmont”. (“A Former Quaker Meeting House, 14 Westerhafenstrasse. In 1648 in England, George Fox set forth his religious views. His followers are mockingly referred to as “Quakers”. 14 years later, a Quaker community was set up in Friedrichstadt. Its members reject the church hierarchy, sacraments, oath, military service, and holy days. The principles they promote are equality, freedom and social responsibility. In 1677, Hendrick Siemens built the first meeting house (Vergaderingshaus) of Quakers on German soil. It was a building previously situated at 14 Westerhafenstrasse. A small community comprised of about 10 families existed here for nearly 70 years. Until the 19th century, the house was owned by the London Quaker community. During his stay in Friedrichstadt in 1713, Tsar Peter the Great attended a Quaker worship at his own wish, but this fact is not found in the community’s records. Today, the German Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) (founded in 1925) counts about 300 members and runs a meeting house in Bad Pyrmont”).
During the Northern War, Friedrichstadt was captured by the Swedish army. In early 1713, on the eve of the assault of the town, the Swedes opened the sluices to flood the fields. The army besieging the town was headed by two monarchs. The first one was Frederick IV, King of Denmark and Norway, whose Danish and Saxon corps strengthened by four Russian regiments stayed in Husum, a town 12 km away from Friedrichstadt, to prevent the Swedes from moving towards the coast of Jutland. The second sovereign was Peter I who led the Russian expeditionary corps in an action on January 30-31 / February 10-11 that drove the Swedes from the town.
In February 1713, Peter stayed in Friedrichstadt three times: immediately after the capture of the town on December 1–5 to February 16, on February 8–10/19–21, and on February 11–13/22–24. Then, on a Sunday day, the Tsar attended a service at the Quaker meeting house. Apparently, he was interested in the Quaker movement since his visit to England where he had attended a Quaker prayer meeting in London on April 3/13, 1698.
The next time, Peter and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna visited Friedrichstadt during their Second Voyage to Europe on October 22-26/November 2-6, 1716. During his stay in the town, he visited factories and workshops and also went to the neighboring town of Tönning to see the fortress that had been won back from the Swedes and demolished as agreed upon.
