About the Friends' Association:

The Friends' Association for the Preservation of the Wedding Church of Johann Sebastian Bach (registered association)
When people in Dornheim speak of the "Friends' Association", every child knows what it is about. With its activities and events, it has now become an outstanding part of the village community. By now, the Friends' Association is known and respected far beyond the boundaries of the village, both at home and abroad. But how did it all begin?

It began in January 1996, when the parish decided to issue an appeal to all the citizens of Dornheim in order to save the historically valuable church. Although there had been several attempts in the preceding years to halt the structural decay of the house of worship, the parish nonetheless did not manage, with its own means and efforts, to repair the increasing damage to the church. The background to the appeal to save the church was a joint offer by the Association for the Preservation of Monuments in Thuringia, the Regional Church Office and the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments to financially support those parishes that wished to contribute something to the preservation of their church through local commitment. At the time, one question moved everyone: would it be possible, with start-up funding, to provide the initial spark for the restoration of the church – a cause that would become close to the hearts of all the village's inhabitants?

Looking back, one can say today that this undertaking succeeded and set the whole village in motion. On 22 February 1996, the "Friends' Association for the Preservation of the Wedding Church of Johann Sebastian Bach (registered association)" was founded in the parish hall. Siegfried Neumann was elected chairman of the association, and his name has since been inseparably linked with the association's activities. His commitment is ultimately to thank for almost everything that has so far been restored and built in the church and its surroundings. He succeeded in interesting and mobilising the village's population for the church – regardless of social or religious convictions. All these activities were accomplished through the energetic support of the citizens as well as the local tradespeople. Throughout, constant value was placed on dialogue and on balancing the interests of the parish and the Friends' Association.

After the church's ceremonial rededication in 1996, the Friends' Association set itself the task of also redesigning the surroundings. The parish house was extensively reconstructed, creating an apartment in the process, a new village museum was built, and the "Bachstübchen" was erected as a meeting place. In countless work assignments after hours and at weekends, the association's members, together with the village's residents, generated in the years from 1996 to 2009 a total value of €695,936, of which €164,562 came from the members' own labour and €209,995 from the Friends' Association's own funds, which consisted mainly of donations and the proceeds from the sale of brochures, cards and souvenirs, or were also taken at the benefit concerts. Particularly remarkable is that, from 1997 to 2002, a total of DM 23,843 was donated by the population in house-to-house collections. All the church pews were donated and newly installed. The association currently has over 190 members in many places in the Federal Republic as well as Switzerland, the Netherlands, the USA and Japan. Friendly contacts now also connect the Friends' Association with other associations and communities. Extensive public relations work brought the church over 27,850 visitors from all over the world in the Bach Year 2000 alone. In addition to the press publications, there were many reports about the Dornheim church in the media, as well as radio and television recordings by various broadcasters. In August 2000, the Friends' Association for the Preservation of the Wedding Church of Johann Sebastian Bach in Dornheim was awarded the Thuringian Monument Protection Prize. Thanks to the wide-ranging initiatives of the Friends' Association under the leadership of Siegfried Neumann, the Wedding Church of Johann Sebastian Bach in Dornheim has today become a jewel among the village churches of Thuringia. Further focal points were the redesign of the church forecourt, the construction of a natural stone wall at the cemetery entrance and, connected with this, the erection of a Bach monument, as well as restoration work on the parish house with re-roofing of both the roof and the gatehouse. In 2005, with the "Bachstübchen", a meeting place was created that is gladly used by the members of the Friends' Association but also by citizens from other places.

The Friends' Association currently faces a new challenge: the church tower, whose lowest part, as the oldest surviving structure of the church, dates from the 12th century and which was renewed in 1647 after the church fire of 1631,  already showed signs of leaning at the start of the 19th century. Now it increasingly has cracks in the masonry. A thorough investigation of the building ground revealed that no load-bearing foundation is present and that the run-off rainwater has led to subsidence. To halt the decay, a thorough restoration of the tower is necessary, which will amount to €90,000.

Donation account: 5537789 , Erfurter Bank e.G. , sort code 820 642 28

www.bach-in-dornheim.de