Penetrated to the depths
"We prised open the old cracks to trace them down to the depths," Quandt explains, using his current example. "This hole is about 90 centimetres deep and one metre wide. That is necessary to penetrate down to the medieval walls." During the renovation, the corner ashlars of the towers were fitted with long threaded rods. Then the men from the church construction workshop bricked up the historic wall, including the cracks, using gypsum lime mortar, based on the original mortar.
In the process, they also formed a predetermined crack joint to absorb any new cracks. "The hand-made bricks were rebuilt in the old bond and interlocking with the historic masonry and then grouted with shell lime," adds the 33-year-old foreman, who is currently working on his master's degree. After completion, it is planned to monitor the towers with a crack-monitoring system using drones.
Scaffolding on the towers since 2012
"I am very pleased and happy that the work was done to such a high standard and went well," says architect Christine Johannsen, who has been involved in the project since 2015 and specialised in church renovations. The masonry work should be finished by the end of July and, after some follow-up work, the scaffolding should be taken down at the end of August. "It's going to be a great day," says church warden Sabine Weiß, looking forward. "There have been scaffolds on the towers since 2012, first to secure the south tower and since 2014 on the north tower. It will be great to see St Mary's without scaffolding again after all these years."
On the home straight
"We are on the home straight, which makes us all very happy," says Christian Rosehr, chairman of the building committee at St Mary's parish. There is more work to be done in the church, "but at least the outside of the church can shine again in all its splendour".
