Engter, Germany
Engter is a sub-division of the city of Bramsche in the District of Osnabrück located in the State of Lower Saxony in northwest Germany. Engter, as well as, the neighboring towns around it ,provide the majority of the geneaology data for the Helmkamp bloodline. The earliest direct Helmkamp birth recording that has currently been found took place in Hunteburg, Germany, a town 10 miles from Engter. This baptism record was of my 6x Great Grandpa Johan Wilhelm Helmkamp, born 1771. Although I cannot prove it yet, I believe the Helmkamp name can be traced back a bit further in this region. Only time will tell.
History
A large stone grave and found cremation urns prove that the area was already inhabited in the early Stone Age , but also in the later Bronze and Iron Ages . The village of Engter was first mentioned in 1147 as “Engthere” in a document from the Bishop of Osnabrück and in 1183 as “Engethere”.
ENGTER was located in what was then the District of BERSENBRÜCK in the western part of what was until 1866 the German state of Hannover, the capital of which was the city of Hannover. As did most of the major German states, Hannover sided with Austria against Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Austria and her allies were defeated. Prussia there upon annexed Hannover, which then became what was then to remain until 1945 the Prussian province of Hannover. Engter was an independent town until 1972. In 1972, Engter was annexed by the nearby city of Bramsche and is no considered a sub-division.
Following World War II and the break-up of the vast state of Prussia by the Allies, the Prussian province of Hannover, the state of Oldenburg, and the two very small states of Braunschweig and Schaumburg-Lippe combined to form today's new postwar German state of Lower Saxony (In German: Niedersachsen) with the city of Hannover as its capital.
Church History
Engter originally belonged to the Bramsche parish. However, because of the long distance and the frequent flooding of the Hase, which hindered church attendance, the farmers of the Engter market cooperative implemented the construction of a branch church at their own expense. In 1229, the Osnabrück bishop Konrad I von Velber issued the building permit and made provisions about the parish to be built and its clergy. The church building was originally a late Romanesque hall church with two square nave bays , a straight closed choir and a west tower made of quarry stone . The church was expanded to the north in 1821/1822 with a rectangular, transept-like extension to the eastern nave yoke. A similar extension to the south was built in 1913, so that the floor plan is now cross-shaped. The triumphal cross from the late 13th century in St. Johannis Parish is of particular cultural and historical importance.
There is no information about the inauguration, but the first priest to appear in Engter was Everhardus Sacredos mentioned in a 1238 document from Bishop Konrad I. In 1275 the church in Engter was incorporated into the monastery chapter of St. Sylvestri in Bramsche. The Clergymen during this time were: Ludolf (1318); Dethardus (1328, † 1340); Gerhard von Zande(1346, 1348); Johannes Priswalk (1362); Berthold Bur (1364); Dethmar Fabri (1369); Johann Rotharding (1397, in Bramsche from 1404); Hermann de Harde (1408, 1426); Arnold Zegebode (1442); Gerhard von Penthe(before 1452, later dean in Bramsche); Johann von Lemgo(1452); Bertholdus (1457); Gerhard Nutthe (1510).
Georg Monter was the parish's first Lutheran pastor. However, denominational affiliation remained controversial. In the 'normal year' 1624 the parish was Lutheran under Father Georg Greuter, but it was only in 1650 that it was granted to the Lutherans in accordance with Article 21 of the Capitulatio perpetua. Since the 13th century, the Lords of Bar founded a chapel and chaplaincy on the church property, but this had not been occupied for a long time in 1662 due to poor income. From 1690 onwards, own (ordained) house clergy appeared again, who employed Bar for their private church services for the residents of the immediate area, without diminishing the parochial rights of the Engter Parish (until 1798). The chapel in Barenaue burned down in 1651 and was rebuilt later on.
In the early 1800's, the Parish began to run out of space and was in much need of an addition. An expansion of the building initially failed due to financing. After a petition from the Heuerleute (1819), a northern transept was initially added in 1821/22. At the instigation of Elimar Ebbinghausen, another transept was added in the south in 1913. In 1966/67 the parish hall next to the rectory was renovated and was expanded again in 1991. A community center was inaugurated in the Lappenstuhl settlement in 1971. A Bartning emergency church built in Voltlage in 1951 was moved to Lappenstuhl and is now a listed building (Bartning emergency church type diaspora chapel). It also serves as a winter church for the community.
Today the parish of St. Johannis Engter also includes Kalkriese, Schleptrup , Lappenstuhl and Evinghausen. The parish festival (“Bisse”) and the Jungescharballontag take place in Engter every year.