Already in the former church building of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation in The Hague, there was an organ built in 1648 by Hans Wolff Schonat. In 1668, organ builder Appolonius Bosch restored this instrument. Subsequently, in 1724, Rudolph Garrels, who had recently established himself as an organ builder in The Hague, modified the organ. Garrels also embellished the case of the old organ.

In 1753, Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz constructed a new organ within the existing cases. Some of the old registers’ pipework was incorporated into the new organ. In 1759, Bätz dismantled this organ and stored it due to the demolition of the then church building and the construction of the current church. In 1762, the new, present-day organ was delivered, with much of its original construction still preserved. During its construction, the windchests of the main organ and the Rückpositiv from 1753 were reused, while the windchests of the pedal and the upper work date from 1762. The pipework of the main organ and the Rückpositiv primarily dates from 1753, while the pipework of the pedal and upper work is from 1762. In 1753, Bätz incorporated three registers from the Rückpositiv of Schonat’s former organ, namely Holpijp 8’, Octaaf 2’, and three ranks of the Mixture. The fourth rank of the Mixture is likely by Garrels. This pipework is still part of the current Rückpositiv.

Until 1824, the instrument remained largely unaltered, aside from minor repairs. In 1824, Jonathan Bätz, grandson of Johann Heinrich Hartmann, repaired and modified the organ. In 1837, Jonathan Bätz again repaired and altered the organ, implementing several changes to its disposition. In 1891, the front pipes were renewed by Johann Frederik Witte, who continued the Bätz company. At this time, the double ranks of the Prestant pipes were removed and decommissioned.

In 1921, the organ was expanded with a swell division, pneumatically supplied from the windchests of the upper work and pedal. A new Sesquialtera II was added to the Rückpositiv, and the organ was equipped with an electric blower. These works were carried out by organ builder A. Bik in Amsterdam. In 1948, Bik added two stops to the upper work, an Octave 4’ and a Sharp III ranks. The Salicional 4’ by Jonathan Bätz was replaced with a new Nasard 3’.

Starting in 1988, a phased restoration was undertaken by Flentrop Orgelbouw in Zaandam. In 1988, the two windchests of the pedal were restored, followed by those of the Rückpositiv in 1995, during which the Sesquialtera II ranks were reconstructed.

A major restoration of all previously unrestored parts of the organ was carried out between June 2006 and September 2007. This restoration included the windchests of the main organ, upper work, and swell division, as well as the wind supply, playing and stop mechanisms, keyboard, pipework, and organ case. The restoration was based on the 1762/1837 situation while retaining the swell division from 1921.

Source: https://www.luthersdenhaag.nl/muziek/
Pictures: Minne Veldman