St. Gertrud Pattensen

This church is built up in 1629 on the foundation of the old church, which was destroyed by the Danes during the thirty year war. But its roots reach back to the former middle Ages. The whole village Pattensen is one of the oldest here in the region. But this is not the only reason that makes me dedicate this church a cache. For years I drove by here regularly without taking notice of this village and this church. Short time ago I stopped here by coincidence. So I notice, that you can discover some interesting things at this church. So I created this cache for you to give you a chance to discover this place like I did. The final is specially designed in an unusual, hopefully interesting way.

The start coordinates point to the church building. They are only a rough orientation. You will find sufficient parking area nearby. Now make a sightseeing around the church building and try to solve the following questions. The order of these questions is different to the order of its location during the way around.

1.) The bell:
Which year date do you find on the bell? number of the year = A.

2.) The blue information board :
You will find following: "Eine erste Kirche entstand in Pattensen schon vor ..." Note this year date as B.

3.) "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott":
Find this inscription! Direct below it you will find a year date. Note it as C.

4.) Superintendent C.W. Flügge:
In which year he died? Year of death = D.

5.) The bell tower:
The bell tower carries two year dates. Find them! Lower year date value = E, higher year date value = F. In the direct near of the higher year date value the bell tower carries a little mystery. Find it! It will be usefull at the final.

6.) The tombstones:
On your way you will find three old big white tombstones on which some year dates are seen. The stones are weather-beaten so you hardly can read the text. Look for the lowest year date value (calendar year, not lifespan of a human) from these you can recognize clearly. Lowest year date value = G.

7.) The west entrance:
Stand yourself in front of the west entrance, so that you can see the whole building. Look around, so you will find on top another year date which you note as H.

Final:
Now you have all to calculate the coordinates of the final. For this you first replace the collected numbers by their checksum (i.e. A = 1726 -> A = 1+7+2+6 = 16). Then you calculate the numbers X and Y as follows:

X = A + B + C + D + E + F + G
Y = 9 * (A + B + C + D + E + F - G - H) (Attention! Changing signs!!)

The final you will find at the coordinates N53° 19.X' / E10° 08.Y'. Finding should be no problem because it is clearly identifiable (with correct sight angle). Because of muggle often standing there, you possibly have to wait a little time for a better Chance.


I now wish you much fun at exploring the church and searching for the cache. Please also log your visit at geocaching.com!