Wienhausen: Blasek-OAK

THE Blasek OAK


In front of the new cultural centre, which was once Wienhausen's old town hall, the so-called Blasek oak reminds us of the foundation of the town by Emperor Heinrich III in 1052, which bears the inscription "1052 Kaiser Heinrich III gives Huginhusen to the bishop of Hildesheim".


HERBERT BLASEK

Who was the artist who created the Blasek oak, and who left so many artistic traces not only in Wienhausen?

Herbert Blasek was born in 1912 in Wathlingen as the son of a miner - he died in Wienhausen in 2006.

Blasek saw himself and his artistic work both in the tradition of Wilhelm Kricheldorf and Wilhelm Krukes. But even more so, Blasek let himself be guided in his works by his deep religious feeling. "For the artist, this was the source of his artistic expression. Guided by this, Blasek created overflowing oil paintings, sgraffiti and monumental steles of epic opulence. Blasek was often inspired by "spontaneous impulses of a lived moment". Then he indulged in colours, which he himself described as a colour frenzy. Close to complete physical exhaustion, he worked on huge wooden steles. And what only a few Cellenser and Celler know, Blasek was a portraitist of the Celle kings for almost 20 years.

Blaseks traces can apparently be found naturally in Wienhausen. The artist's garden resembles a total work of art. A large oil painting (Celle motif) from a later creative phase (1986) can be found in the customer room of the Sparkasse. A mighty stele, made from the king tree of a windmill, stands in front of the Sparkasse. It bears the inscription "Who wants to live without the comfort of the trees? For Blasek, trees were symbols of the imperishable, inexhaustible sources of vitality. Old oak beams from farmhouses seemed to tell him stories. He could not and would not accept their passing.

The Blasek oak was erected in 1987.

Critics may perhaps characterize Blasek's "servant attitude" as antiquated or at least as little "post-modern". Views that Blasek would never have shared during his lifetime.


OTHER WORKS BY BLASEKS IN CITY AND LK CELLE
in the flower bed a wooden stele as a reminder of the time "der Masch" as a fishermen's settlement
the so called "Till-Eulenspiegel-Stele" at the south wall.
a sgraffito in the foyer of the town hall Wathlingen
Sgraffiti cycle in the Wathlinger Chapel
Altarpiece in the Garßener Markus Church
Motives to bees and flowers in the Celler bee institute
Motifs for horses at the Celle State Stud