The Rose of Minden Lodge No.918

The Rose of Minden Lodge No.918

Formation	28th October 1972
Location	Herford Germany
Website	https://theroseofminden.de

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The Rose of Minden Lodge No. 918 Seal - Note: abbreviation for number is written as "Nr." and not "No." to reflect it is a German lodge

The Rose of Minden Lodge No.918 is one of 18 Freemasons lodges subordinate to The Grand Lodge of British Freemasons in Germany (GLBFG) which in turn is one of 5 Grand Lodges of the United Grand Lodges of Germany (Vereingt Großlogen Deutschland). It currently has members from a variety of nations and in addition to the "resident members" in Germany, there are "non-resident members" situated all over the world.

History

After the second world war, Germany had been divided into 4 occupation zones which was agreed at the Potsdam Conference (17 July to 2 August 1945). British forces had been allocated the North West region of Germany consisting of the states (Bundesländer) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. The British Army numbered at this point around 80,000 troops which was later reduced to 53,000 in 1967. Many servicemen who were also Freemasons found themselves in position where it was hard to discuss, meet and practice masonic topics, so much so that group of British Freemasons began to hold meetings and discussion groups in private homes. The success and popularity of these meetings grew and eventually an association was formed to enable meetings to be conducted on correct masonic lines with an acting Past master presiding in the chair. This association restricted itself to discussions of masonic research as well as demonstrations of ceremonial ritual. In 1949 groups that were operating in Lüneburg, Bad Oynhausen, Bad Salzuflen and Herford were centralised and the Association of British Freemasons was formed. These meetings continued until 1957, which by this time the fraternal relations had been restored between the United Grand Lodge of England and the German masonic constitutions. Permissions then began to be sought for to form lodges under the German constitution with dispensation to conduct business and ceremonies, using Emulation Ritual, in the English language. The Rose of Minden Lodge was originally established as a military Masonic organisation to provide a masonic home for members of the British Allied Forces in and around the German city of Herford, North Rhine-Westphalen. It was consecrated in the Temple of the local German Lodge “Zur Roten Erde” Unter den Linden 34, on 28th October 1972 in the city of Herford. After a number of years of holding lodge in the city of Minden it returned to its founding location where it remains to this day.

Freemason lodges typically choose titles in relation to their founding location, to a masonic theme or character. The Rose of Minden title is taken from the battle honour which was awarded to British Army units who fought in the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759 and therefore reflecting its military connection at the time of its founding.

In 2010 under the UK's "Strategic Defence and Security Review," (SDR) the deployment of British forces in Germany was announced to be ended by 2020 and the withdrawal of 20,000 service personnel started to take place. Late in 2019 it was announced that a small contingent would remain in Germany to act as a forward base in support of UK's role within NATO. The personnel will remain located at the 45-square mile (117-square kilometer) Sennelager Training Area near Paderborn which provides extensive live firing and training facilities. Mönchengladbach will keep Ayrshire Barracks which can store approximately 2000 vehicles. The Wulfen Munitions Storage Facility will remain open for the storage of operational ammunition. Finally an Engineer unit equipped with M3, self-propelled amphibious bridging vehicles will remain colocated with German troops supporting the NATO infrastructure in Minden.

The natural catchment area for new members for the Lodge was traditionally the military units which were stationed in the surrounding areas of Herford, Minden, Bad Oeynhausen & Bielefeld. This had a dramatic affect on membership with the changes announced in the 2010 SDR. However as British forces have been located in Germany for 75 years it naturally followed that a number of those decided to stay after their military service and according to the German Statistics Office "Destatis" the number of British ex-patriots living in North Rhine-Westphalen in 2017 was 25.125 .

With Freemasonry in Germany growing steadily in numbers and becoming ever more popular since the second world war and the current climate, it was noted that as well number the of expats joining, German and other European nationals were also applying for membership. This unusual & unexpected turn in events was found to be the increased interest in acting out masonic emulation & ceremonies in the English language rather than that of their own. This large number of expats and other nationals has enabled the Lodge and similar Lodges to survive the recent troop withdrawal.

Lodge Seal

The seal of the lodge is a combination of images relevant to its identity and masonic connections. Bordering the seal are an ear of corn and a sprig of acacia, the ear of corn representing plenty and the sprig of acacia to represent Hiram Abiff, a central character within masonic history. Within the border is the name of the lodge and its warranted lodge number. The abbreviation for word number is not written as No. as would be expected but as Nr. showing its German heritage. Centrally placed are a red rose and the combined image of an architects square & compasses. The rose, as the lodge name suggests, represents the Rose of Minden and the square & compasses is the most recognisable symbol within freemasonry. Two pillars are placed either side of the rose and square & compasses, these represent the two pillars placed outside of King Solomon's temple, again, key objects within masonic history. Atop the pillars are two spheres showing terrestrial and celestial maps representing that freemasonry is seen by masons as being universal.

Ritual

Original Rose of Minden Seal

The lodge practices its masonic ritual in the English language following the English constitution provided by the United Grand Lodge of England as do 15 other lodges under GLBFG. The remaining 2 conduct their emulation slightly differently where one works in a Scottish Ritual and the remaining lodge uses the aforementioned English constitution ritual, but translated into the German language and consequently this Lodge works in the German language.

Lodge House

Freemasons Lodge Herford Germany

Main entrance

The listed Lodge building was built in two phases by the architect and Freemason Wilhelm Köster(1860–1946). The first phase started in 1906 and completed 29 July 1907 which was opened with large celebrations and attended by masonic visitors from as far as Berlin totaling 177 guests. The second phase was completed in 1924 where accommodation was created on the first floor for lodge members to reside if needed. It has remained the home of the 1899 founded German Lodge Zur Roten Erde who are responsible for the complete building project. The costs of land at 12,000 German Mark and building costs of 42,000 German Mark partly provided from lodge savings and a loan from the district Sparkasse bank. In 1935 Freemasonry was outlawed by Nazi's and the building was taken over by Nazi Party who replaced a large pentagram symbol on the exterior of the building with an eagle and Swastika (Hakenkreuz). From 1937 -1945 the building served as the district headquarters of the Nazi Party who also the used surrounding buildings of Logenplatz for accommodation. In 1946 the building was returned to Lodge Zur Roten Erde who own and manage the building to this day. The layout of the building has changed little since its completion. The ground floor holds a large entrance with en-suite washrooms, reception/ dining room and the lodge temple its self. The first floor provides conference, practice, storage rooms and living accommodation. The cellar, which originally held the lodge kitchen, wine cellar and wood store is now a used as a restaurant. Five local lodges from East(ern) Westphalia-Lippe (Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL)) regularly share the building for masonic meetings.

Constituent Lodges

• New Absalom Lodge No. 841 - Gütersloh
• Saxony Lodge No. 842 - Celle
• Britannia Lodge No. 843 - Bielefeld
• Phoenix Lodge No. 847 - Berlin
• Anglo Hanseatic No. 850 - Hamburg
• Star of Saxony No. 853 - Mönchengladbach – Rheindahlen
• Keys of Münster No. 881 - Münster
• Beaver Lodge No. 885 - Soest
• Doric Lodge No. 886 - Osnabrück
• Bond of Friendship Lodge No. 890 - Bonn
• Lodge Niederrhein No. 892 - Düsseldorf
• Bridge of Fellowship No. 929 - Hannover
• Lodge Neuhaus No. 946 - Paderborn
• Southern Star No. 1025 - Munich (München)
• Thistle & Saltire No. 1040 - Berlin & Osnabrück (Scottish Ritual)
• Kurt Tucholsky Lodge No. 1060 - Unna (English constitution ritual conducted in German)
• Corinthian Lodge No. 1111 - Frankfurt

References

1. mysticum.cc Geheheim und private Gesellschaften (Secret and Private Societies) Oct 2016
2. GL-BFG, Lodges, (Subordinate Lodges)
3. UGLE , Foreign Grand Lodges,
4. VGLvD, Mitgliedsgroßlogen (Member Grand Lodges)
5. Freimaurer logen in Ostwestfalen-Lippe Freemason Lodges in Ostwestfalen Lippe (OWL)
6. Adams English Speaking Freemason Lodges Located in Germany
7. Neue Westfälische Zeitung E-Paper (New Westphalia Newspaper) - Lodge work in local community 19/02/2016
8. Neue Westfälische Zeitung E-Paper (New Westphalia Newspaper) - Lodge work in local community 29/12/2015
9. Freemasonry  on the march by John Hamill 11 September 2018
10. British Imperial Freemasonry and the Military Lodge in the Age of Revolution Lecture by Professor Jessica Harland-Jacobs, given at the 10^th Annual California Masonic Symposium: Masonry, Military and the Emergence of American Democracy, San Francisco, CA (2010)
11. HF Magazine No.73 Pg 3. Jun 2010 - Article - A history of Herforder Freemasons and their Lodge (German)
12. UK.Gov - UK Government website ref British remaining in Germany
13. British in Germany - Website supporting UK citizens living in Germany
14. Destatis - German Statistics Office (German)
15. The Grand Lodge of British Freemasons in Germany A History 1999 by John T. Kellas (Out of print)
16. Listed & Protected Buildings in Herford - Official Herford City website (German)
17. Record of listed buildings in Herford district - Page 11 asat Sept 2015

External links

• Official website

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