| The Lutheran Church of the Ascension, formally named the Evangelic Lutheran Curch of the Asension, was built in 1741. It was built by German immigrants, also known as Salzburgers. They came to Savannah in 1734 and James Oglethorpe gave them some land. Their leader, Reverend Johann Martin Bolziuz, decided to build several houses and a church on their property. They started working on it in 1740. As the Salzbergers became friendlier toward Oglethorpe and his men, they got more land and more assistance in building their church. Finally, in 1741, the church was finished and called The Lutheran Church of the Ascension. Up until about the mid- 1770's, only German was spoken in the church, but as Savannah's population grew with Englishmen, English started being spoken in the church. About this time, the name was changed as well as the language. It was changed to The Evangelic Lutheran Church of the Ascension. It was formally named a historical landmark in 1966. |
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