Franz Caspar Schnitger

Franz Caspar Schnitger (baptised 15 October 1693 in Neuenfelde, buried 5 March 1729 in Zwolle) was a German organ-builder active in the Netherlands.

Life
Franz Caspar Schnitger was one of the sons of the organ-builder Arp Schnitger. After Arp's death in 1719, Franz Caspar and his brother Johann Jürgen (Georg) (1690–1734 or later) transferred the family workshop to the Netherlands, settling first in Zwolle. There, between 1719 and 1721, they completed the large new organ at the Sint-Michaëlskerk, which had been planned by their father.

In January 1720, Franz Caspar Schnitger married Anna Margreta Debert in Hamburg. She was the daughter of a city councillor from Usedom. They had two sons and two daughters, the first three born in Zwolle, the youngest, Frans Casper Snitger (1724–1799), in Alkmaar. After the untimely death of Franz Caspar Schnitger (senior), Albertus Antonius Hinsz took over his workshop and continued the Schnitger tradition. In 1732 Hinsz married Franz Caspar's widow and became the stepfather of Frans Casper Snitger (junior). Snitger then led his father's workshop following Hinsz' death in 1785, together with Heinrich Hermann Freytag. Freytag's son, Herman Eberhard Freytag (1796–1869) was the last representative of the Schnitger-school of organ-building in the Netherlands, a tradition that thus continued until the middle of the 18th century.

Organs on which Franz Caspar Schnitger worked
The roman numerals indicate the number of manuals. An uppercase "P" indicates an independent pedal organ with its own sounding stops, while a lowercase "p" indicates a pull-down pedal linked to the keyboards, merely allowing the player to play manual keyboard notes with their feet. The Arabic numerals indicate the number of sounding registers (i.e. stop-knobs excluding accessories such as tremulants and couplers).