Kirchen & Klöster

The town church of St. Peter and Paul stands at the highest point of the town. Built around 1180 as a three-nave basilica, it was also given a high Gothic choir in the course of various alterations in 1331. Its enormous dimensions can be explained by the active presence of the Order of St. John in the town. The patrocinium of St. Paul was only added in 1463.

In 1737 the baroque organ in the town church was given a new organ by Conrad Wilhelm Schäfer from Kindelbrück. The organ was tested - and this is historically documented - by Johann Sebastian Bach on 16 December 1737. A further test by Bach, at that time "Hochfürstlicher Capellmeister von Haus aus", took place on 21 July 1738.

The town church of St. Peter and Paul shines again in its medieval splendour. And so it is no wonder that the bones of "Good Conrad" were found there and also reburied. Conrad was the son of the burgomaster Berld von Sumerd. The 16-year-old is said to have been abducted to a vineyard hut in 1303, martyred there and then hanged by his own belt. After that, a persecution of the Jews began, during which about 125 people were murdered at Weissensee Castle. The "Good Conrad" was then venerated as a saint for about 200 years before he fell into oblivion again.

The altar of "Mary with the Beard" is particularly interesting. Before the Reformation, the gilded altarpiece showed the coronation of Mary by Jesus Christ. After the Reformation, Jesus was given a wooden beard and became God the Father and Marie was painted on beard and she was then crowned as Jesus Christ.

The first parish church stood in the cemetery of the town of Rastenberg. The exact location of the small church "Sankt Kiliani" is not known.

The convent church "Beatae Virginis Mariae" belonged to the nunnery "Sankt Marien" near the upper gate and was dedicated to the "Blessed Virgin Mary".

The Cistercian convent was mentioned in a document in 1294.

After the Reformation arrived in Rastenberg, the Cistercian convent was abandoned and the nuns left Rastenberg.

Around 1550, at great financial expense, the Roman Catholic convent church was converted into a Protestant parish church. The previous parish church of St. Kilian was in such a bad condition that it was left to its fate.

The parish church, colloquially known as the "Old Parish" still stands today next to the cemetery, was still in use for over 300 years.

Rastenberg and its parish church suffered mightily during the 30 Years War (1618-1648). On August 31, 1631, Croatians passing through plundered the church and on May 18, 1637, the imperial troops set fire to a part of Rastenberg.

It was not until after the war that Rastenberg began to rebuild and the church was consecrated again in 1655.

However, only 169 years should pass until the next blow of fate, the great town fire of 1824. 42 residential buildings and the school fell victim to the flames along with the church.

Due to the generous support of the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, the reconstruction could be started shortly after the destruction of the church. According to the designs and under the construction management of the Grand Ducal Chief Building Director Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray, a classicist sacral church was built within two years. The church was consecrated on 14 December 1826.

At present, the church and organ are being extensively renovated. The target date for completion is the 200th anniversary of the consecration of the church, on 14 December 2026.

With the BIENEN-GARTEN-KIRCHE in Roldisleben, an ecclesiastical monument in the rural area is opened for an extended use. Our commitment promotes encounters and identity building as well as the exchange of experiences, cultural, ecological and religious knowledge.

The project focuses on opening up the garden and building of the church "St. Peter and Paul" in Roldisleben beyond purely worship-related use for the benefit of the village community and as an attractive contact point for the whole region.

The implementation of the project focuses on a wide range of cultural activities as well as on pedagogical mediation and scientific exchange. In the background is an extensive, multi-year overall project. In the end, the church and the church garden are to form a space that promotes a sense of community, fosters the formation and transmission of tradition, conveys cultural-historical, ecological and religious knowledge and invites reflection.

An exchange market for regional products is linked to this. In addition, an artistically designed garden is being created with show huts and plants that tie in with Christian cultural history. There is a meditation room in the church. There are regular coffee services and guided tours. Experience and sensory stations are set up in the garden to engage with the bee theme.

The Bee Garden Church was awarded the status of a model project in the "Stadt-Land: Kirche 2017" project by the IBA Thuringia and the Protestant Church in Central Germany. The Thuringian Ministry for Infrastructure and Agriculture funded the construction of the "Bee Bell" pavilion. The project group of about 15 people realized a meditative space in the church tower.

Das Priorat Sankt Wigberti ist ein ökumenisches Benediktinerkloster unter dem Dach der Evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche in Thüringen. Die St. Wigbert Kirche in Werningshausen wurde 1750 erbaut, schon viele hundert Jahre vorher gab es eine Kirche oder Kapelle an diesem Platz. Der Heilige Bonifatius und der Heilige Wigbert christianisierten diese Gegend im 8. Jahrhundert. Der Kirchturm in seiner jetzigen Form wurde erst 1843 errichtet. 1987 wurde die kleine Gemeinschaft von Sankt Wigberti durch die Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche unter Bischof Dr. W. Leich approbiert, wodurch der Weg zum klösterlichen Leben offenstand. 1989 hat man mit dem Bau des Klosters Sankt Wigberti begonnen und schon 1992 konnte der erste Bauabschnitt des kleinen Klosters geweiht werden. 1999/2000 kam ein Erweiterungsbau hinzu.

Es steht Besucherinnen und Besuchern (fast) immer frei, die Kirche und Marienkapelle zu besichtigen. Sie sind in der Regel täglich von 09:00 Uhr bis ca. 18:00 Uhr geöffnet; 365 Tage im Jahr. Auch zum Morgengebet (Laudes) und zu den Gottesdiensten sind Sie herzlich eingeladen. Dafür ist keine Anmeldung erforderlich.

Das Kloster liegt direkt am Unstrut-Radwanderweg. Radwanderern steht die Kirche und der Kirchpark für eine Rast offen.

An den meisten Wochentagen und Wochenenden von Mai bis in den Oktober hinein bieten die Mönche Gelegenheit, sich gegen eine Spende mit Getränken zu erfrischen. Achten Sie hierbei auf das Hinweisschild vor der Kirche. Dies zeigt Ihnen an, ob die Klosterpforte besetzt ist.

Bei einer Radpanne stehen die Brüder des Klosters nach Möglichkeit gerne hilfreich zur Seite. "Wir sind zwar kein ausgewiesener Radservice, aber unsere gut ausgerüstete Werkstatt hat schon so manchem lahmen Drahtesel wieder auf die Sprünge geholfen."

Gäste zu beherbergen, gehört zur monastischen Tradition. Deshalb bietet das Kloster die Möglichkeit, für einen oder auch mehrere Tage Gast zu sein. Erleben Sie den Klosteralltag. Oder genießen Sie einfach nur ein paar stille Tage.

St. Boniface Church was completed in 1567. Predecessor buildings probably date back to the 8th century. The oldest documented mention of the church dates back to 1368. Until 1928, the town piper lived in the church tower with his family and journeymen.

The exterior of St. Boniface's Church has a late Gothic style, while the interior gives the impression of a Baroque room. The bend in the building line of the nave and the choir suggest that both parts were not built at the same time.

The choir room is adorned with a five-part winged altar from the 15th century, which was probably created in the Möbius workshop in Erfurt. The mensa bears the date 1482, the top the date 1491.

The organ, whose construction was begun by Johann Georg Krippendorf from Kölleda in 1701, is particularly worth seeing and hearing. Today, it is one of the few remaining larger baroque organs in Thuringia. In 2014, the organ received new front pipes. Another special feature is the glockenspiel, which can be controlled via the keyboard. The two timpani from 1688, which have also been renovated, are used for special concerts.

Pictures of Old Testament stories can be seen on the galleries. They were painted over in 1793 and uncovered again in 1913.

In 2016 the tower staircase was renewed, since then tower tours are possible again.

In 2019, the expansion of the sacristy was completed. The Romanesque groined vault and the Romanesque round-arched windows suggest that this beautiful room was built in the 14th century.

The church is used regularly for services and concerts from Easter to Reformation Day. Extensive renovation work is scheduled for the coming years.

Although it is not possible for us to keep the church open on a regular basis, we are happy to arrange a visit by appointment and look forward to your visit.

The early romantic organ was built in 1827 by Johann Friedrich Schulze from Paulinzella in cooperation with the Weimar professor Johann Gottlob Töpfer.

It is to be consistently restored to its historical condition in order to achieve a sustainable development of this important cultural monument.

The classicistic organ prospect was designed, just like the church, by the Weimar ducal chief building director and friend of Goethe, Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray.

The Nikolai Church dates back to the first half of the 11th century and is barely 29 metres long. The nave of the church has a large Romanesque arch on the west side. A round apse with a diameter of 6.8 metres adjoins the choir. A few slender pointed arches indicate some structural changes that took place in the Gothic period. Originally, the church also had a tower on the west side, but it was taken down when stones were needed for the reconstruction of the town church of St. Peter and Paul. Inside, a freestanding sacrament box from around 1500 deserves special attention. In its kind it represents a rarity in the Thuringian and Saxon area. Apart from this sacramental hut, the upper part of a baptismal font from the transitional period from Romanesque to Gothic has been preserved. The octagonal cup shape already corresponds to the Gothic period, while the main cornice with the round arch frieze can be assigned to the Romanesque period. St. Nikolai was once the church of a first settlement at the foot of the castle and on the shore of the White Lake. It retained its parish rights until 1539 and then almost fell into oblivion due to misuse. It was only in the 1920s that it was rediscovered and restored in 1934. It is surrounded by spacious church grounds, bordered by a wall with a late Gothic gate.

Die vor über 300 Jahren geweihte, denkmalgeschützte Saalkirche „St. Martin“ ist eine der wenigen katholischen Kirchen im Thüringer Becken und erhebt sich vor den Fahner Höhen weit sichtbar als ein echtes Wahrzeichen des Ortes.

Seltensheitswert hat auch die Orgel. Sie stammt aus der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts und reiht sich in die erhaltenen Instrumente des damaligen regionalen Orgelbauers Hesse ein.

Nachdem die Orgel 2013 bis 2015 umfassend restauriert und rekonstruiert wurde, begleitet sie nicht nur die regelmäßig stattfindenden Gottesdienste und Feste, sondern auch wieder Chor- und Orgelkonzerte in Klangfarben, wie sie wahrscheinlich seit 100 Jahren nicht mehr zu hören waren.

Tipp:

Jene, die die prunkvoll ausgestattete Kirche mit dem barocken Hochaltar und einer nicht minder auffälligen Deckenmalerei abseits von Veranstaltungen besichtigen möchten, melden sich einfach unter der vor Ort zu findenden Rufnummer.

Seit dem Gedenktag des Erzengels Michael, dem 29. September im Jahre 1551, öffnet die St. Michaeliskirche ihre Tore für Gottesdienste und mittlerweile auch für andere Veranstaltungen. Neben Geschichte überzeugt sie auch mit ihrem imposanten Altar, der Orgel und der künstlerischen Kirchendecke. Ab 1978 wurden umfangreiche Sicherungs- und Sanierungsmaßnahmen durchgeführt, das Gebäude war zeitweise geschlossen.

Built over 100 years ago, the Protestant chapel in neo-Romanesque architectural style has enjoyed the status of cultural monument since 1997. For weddings, baptisms or other festivities, there is room for up to 70 people inside and about 150 people outside. In the art and culture scene, the chapel and its grounds have long been established as a venue for events and exhibitions for a diverse audience. But also cyclists, hikers and nature lovers like to take a break here.

With the help of the sponsoring association founded at the end of the 1990s and very committed volunteers, the chapel could be renovated, restored and finally preserved as a place of worship. The monthly Protestant and occasional ecumenical services are gratefully received.

The photovoltaic system installed on the roof in the course of the restoration reliably supports the power supply and its financing.
The chapel has also gained press attention as an FFH protected area and even has Natura2000 relevance as a bat sanctuary.

Those interested in visiting this architectural gem are welcome at any time and should register in good time. Otherwise, it is worthwhile to have a look at the showcase in front of the chapel or at the homepage of the village, where you can always find dates for visiting events, such as the annual chapel festival, a vernissage or the Open Monument Day.