St. Viti Church Heeslingen

The nave is made of field stones and the church tower is made of bricks. This fact alone makes the St. Viti church so unique and worth seeing. In addition, the building is estimated to be over 1,000 years old, making it the oldest church building between the Weser and Elbe rivers.

It is more than 1000 years ago that a church was built in Heeslingen and a monastery in its immediate vicinity. Exactly where it is is uncertain, but the venerable old St. Viti Church - named after the Christian martyr Vitus (4th century) - is still in place and is the oldest church building between the Weser and Elbe rivers. The Kanonissenstift in Heeslingen goes back to a land and building donation (961) from Count Hed. The rights, income and constitution at that time can still be read today in the deed of foundation (March 17, 986 by King Otto III). The third abbess, Hathui, replaced the existing wooden church in 973 with a new church made of field stones. In 1038 the monastery was granted market rights. But when it was moved to Zeven in 1141, Heeslingen became less and less important. St. Viti remained little changed as a witness to a long history.

Visitors first notice the pointed brick tower from 1896. Stylistically, it does not match the Romanesque basilica built from field stones. Old pictures of St. Viti show the original round tower, which was damaged several times by lightning and finally had to be removed at the end of the 18th century. When the tower was newly built, the pastor at the time was said to have wanted to be able to see the church spire from each of the villages belonging to his parish.
Nave

The interior of the nave was probably initially covered with a wooden ceiling, which was replaced by a ribless three-part cross vault (approx. 12th century). Since this increased the pressure on the walls, today we find sloping pillars on the sides. Perhaps you would like to know and visit more, with the church leader in hand, the single-nave church. The one-story, late Gothic winged altar above a brick base shows the figures of the twelve disciples who surround their Lord Jesus Christ.

Church in Heeslingen