St. Bartholomäus Church Kirchwalsede

From the outside rather unimpressive, the church is very cozy inside and has a good acoustics.

Built in 1150, the Romanesque stone church with its baroque interior design is one of the most beautiful village churches in Lower Saxony.

BARTHOLOMÄUS means the "son of the furrower". Bartholomew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He was born in Cana in Galilee at the beginning of the 1st century and died a martyr around AD 51. As an apostle, he preached the faith in Persia, possibly also in India, where he accordingly left a Hebrew copy of the Gospel of Matthew. He healed the sick and the possessed. Legends also attribute to him the spread of the gospel in Egypt and Armenia. When he healed the daughter of the King of Armenia, King Polymius and with him the whole royal family converted to Christianity. Astyages, the king's hostile brother, learned that Bartholomew had destroyed his god canopy. He sent out 1,000 soldiers to catch Bartholomew and bring him before him. Astyages had Bartholomew beaten with clubs, peeled off his skin while still alive, and crucified him. Christians buried the body.