St. Stephanus Church, Egestorf

Half-timbered church from 1645. The "Heidepastor" Wilhelm Bode worked here from 1885-1923.

The St. Stephanus Church is located in the center of the village, picturesquely surrounded by linden trees. It is a half-timbered church from 1645 with a wooden bell tower standing apart, reminiscent of the Nordic stave churches. The church is adjacent to a beautiful garden.
Special sights are the altarpiece from 1659, the pulpit from 1616; Painting with figures from the Old Testament (around 1650) and the organ from 1867, built by Phillip Furtwängler.
Heidepastor Wilhelm Bode, one of the leading founders of the Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve, worked in Egestorf from 1885 to 1923.lueneburger-heide.de/service/sehenswuerdigkeit/361/stephanus-kirche-egestorf.html

Saint Stephen (or in other spelling Stefan), namesake of this church, is one of the seven first deacons of the Jerusalem early community and is the first martyr (blood witness) of early Christianity. The Church will remember him on Boxing Day, December 26th.
When Stephen said aloud his vision of the open heaven, "But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts chapter 7 verse 55), the people were so indignant, that they drove him out of town and stoned him.