St. Lorenz Church (Salzwedel)

The Laurentius Patrocinium indicates an early founding and a possibly pre-Romanesque predecessor, of which, however, no traces were found. From the location on the southern edge of the freedom of the castle Salzwedel can be concluded that it was originally the parish church of the Burgmannen.The construction of today's St. Lawrence Church took place in the middle of the 13th century. It was built as a three-aisled brick basilica without transept in late Romanesque transitional forms. The initially flat covered nave was provided around 1400 with a Gothic vault. In the second half of the 15th century, a concavity of the choir was made. At the end of the 15th century, the vaults of the nave were renewed.Because of the proximity of St. Mary's Church St. Lorenz lost early as a parish church. However, in the church, the bone-chewers as well as spiritual brotherhoods maintained altars and celebrated worship services.From 1541, after the introduction of the Reformation, the Lorenzkirche was no longer needed for church services. By order of the Elector of Brandenburg was from 1692 a use as a salt magazine (Royal Salzfactorey). In the early 18th century, the aisles were demolished and the arcades walled up. In 1794, the tower on the west side of the nave was demolished. Only a rectangular entrance room remained, in which however still the original Kreuzgratgewölbe, which is oldest in Salzwedel, is. In 1859, the Catholic diocese of Paderborn acquired the building, which was severely attacked in its building substance by the long period of salt deposition. Due to the severe damage to the building, there had previously been plans for a complete demolition. After a renovation, the Lorenzkirche is used since November 4, 1860 by the Catholic community Salzwedels.Source:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzkirche_%28Salzwedel%29

A beautiful old town is always worth a visit.

A well-known building directly on the Romanesque Road is the parish church of St. Lorenz in Salzwedel. The construction of the Lorenz Church is directly linked to the history of the town. The name Salzwedel refers to the salt trade with the town of Lüneburg. The parish church of St. Lorenz served as a salt warehouse for the Royal Salt Factory for 150 years from 1692.As part of extensive repair work in the years 1961 to 1964 and 1983 to 1990, you can now visit the restored northern aisle, the sacristy of late Gothic origin and the choir.Apart from an architectural sculpture and medieval decoration, nothing has been preserved.The ancient west portal is eye-catching. Inside there area number of late Gothic figures, originating from the Nikolaikirche Salzwedel, which was demolished in 1797.erlebnisland.de/sachsen-anhalt/hansestadt-salzwedel/gehenswuerdigkeiten/pfarrkirche-st-lorenz-salzwedel