The Ratekau Felstein Church in the coat of arms of the Ratekau community
The construction of the Ratekau Church began in the 12th century shortly after Wagrien was conquered by the Holsten in 1138/39. In 1147 Wagrien was given to Count Adolf II of Schauenburg and Holstein by Heinrich the Lion as a fief. Adolf II commissioned Vizelin to spread Christianity among the Slavs. At the same time he began colonization with new settlers with Christian settlers. Also called Vicelinkirchen churches are the Petrikirche in Bosau, the St. Laurentius Church in Süsel and St. Johannis in Neukirchen (Bad Malente). Construction began in 1156, two years after Vizelin's death. Count Adolf and Bishop Gerold von Oldenburg chose the place together, as Helmold von Bosau reports in his Slav chronicle. The church was first mentioned in a document in 1234/1235 when the apse arch and vault were renewed.
It is a single-nave hall church built in the Romanesque style with a choir and apse as well as a 48-meter-high (leaning) round tower that served as a defense tower. The church was built mainly from field stones using gypsum mortar from the Segeberger Kalkberg and has a gable roof covered with wooden shingles.