Landow Village Church

About

The village church of Landow (German: Dorfkirche Landow) is the Evangelical parish church of the parish of Rambin in the south of the German island of Rügen. It is located in the village of Landow in the municipality of Dreschvitz. It was built as a Wegekirche in Landow around the year 1312. A Wegekirche is a church which is designed such that the location of the priest and congregation gives the impression that they are on their way to the Lord, facing the Christ, usually in the symbolic form of a cross or painting. In 2004, dendrochronological research of the oak timber-framing was carried out. This demonstrated that the church is one of the oldest on the island of Rügen and may be the oldest timber-framed church building in North Germany and the entire southeast Baltic Sea region. The church was sited on an old salt and herring trading route. It was first mentioned in the records when reference was made to a priest at Landow...plebane (Priester) in Landaue dating to the year 1333. In 1369 a Kaland Brotherhood was mentioned, something which was important for churches in the Middle Ages. The original timber-framed of the building was bricked in around 1542. The interior was decorated...

The Evangelical parish belongs to the church district of Stralsund within the Pomeranian Evangelical Church.