Great church

Built around 1100, in the city quarter of Burgsteinfurt, graveyard on a Roman site, frequently rebuilt and extended

The massive structure of the Great Church rises from the centre of the one-time church courtyard, surmounted by an imposing tower with stepped gables and a gable roof. The tower appears to grow out of the west side of the nave. The structure is 50 m long and made of cut stone. To the north, it is joined by a side aisle and transept, each with its own roof. The structure is unique among the Münster region's medieval churches, since it does not have an interior vault. Instead, the extended nave is surmounted by a timber semi-circular vaulted ceiling. The Great Church is the evangelical parish church serving the hamlets of Hollich, Sellen and Veltrup, as well as the city itself. The oldest documents refer to it as the "moderkerke" or "rechte Kerspelskerke". It has been known as the Great Church since 1380, when another church - known as the "Little Church" - was built in the city of Steinfurt.

Construction started in around 1370 on the site of a Roman structure; to a large extent, the remaining parts of the Roman structure were taken into account and incorporated. The tower, with its stepped gable, was built between 1426 and 1430. In accordance with reformed religious principles, the church has contained neither pictures nor any other figurative decoration since 1564. The stone choir screen, also known as the Apostle's Stage, dates back to before the Reformation; it is the largest in West Germany and the only one to be preserved in Westphalia. The choir screen has its origins in the Gothic era, and forms a barrier between the "Laienraum" (people's room) and the choir, which was reserved for the priests. It is no longer possible to ascertain whether the date 1487, etched into the masonry, represents the date of the choir screen's construction or its restoration. However, there is good reason for assuming that it dates back to before 1487, and that this date may mark the extension of the central part into a choristers' stage. The railing's Fischblasenmaßwerk is a harmonious example of late Gothic decorative art.

The renaissance organ built in 1658 by the organ builder Konrad Bauer, who came from Unna, is one of the church's gems. Luckily, the original decorative view of the organ has been preserved despite all the trials and tribulations of various wars. The church was thoroughly renovated in 1964/65, and it was decided to replace the organ. Although its housing remained intact, the tone works were replaced by the H. Führer organ builder's workshop in Wilhelmshaven. Thus, the organ is once again one of Westphalia's most beautiful - and, with its 26 registers and 1,968 pipes, one of the region's largest!