St. Laurentius (Warendorf)

Exterior view

The Catholic parish church of St. Laurentius is the oldest of the Warendorf churches. It is the parish church for the subsidiary churches St. Marien and St. Josef.

history

West front of the church before the renovation

Floor plan 1886

St. Laurentius Church (aerial photo, 2014)

Today's church was built as a Gothic hall church at the beginning of the 15th century after a major city fire, which also destroyed the previous building. A wooden mission church from the 8th century, but certainly a Romanesque stone church since the 12th century, had stood at the same place . In 1913/14 the church received a group of towers and a new main portal.

Furnishing

In the three-aisled Gothic hall, which looks quite dark due to the stained glass and the structural and vegetative surroundings in front of the south portal, the subtle drawings and designs of the vault are striking . St. Laurentius has been the destination of pilgrimages to the Virgin Mary since the 18th century and has been the center of the multi-day festive days with processions and high masses around the Feast of the Assumption for centuries : a clothed mannequin from the 17th century represents the Virgin Mary with child and has been experiencing it since around 1750 great veneration. The evening before, the old town is illuminated with bungen , this is a custom that is unique in north-west Germany. There are also a large number of other figures, groups of figures and paintings, especially the famous Warendorf Altar . The gothic tower tabernacle in the northeast corner of the choir is undated . The baptismal font dates from the 19th century. The St. Laurentius Church has a hunger cloth based on the Marienfeld model .