Neukirchen Church

The church in Neukirchen stands on a steep bank above the Flensburger Förde in northern Schleswig. Built in 1621 as the ‘New Church’ for workers who never arrived, it is a plain brick building with a flat ceiling, rectangular chancel and a sturdy west tower. A small porch was added in 1793, and the tower was plastered in 1837; the date shows in the wall anchors. Inside, the 1623 winged altar shows a glowing oil painting of the Last Supper surrounded by twelve gilded wooden figures of Christ, John the Baptist, Paul and nine apostles. The pulpit, carved in 1620 by Nils Taxsen, carries eight reliefs of Christ’s life and stands beneath a six-sided sounding board topped by a trumpeting angel. A painted portrait of Pastor Petersen from 1763 hangs on the north wall under the gallery. Outside, the churchyard is enclosed by a field-stone wall and lined with lime trees. A modern granite font now stands under the gallery, while the old 17th-century wooden cover with its baroque finial and family coat of arms is kept nearby. A 2011 memorial stone remembers Kapitänleutnant Asmus Jepsen, executed in 1945, and the site served as a film set for a 2018 episode of Tatort.