St. Laurentii, Itzehoe

St. Laurentii is a Lutheran parish church in the centre of Itzehoe, the largest religious building in the town. It stands on the site of an earlier Gothic church first mentioned in 1196. That medieval church was destroyed when the town burnt in 1657 during the Second Northern War. Only the cloisters survived and remain the only medieval building left in Itzehoe. The present Baroque church was built between 1716 and 1718. Its tower, designed by Johannes Otzen, was added between 1894 and 1896 and rises to 79.45 metres.

The church is notable for its metal sarcophagi beneath the floor. These hold the remains of ladies from the Itzehoe Monastery and members of the noble Rantzau family. Among those buried there are Dorothea of Rantzau, her daughter and son-in-law, and Abbess Metta Christina of Ahlefeldt. The altar comes from the workshop of Hein Baxmann, a Hamburg wood carver, and features 24 biblical scenes. The chancel was originally part of a rood screen until 1962.

Inside, the church contains an organ begun by Arp Schnitger in 1715 and completed by his pupil Lambert Daniel Kastens. The case was kept when Wilhelm Sauer rebuilt the organ in 1905, and Franz Grollmann expanded it in 1976. The church now serves as a concert venue for the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and other events. Visitors can see the Baroque interior, the historic altar, and the grand tower with its onion dome and four corner towers.