Engersen village church

Like many other villages in the Altmark, Engersen still has its mediaeval fieldstone church. It is an example of a type of late Romanesque village church construction which was prevalent in the late 12th and 13th centuries.

The structure was built using rows of field stones, and probably dates back to 1210-1220. On the exterior one can see Romanesque apertures which were later filled in, and at the south end a round-arch porch. The later alterations to the Romanesque church are typical of those carried out at many similar village churches in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Nothing remains of the mediaeval finery. A 13th century triumphal cross was felt to be out of place, and was presented to the Altmark museum in Stendal. The church was extended in the 16th century, and restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has a pulpit altar, a horseshoe gallery and a glazed patron’s box pew on the south wall of the choir.