St. George's Church belongs to the most significant historical monuments of North German brick Gothic architecture. It was constructed in a long period spanning the Late Middle Ages and the Reformation, undergoing several design changes before its final completion in 1594. The colossal nave and transept is testament to the last great parish church constructed in the Middle Ages in Northern Germany. After extensive damage by an air raid in April 1945, the church could no longer be used.
Until January 1990 the church remained a dangerously insecure ruin in the town, and a great storm that month lead to the collapse of its North gable. This event however provided the impetus to secure and then restore the church with help from the Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz (German Foundation for Monument Protection).
The efforts of the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz alongside funding at municipal, federal state and national level as well as numerous private donors have made it possible to not only rebuild this Gothic monument but provide greater public access to it and enable it once again to be used by the Lutheran Church.
In total more than 40 million Euros have been invested in the reconstruction. Despite the building activity, St. Georgen has established itself as an attractive cultural venue, with well-received congresses, exhibitions, concerts, readings and church events having all taken place there.
References:The first written record of church in Danmark locality date back to the year 1291. Close to the church are several stones with a Christian text and cross inscribed. The oldest parts of the present red-brick church are from the 1300s. In the late 1400s the church was enlarged to the appearance it has today. The church has been modified both internally and externally several times, among other things after the fires in 1699 and 1889. There are lot of well-preserved mural paintings in the walls.