Die Dahlenburger St. Laurentiuskapelle

The St. Laurentius Chapel was built in 1248 as a Romanesque hall construction with Gothic window apertures. With a length of 11 meters and width of 7 meters it was used as castle chapel for those Dukes who resided in Dahlenburg from time to time. After the castle of Dahlenburg was destroyed around 1350, ownership of the church was transferred to the church land municipality, but this change in ownership brought with it a new function for which the building did not offer the required space. Consequently it was lengthened by 5 meters in the second half of the 14th century.

After the Reformation in 1540 services were conducted only in the St. Johannis Church, while in the St. Laurentius Church - the "Old Church" - only funeral services for the deceased of the land municipality were held. With the French occupation starting from 1803, the chapel was used as guard room and horse stable. For that the interior installations and the loft were torn out and used for heating purposes. After that the chapel was used only for storing the tools and equipment for the the surrounding cemetery. The St. Laurentius Chapel, as it appears today, was still situated at the Dahlenburg square until the end of the 19th century. It also had a free-standing tower at the south-west corner of the chapel. However, from the beginning of the 17th century it became more and more delapidated until the belfry was moved into the rafters of the chapel where in 1625 the old bell was installed.

Since 1928 the 750-year-old chapel has served as the Local Museum of Dahlenburg. With a few exceptions, Museum's collections local history originate from the local region of Dahlenburg. Also presented is a model of the legendary battle in the Göhrde forest of 1813 with 1500 tin figures.

Opening times: May 1 - October 1, every Sunday from 10 - 12 am.

Read more about the chapell and the history of Dahlenburg

Please note: The cache is located outside the building and therefore accessible at any time. There is no need to leave the ways or to remove stones from walls or other things. In addition, you don't have to explore the old graves which are still present at that area.