A rare chessboard stone. Have you ever seen one? Right here at the Dorfkirche Kleinbeeren you can. This unassuming church holds a secret. It’s a story woven into the very fabric of its walls.
The Dorfkirche Kleinbeeren is more than just a pretty church. It’s a living testament to history. Its construction started in the second half of the 13th century. Some believe it began even later at the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century. The original building was rectangular. It featured a south portal and a priest’s door. Three windows likely graced the north and south walls. An east wall held a lancet triple window. These were probably all the same height. This suggests a flat ceiling inside the church. A tower was added much later around 1500.
Around 1700 extensive renovations took place. The tower was rebuilt possibly using existing bricks. The nave walls were raised. Narrow windows were given a Baroque makeover. The priest’s and south portals were bricked up. So was the east wall’s three-window group. A new central portal was created on the south side. At some point an addition was built onto the north side of the tower but later removed. The roofs gables and tower cross were renewed in 1975. In 1987 interior and roof truss renovations followed. The font was renovated in 1996.
The Dorfkirche Kleinbeeren’s walls are primarily fieldstone. These stones were originally hewn and laid in courses. Numerous renovations and repairs have largely obscured this layering. The upper parts use brick. The chancel is straight not recessed. You can see the remains of a bricked-up three-window group on the east wall each about 70 cm wide.
The church has a fascinating chessboard stone. It’s in the south wall at the transition to the tower. Its original edge points east. This suggests it was originally on the west side rotated 180 degrees during the tower’s construction.
The wooden pulpit-altar dates back to around 1700. It has a polygonal pulpit surrounded by columns topped with a broken pediment. The wooden font also from that period is decorated with acanthus. Several epitaphs from the 18th and early 19th centuries stand on the east side of the nave. The church has a flat wooden ceiling. A bell cast in the 15th century hangs in the tower. A memorial stands south of the church commemorating those fallen in the world wars.
The Dorfkirche Kleinbeeren is more than just stones and mortar. It is a place where history whispers. Where secrets lie hidden in a chessboard stone. It’s a place that invites you to explore its stories its changes its enduring spirit.