Martinskirche, Gothic church in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.

The Martinskirche is a Gothic hall church whose nave is divided into three aisles by stone columns and covered by wooden ceilings. Its east-facing choir has a net-ribbed vault with keystones showing Saint Martin, a Christ face, the Kirchheim coat of arms and four old Württemberg heraldic figures. The pulpit at the north choir arch, made after the 1690 fire by Hans Jakob and Hans Jörg Knöpfle of Stuttgart, has a five-sided basket of plaster with reliefs of the Evangelists and the Ascension.

A wooden church dedicated to Saint Martin is thought to have stood here from the 7th century; the church was first documented in 960. Around 1220 the Zähringen family enlarged it into a three-aisled Romanesque basilica. In the mid-15th century it was rebuilt as a Gothic hall church with masonry arcades and wooden ceilings, and after a fire in 1690 it received new furnishings.

The church is dedicated to Saint Martin, a patron already honoured by the wooden church of the 7th century. The keystones of the Gothic choir vault carry the church patron, a Christ face, the Kirchheim coat of arms and the four old Württemberg shield figures: the lozenges of Teck, stag antlers, the imperial banner and the fish of Mömpelgard.

The interior is best explored by walking slowly through the side aisles and looking upward to notice details in the vaults and keystones. The church's layout naturally guides visitors toward the altar area, where most of the artworks are concentrated.

The pulpit at the northern choir arch dates from after the 1690 fire and is called an example of Protestant Baroque. Hans Jakob and Hans Jörg Knöpfle of Stuttgart built it: the five-sided basket rests on a turned column, and its sides and stair parapet carry reliefs of the Evangelists and the Ascension. The basket is mostly plaster, while the lid and the figures of prophets, Moses and John the Baptist are wood.