St Laurentius, Gothic parish church in Warendorf, Germany

St. Laurentius is a three-aisled Gothic hall church built after a major town fire destroyed its predecessor. Inside, light grey clustered columns with red-painted rings at their capitals rise to pointed arches and a ribbed vaulted ceiling. At the far end, three tall stained-glass windows stand above a red and gold triptych altarpiece, with dark wooden pews lining the tiled central aisle.

A wooden mission church likely stood on this site in the 8th century, and a Romanesque stone church existed by the 12th century; remains of these predecessors were found in excavations in 1962 and 1963. The parish is first documented in 1139 and was one of four episcopal chaplaincies of the Diocese of Münster, reserved for a cathedral canon. After a major town fire destroyed the predecessor, the present Gothic hall church was built at the beginning of the 15th century. A tower group and new main portal were added in 1913/14.

The church preserves nine panels from an oak wing altar created in 1414 by the Master of the Warendorf Altar, depicting Passion and Crucifixion scenes.

The interior is accessible to visitors during the day, with regular masses held at set times. Pay attention to the recently recast bronze bells and the organ rebuilt in 2022 when visiting.

The church holds a five-bell bronze peal cast in 1947 by Albert Junker of Brilon, tuned to b0, c1, d1, f1 and g1. Parts of the film "Nich' mit Leo" were shot inside the building.