St. Severini, Medieval church in Kirchwerder, Germany

St. Severini is a church in Kirchwerder featuring a separate wooden bell tower and a cemetery with over 90 sandstone grave markers dating from the 16th to 19th centuries. The graveyard preserves headstones that tell stories about the lives and families of people who lived in this region across several generations.

The church structure dates back to the 13th century, marking early Christian settlement in this area. Major renovations between 1785 and 1791 added a southern annex and barrel vault ceiling, transforming the building's interior appearance.

The galleries carry a 38-part cycle of Old and New Testament scenes from the 17th and 18th centuries, each panel framed by turned columns and inscribed with the donor's name. Twelve medieval apostle figures, probably made for an altar around 1500, stand on the south gallery balustrade since 1928.

The bell tower stands apart to the southwest of the nave, so the churchyard is crossed on foot between the two. The 90 gravestones from the 16th to 19th centuries lie mostly along the edge of the modern cemetery, with the most valuable slabs kept in the Brauthaus. Part of an old slab serves as a step at the south entrance.

The wooden bell tower, standing southwest of the nave, was probably built around 1600; its beams bear the dates 1604 and 1664, and the present spire was added in 1771. A folk tale says the devil tried to throw it into the Elbe but could not grip it, and God allowed him only one attempt, "Eenmol dörtst du bloß verseuken".