St. Marien, Gothic church in Burlo, Germany

St. Marien is a single-nave Brick Gothic church of eight bays with a 5/10 polygonal choir, measuring 39 metres long, 7.40 metres wide at the east and about twelve metres high inside. A hexagonal roof turret holding two bells from 1631 and 1643 rises above the red brick walls, whose buttresses are the only exterior ornament. Above the rectangular west portal stand a Madonna figure and a three-light sandstone tracery window.

A first chapel, mentioned in 1242 as the oratory of the hermit Siegfried, preceded the church. The Wilhelmites settled in 1245 and built most of the present structure around 1300; the Cistercians took over in 1448, raised the west walls and vaulted the nave, with consecration on 1 October 1474. After damage in the Thirty Years' War the church was restored and reconsecrated in 1682 with a new high altar and two side altars. The Hünfelder Oblates took over the monastery in 1921 and bought the church in 1951.

The church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, and Marian themes recur inside: the neo-Gothic high altar of the late 19th century shows scenes from her life, and the choir windows carry Marian subjects, restored in 1949. Six wooden saint figures from around 1700 stand in the choir, among them Mary Magdalene with a skull and Barbara with a tower.

The building is accessible to visitors who wish to explore the interior, including the main nave and side aisles. Services are held regularly, so visitors should check timing and plan accordingly when visiting the site.

Under the confessional chapel added in 1958 lies the Coemeterium novum, a vaulted burial crypt with 42 coffin niches, accessible from outside on the east side and in use since 1752. A wide opening broken through the chapel wall now gives a view of the altar area.