Saint Vitus Church, Lutheran church in Kernen im Remstal, Germany
Saint Vitus Church, also called St. Mary and St. Vitus Church, stands in the old centre of Stetten im Remstal. Its 33-metre tower retains a late-Gothic base with a cross-ribbed vault, while the upper storey was rebuilt in 1828 with three-arch arcades on each side under a shallow pyramid roof. The nave is a broad transept hall without a chancel, with the pulpit, altar and font placed on the south side.
First documented in 1349 as a Romanesque Marian chapel founded by the Truchsessen Wilhelm and Graf von Stetten, the church was dedicated to St. Vitus in 1488. In 1698, under Duchess Magdalena Sibylla, it was demolished except for the bell tower and rebuilt at twice its size as a transverse church without a chancel by architect Matthias Weiss. The tower's upper storey was replaced in 1828 by Friedrich Bernhard Adam Gross.
The church serves as a gathering place where the local community meets for worship and celebrations throughout the year. It remains central to village life, bringing together families and neighbors in the Remstal valley.
The church is located in the center of Kernen and is easily accessible from the main village streets. Visitors can view the building from outside and find information plaques nearby that explain its history and significance.
The tower's lower section, with its cross-ribbed vaulted ground floor and two narrow openings thought to be arrow slits, survives from the 1473 tower; the upper storey with three pillar arcades per side dates from 1828. A memorial to the fallen of the First World War, made by Emil Kiemlen, was dedicated on the north wall on 21 April 1921.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,875 contributors worldwide.