St. Laurentius, church building in Roßtal, Middle Franconia, Germany

St. Laurentius is an Evangelical Lutheran parish church in Roßtal, built as a Romanesque hall church and rebuilt in Gothic style around 1500. Its long saddle roof contrasts with the tall four-storey west tower, which has a Baroque cupola, tracery windows and friezes of pointed-arch panels on figurative consoles. The recessed choir closes in a five-eighth polygon under a rib vault with net figures.

The site belonged to the Carolingian royal estate before passing to the Bishopric of Bamberg. The early Romanesque church of 1025–1042, whose hall crypt survives, had a ground plan longer than today's building and comparable to the Bruno Plan of Würzburg Cathedral. The nave core dates from the 12th–13th centuries; the tower was rebuilt after destruction in the 1388 war of the cities, the choir followed in the mid-15th century, and in 1627 the interior received a wooden barrel vault and galleries.

The church bears the name of Saint Lawrence, whose wooden figure from the late 15th century stands inside. A painting dated 1524 shows Luther and Melanchthon distributing Communion to Protestant princes, a Reformation theme tied to the parish's Lutheran identity.

The church stands in the centre of Roßtal, with the four-storey west tower and its baroque cupola visible from the surrounding streets. The nave is entered at ground level; the crypt of 1025–1042 lies below and is reached by steps, so a torch is useful. The organ by E. F. Walcker & Cie. from 1973 has 28 stops on two manuals and pedal.

The crypt beneath the church, built 1025–1042, has four by five bays of barrel vaults with lunettes resting on square stone pillars. The middle of its former three small apses holds a sandstone mensa. The early Romanesque church above it was longer than today's building and resembles the Bruno Plan of Würzburg Cathedral.