St. Laurentius, Gothic church building in Markranstädt, Germany

St. Laurentius is a late-Gothic hall church with a rendered exterior, a steep dark roof and a west tower topped by an onion dome, lantern and spire. Tall pointed-arch windows with tracery sit between shallow buttresses. Inside, a barrel-vaulted hall has wooden galleries on three sides, with only the west gallery still two-storeyed, and a three-part organ above.

The choir was under construction in 1518 and vaulted in 1519; the nave was built in 1521–1525 by the masters Thomas and Brosius, while the west tower is Romanesque in its core. Julius Zeißig enlarged the windows and raised the tower between 1899 and 1927, and the church was restored in 1965.

The painted winged altar of 1569 is the church's main piece, showing the Crucifixion, Gethsemane and the Resurrection on its wings, with the Flagellated Christ and Mary. The neo-Gothic pulpit was made by Julius Zeißig around 1900, and a Baroque baptismal lectern by Caspar Friedrich Löbelt is dated 1741. Art Nouveau stained glass from 1906 survives in the windows.

The building is centrally located in Markranstädt and easily accessible, with regular hours for religious services and visits. It is advisable to check official sources or local information points for exact access times before planning your visit.

The tower core is probably Romanesque, older than the 1518–1525 church, and stands off-axis to the west. Two bricked-up round-arched windows survive in it. The tower was heightened during Julius Zeißig's remodelling, which ran from 1899 to 1927.