Schaaken Church

Schaaken Church is a ruined plastered fieldstone and brick church in Schemtschuschnoje, Russia. Construction began in the second half of the 14th century, with a three-sided closed choir and a tower from the early 14th century. The nave and choir were separated by a triumphal arch, and a star vault was added in the 15th century. Only the outer walls, the tower and the arch remain.

The church was begun in the second half of the 14th century, while its tower dates from the early 14th century and received a new spire in 1862 after damage. The interior vaulting was renewed in 1877. The church survived the war undamaged but decayed afterwards: the tower spire was removed in 1966, and today only the outer walls, the tower and the arch between nave and choir remain.

The village of Schaaken was a church village before the Reformation, and Lutheran teaching took hold early. Until 1894 it formed its own inspection within the church province of East Prussia, then belonged to the Königsberg-Land II church district until 1945. After flight and expulsion and Soviet religious policy, parish life ceased until the 1990s, when new Lutheran congregations formed; the nearest today is in Marshalskoye.

The ruin stands in the eastern part of Schemtschuschnoje, on the road toward Kaliningrad, not by a castle. Only the outer walls, the tower and the arch between nave and choir remain, so watch your step among the masonry.

The church was not destroyed in the war; its decay came afterwards. In 1966 the tower spire was removed, and a roof re-covered with asbestos panels lasted into the 1980s. Today only the outer walls, the tower and the arch between nave and choir remain. The three bells dated from 1736, 1815 and 1869.