Volunteers rock the Schüttorfer giant: A look at the church tower!

Volunteers rock the Schüttorfer giant: A look at the church tower!

In the Reformed parish in Schüttorf, 21 volunteers are currently committed who take over the supervision in the Laurentius Church during the 2025 tourist season. This valuable support enables visitors to offer information and assistance from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The volunteers, including Heinz Bavinck, Gerta Bodenkamp, ​​Andreas Boelmans and many more, take on various tasks. This includes supervision in the church, accompanying visitors when climbing the tower, as well as answering questions and giving tips on sights in the area. Karl-Heinz Elskamp, ​​the oldest and longest-serving volunteer, who has been active since 2001, is unfortunately no longer there.

The Laurentius Church and its impressive tower

The Laurentius Church itself was built between 1327 and 1535 as a three-aisled hall church. A special feature of the church is the circular arrangement of the chair around the pulpit and the sacrament table, which was designed in 1851. The 81 meter high tower, also known as the "giant of Schüttorf", was built between 1502 and 1535 and shapes the cityscape of Schüttorf. The tracery gallery of the tower is located at a height of about 40 meters and can be reached via an oak staircase with 135 steps, which was built in 2003. Visitors from the viewing platform at a height of 77 meters have an impressive view of more than 2000 square kilometers.

The Evangelical Reformed Church of St. Laurentius was first mentioned in 1355. Expanded several times in the 15th and 16th centuries, it is also known as a large church or Schüttorfer giant. The church is located on Friedrich-Middendorff-Platz 1 in Schüttorf and is an important building in Lower Saxony, Germany, such as architecture-bildarchiv.de explained.