The church in Kirch-Baggendorf was built in the middle of the 13th century.
Towards the end of the 12th, beginning of the 13th century German settlers settled in Baggendorf (Bekendorpe), who also built a church. While Baggendorf itself is first mentioned in a document in 1242, the first evidence of the existence of a church in Kirch Baggendorf appears on July 21, 1278, a Hermannus plebanus (priest Hermann) de Baggendorp as a witness on a document of the Abbot of Neuenkamp. The exact time of construction of the church is unknown. In the first half of the 13th century the fieldstone building was completed. The building was erected as a unit; however, the tower was added only in the 14th or 15th century. In 1746 the now visible spire was added.
While hardly anything was changed on the exterior of the church, the interior was subject to major alterations. Between 1702 and 1703, the interior was completely remodeled and painted in a contemporary style. The pulpit and altar were added. The interior underwent a renovation in 1864, when the pews were replaced by those still preserved today; the central aisle was eliminated in the process. Under Gustav Hoffmann, the church was restored in 1939. Porches were removed, and a heating system was installed. Hoffmann uncovered medieval paintings from the time of the church's construction. After 1990, further restoration work was carried out. This included replacing the slate of the tower roofing with copper because of rusted-through roofing nails. The paintings exposed by Gustav Hoffmann were restored and partially reconstructed by Marcus Mannewitz in 2001-2005.
With a length (including the tower) of 42.32 meters and a width of 15.17 meters, the church is one of the larger village churches in Western Pomerania. It was built mainly of fieldstone. Brick was used only as an element of articulation, east and west gables are also made of brick. It is a building erected in the period of transition from Romanesque to Gothic.
Remains of a Gothic figurative painting, made at the end of the 14th century, can be seen in the reveals of the triumphal arch. The eastern windows have leaded glass. The Baroque pulpit dates from 1702, the altarpiece, about five meters high, from 1703; both were made in the same workshop. The altarpiece was restored in 2007 in the 1938 color scheme. In 2017, the gold framing of the pulpit was renewed.
[Source: wikipedia.org]
