St. Stephen's Church is one of the oldest churches on the island of Rügen. Idyllically nestled in the small, original village of Swantow, it is home to a small but active and committed congregation.
In ancient times Swantow was an elongated village with a church, a parish, a sexton's office, a mill, four farms and two cottages. The Danish bishop Absalon of Roskilde is said to have baptized the first Christians of this area here. The place where the church stands is consecrated by him. In 1294 a church is mentioned for the first time, it is named Saint Stephen. The construction of the present church began in 1469 and it stands close to the place where the sacred grove of the Slavs used to be. The large boulders in the northern foundation could be parts of the place of worship. The oldest part of the church is the northern part, where the main entrance used to be. The old holy water basin indicates this. The present pulpit dates back to 1705, resting on a figure representing St. Peter, and belongs to a Baroque furnishing that dominated the space until the renovation at the beginning of the 80s of the last century. Then the chancel was redesigned with a simple mensa and a Gothic crucifixion group.
Since 1995 there has been the Förderverein Kirche Swantow e. V..
