Discover Steinkirchen

Steinkirchen offers several concrete points of interest to help you plan your trip: the history of St. Martini et Nicolai, a cycling route through the town and an apple festival in September. If you are looking for a hotel in Steinkirchen, you can choose your focus depending on whether you are interested in church and organ history, want to explore by bike or would like to plan your trip around an event date.

The Church and Its Features

St. Martini et Nicolai was built in the 14th century. Arp Schnitger installed the organ in 1687 and also used some pipes from the 16th century. The installation date therefore does not date all of the organ’s materials: some pipes are significantly older. The church’s free-standing wooden bell tower was added in 1696 and has a granite base. Carl Bülkau made the richly decorated pulpit altar in 1784/85; Christoph Hermann Meyer embellished it. The later dates of these features show that the church building and its individual fittings belong to different periods. St. Martini et Nicolai is also designated as a cycling church.

Cycling and Routes in the Altes Land

The purple Altländer Route runs through Steinkirchen as a cycling tour and connects nature, culture and regional character. The Altes Land also offers a cycling network of around 1,000 kilometres; more than 100 kilometres of main and tributary river dykes invite visitors to cycle. For walkers, the Altes Land has paths along the dykes of the Elbe, Lühe and Este. This means that a named cycling tour through Steinkirchen is complemented by regional cycling and walking routes with different points of interest. Check the current conditions on the Altländer Route before setting out; the weather can affect conditions along the dyke routes.

The Altes Land: Landscape and Fruit Growing

The Altes Land is characterised by the Elbe, orchards, Altländer farmhouses and churches, as well as dykes and ditches. In the 12th century, predominantly Dutch settlers laid out a planned linear cultural landscape with strip-shaped plots. These plots illustrate the systematic layout of the cultural landscape. Fruit has been grown in the Altes Land since the 14th century. Apples are sold directly at farms and can also be picked by visitors. Farms also sell cherries, vegetables and berries directly, and offer the opportunity to pick fruit from the trees. What an individual farm offers depends on the harvest season and the farm; therefore, check seasonal availability before planning a visit.

Apple Festival in Steinkirchen

An apple festival is held in Steinkirchen on the third Sunday in September. The festival includes crafts, a cake buffet and a shanty choir. If you would like to plan your trip around it, check the exact date and programme before setting out. The event date is easier to plan around than a visit for pick-your-own fruit: farm offerings and availability depend on the harvest season and the farm.

Landscape in the District of Stade

The landscape of the district of Stade is shaped by wide marshlands along the Elbe, river valleys in the Geest and untamed raised bogs. These landscapes offer opportunities for local recreation and nature watching.

Discover more destinations: Neuenkirchen, Harsefeld, Oldendorf, Horneburg, Estorf, Mittelnkirchen, Sauensiek, Engelschoff

Go to the main travel overview: Stade.