Kessin: Church Ensemble, Torkaten and Courtyard Festival

Kessin combines its historic church ensemble with the boathouse of the Olympic Rowing Club of 1956 e. V. The boathouse can be reached on bus route 113 to the Kessin, ORC stop; check the current service before travelling. The rowing club connection creates a sporting contrast with the history of the church ensemble.

Church ensemble: building history and art

Kessin Church was built in the 12th or 13th century and was first mentioned in a document in 1171. The construction date and the first documentary mention are not the same: one dates the building’s construction, while the other gives the earliest year in which it is mentioned in writing. The thatched Torkaten is part of the historic church ensemble. The rectory, which stands northwest of the church, was built in 1696 and is a protected cultural monument. The different dates reveal several construction phases within the ensemble.

Large sections of the church’s medieval wall paintings were restored in 1977. The paintings’ creation and their conservation are two separate chapters: 1977 refers to the restoration, not to when the paintings were created. The restoration history thus adds a clearly dated later chapter to the building and furnishing history.

Courtyard festival and seasonal planning

Kessin’s church community holds an annual summer courtyard festival in the historic churchyard. The 2024 edition included children’s games and the Torkaten café. Before planning a trip around the festival, check the date of that year’s edition. This distinguishes a stay prompted by a specific event from a trip focused on the village’s history.

Dummerstorf in its regional context

In the wider travel destination of Dummerstorf, Dummerstorf Manor House is another historic landmark. It was built between 1714 and 1717 in the Baroque style as the ancestral seat of the Mecklenburg noble von Preen family and is a listed building. Chronologically, the manor house dates significantly later than Kessin Church, which dates from the 12th or 13th century; their building histories reflect different historical periods. An association makes the manor house’s two halls accessible to the public for events such as concerts, readings and talks. If you are planning to attend an event, ask the organiser about upcoming dates.

Also in the wider travel destination of Dummerstorf is St. Godehard’s Village Church in Kessin. Its furnishings include a carved Madonna and Child dating from around 1300 and a carved figure of St. Godehard, Bishop, from the 15th century. The two figures therefore date from different centuries.

Kavelstorf Motorway Church, in the wider travel destination of Dummerstorf, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. These regular opening hours differ from the events at the manor house and courtyard festival, which take place on specific dates.

Discover more destinations: Amt Güstrow-Land, Bad Doberan, Satow, Amt Krakow Am See, Amt Schwaan, Sanitz, Gehlsdorf, Mandelshagen

View the overview of the wider travel destination: Rostock.