Siebenbäumen – Church, History and Culture

Siebenbäumen offers a cultural and historical focus for planning your trip: St. Marien, the history of the parish and the work of the Windmühle Siebenbäumen association. If you are looking for a hotel in Siebenbäumen, you can also explore the nature and culture of the wider travel destination of the Duchy of Lauenburg.

Church, History and Windmill Culture

The interior of St. Marien is built in wood with three naves and is influenced by English Tudor Gothic. Its features include Neo-Gothic elements and an altar by Ratzeburg master carpenter Flohr. Paintings depict Peter and Paul, with Siebenbäumen shown in the background. The building’s design, furnishings, craftsmanship and the local scene depicted in the painting offer different starting points for an architectural and art-historical interpretation.

The parish of Siebenbäumen is first mentioned in a document dating from 1286. The document records Kastorf’s assignment to the parish. The early mention of the parish thus links a specific date with a named historical event and a place. Together with the architectural and artistic details of St. Marien, this forms a local thematic thread from the history of the parish to the design of the interior.

The Windmühle Siebenbäumen association offers another cultural perspective: it promotes art and culture, works to restore and preserve windmill technology, and offers courses and educational events. Alongside architecture and history, preservation work and knowledge-sharing are also topics to explore. If you would like to include individual events in your trip plans, check their dates in advance.

The Duchy of Lauenburg as a Regional Setting

The wider travel destination of the Duchy of Lauenburg is 26 percent forest and includes 48 lakes. The district is also home to the Sachsenwald, Schleswig-Holstein’s largest contiguous forest. The Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park lies in the heart of the duchy. It covers an area measuring approximately 35 by 17 kilometres, providing habitat for kingfishers, white-tailed eagles and cranes, among other species.

In the nature park, you can hike, cycle, canoe and swim in forest lakes. Four signposted cycling tours add to the options. Visitor facilities also include hiking trails, observation towers, nature trails and rest areas; since 1960, the nature park has been designated as a protected area for visitors to explore. At the observation tower by Lake Mechow, the focus is on watching waterbirds. With a little luck, you may also spot a white-tailed eagle there. Another way to discover the district’s natural environment, flora and cultural history is to join expert-led excursions organised by the nature park.

The region’s cultural offerings also cover a range of themes. The Elbschifffahrtsmuseum in Lauenburg/Elbe features the interactive, three-storey “Mensch-Modell-Maschine” exhibition on shipping. Visitors can take an active part at the models and interactive stations. The Kreismuseum Herzogtum Lauenburg in Ratzeburg focuses on the history of the Dukes of Lauenburg and the former inner-German border. Kultursommer am Kanal is a four-week cultural festival held along the canal every summer; check the programme for the relevant year when planning your trip.

For planning purposes, you can distinguish between two scales: St. Marien, the parish and the association’s work form Siebenbäumen’s cultural and historical focus. The landscape, nature park and other museums are distinct themes of the Duchy of Lauenburg.

Discover more destinations: Breitenfelde, Sterley, Rondeshagen, Nusse, Grambek, Müssen, Alt Mölln, Schwarzenbek-Land

Back to the main travel overview: Duchy of Lauenburg.