Walsrode - Stadtkirche

There is a legend around the foundation of the Walsrode Monastery by Count Wale. When the count had to leave his nearby castle he got stuck in the swamp with his wagon in the area of today's Walsrode. He saw this as a divine sign to buy the place and found a monastery there. He named the place "Walesrode"

The settlement that developed around the monastery was repeatedly caught up in the military conflicts from 1371 onwards. The village was helplessly exposed to the frequent looting and pillaging by the troops and was burned down by soldiers from Bremen in 1381. The citizens were allowed after that by the Saxon dukes to build fortifications. They laid out a large moat and erected four city gates.

The Reformation was very slow to take hold in the area. Duke Ernst sent the preacher Henning Kelp to Walsrode around 1528 so that the monastery would be reformed, but the resistance of the canonesses and the rural population continued for decades. It was not until 1574 that the Reformation was considered complete in the monastery of Walsrode.

The "Stadtkirche", dedicated to "St. John the Baptist" was erected in classicist style 1848 -1850. There were at least three predecessor churches, built in the 10th, 12th and 15th centuries. The massive tower is from 1786. Wall to wall to the south stands the smaller monastery church.