Ratekau - Vicelinkirche

The construction of the Vicelinkirche in Ratekau, a single-nave hall church built in Romanesque style with a choir and apse, started in 1156, after Wagria was conquered by the Holsteins in 1138/39.

Adolf II of Schauenburg and Holstein, whom Wagria was given as a fief by Henry the Lion, entrusted Vizelin with spreading Christianity among the Slavs. At the same time he started colonization with Christian settlers.

The church was first mentioned in a document in 1234/1235, when the apse arch and vault were renewed.

The 48-meter-high round tower served as a defence tower. The church was built mainly of fieldstones using mortar