Helmstedt - St.-Stephani

Helmstedt developed near the monastery of St. Ludgeri, which was probably founded around 800 by St. Liudger. For centuries there was a connection to the Werden Abbey, also founded by St. Luidger.

Helmstedt was first mentioned as Helmonstede in 952. Until 1490, the abbots of the Werden-monastery were still the lords of Helmstedt, who then ceded their rights to the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

In the course of the throne dispute between the Guelphs and the Staufers, the city was almost completely destroyed at the turn of the year 1199/1200 by troops of the Magdeburg Archbishop and Philip of Swabia. After reconstruction, the city's fortifications were strengthened to withstand a siege in 1279. After years of war, the abbot of Werden, who acted as a mediator between the warring parties, was killed by enraged citizens in 1288. As a result, the city and its citizens were subjected to imperial ban, which was not lifted until 1290 by King Rudolf I.

Helmstedt developed into a trading town at an early stage. Between 1426 and 1518, it was a member of the Hanseatic League.

The Romanesque predecessor building was burned down by troops of the Magdeburg Archbishop and King Philip of Swabia. Around 1230, the construction of today's St. Stephen's Church in Gothic style began, but the construction work dragged on for several decades. Through structural changes in the following years, the building received not only Gothic and Romanesque sections but also Renaissance and Baroque interior elements.

The first Protestant preaching took place here in 1530 by the pastor Heinrich Wende, who was expelled from the city a short time later by the ducal sovereign.