Schloßkirche Bodelschwingh

The Schloßkirche Bodelschwingh stands in Dortmund’s Bodelschwingh district as a protected Protestant monument. Its Gothic design combines a small hall church, a recessed choir and a west tower with an octagonal helmet. Founded in 1312 by Knight Giselbert gen. Speke, the church records several phases of architectural change. The present stone choir probably followed after 1350. The west tower was probably rebuilt in 1506 above its older ground floor. The south portal bears the date 1693. Rubble-stone walls, buttresses and pointed-arch windows define the larger nave constructed in 1693. Deep cross-ribbed vaults rest on consoles. Inside, choir stalls from around 1700, galleries added in 1890 and a carved pulpit create a layered interior. The pulpit carries acanthus ornaments, angel heads and fruit garlands. Walcker built the organ in 1941, while the bronze bells include Anna from 1506 and Maria from 1955. The church also served at times as a burial place for the von Bodelschwingh family. Major renovations followed in 2001 and 2002. Restoration addressed damage from wood-boring beetles.