St Bartholomew’s Church

St Bartholomew’s Church stands beside Sommerhausen’s town hall, anchoring the old centre with a tower whose lower sections date from around 1260. The medieval tower still stands beside the town hall. Sommerhausen enlarged the tower in 1596, then built a new nave between 1666 and 1672 before storm damage forced another reconstruction. The present bright Baroque hall opened in 1740. Scholars attribute its plans to Leopoldo Retti, and the interior preserves a carved pulpit by Georg Brenck the Younger from 1621. The carved pulpit commands attention inside the church. Biblical scenes run from the Fall to Christ, with prophets, evangelists and a nearly life-size Salvator Mundi around its structure. Jacob appears to sleep upright while standing. A rotated stair panel created this curious effect when workers moved and raised the pulpit. The sandstone high altar dates from 1609. A sandstone font from 1592, historic epitaphs and two galleries add further details for close observation. The Steinmeyer organ dates from 1875 inside. Its older case comes from 1740, and the church remains an active Protestant parish. The church remains an active Protestant parish church.