St. Georgskirche - A Fortified Church

This summer, I was invited to a friend's wedding. She was married near Nuremberg, in a fascinating, 700-year-old, fortified church: St. Georgskirche Kraftshof.

image by Karl-Otto Eichwalder via Flickr

Fortified churches were built not only as a place to worship, but for the locals to flee to in times of conflict. They have thick walls, towers and battlements.

In the pictures above and below, you can see the towers at each corner of the wall protecting the church. It was built in 1315 and withstood several wars, only to be destroyed in World War II. After the war, it was rebuilt.

image by helst1-off via Flickr

Inside the walls, there's a gatehouse and a cemetery. 

image by Karl-Otto Eichwalder via Flickr

 

Graveyard inside the walls. Image by me.

Statue in the graveyard. Don't blink. Image by me.

For more information, see the church's official website. Unfortunately, my pictures inside didn't turn out, but the collection of pictures on the official website is great.