In 772, Charlemagne and his Christian Franks marched against the pagan Saxons, conquered Eresburg (Obermarsberg) and destroyed the Saxons' shrine there, the Irminsul. He then had a stone basilica of St. Peter built on this site in 785 and founded a Benedictine monastery. In 1803, the monastery was dissolved in the course of secularization.
Today, the Stiftskirche is dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul.
It was extended around 1250 and expanded into a hall church. Destruction during the Thirty Years' War also destroyed the formerly Gothic, perhaps even partially Romanesque interior.
The sculptor's workshop of Heinrich and Christophel Papen created new furnishings for the church between around the end of the 17th century and 1725, from the pews to the altars and confessionals, the pulpit and the magnificent organ prospectus.
Further information and details are given in a guided tour of the church. Book a guided tour at:
