Stiepel village church

The church, which has been Protestant since 1610, was built in 1008 as a hall church for the then Countess Imma and is Bochum's oldest building. Between 1130 and 1170, the church was converted into a Romanesque basilica, and by 1500, the side aisles were extended and the tower was added in the style of a hall church. Since then, the choir has been designed in the Gothic style and the east gable of the nave is characterized by a half-timbered wall.
The interior contains wall and ceiling paintings, some of which were created as early as 1150-1200. The murals illustrate the biblical stories of the flight to Egypt, the rivers of paradise, Cain and Abel and the dragon fight of St. George, among others. Most of the murals are Romanesque and date from between 1180 and 1190, but they had been painted over for a long time and were not visible from 1689 until they were rediscovered in 1952. The paintings were restored between 1963 and 1965, and a further restoration took place in 2002. The church has had a 15-stop organ since 2004, which is why organ concerts have been held frequently since then.