Schönkirchen: Discover the church, village history and nature

Discover Schönkirchen through its architecture, local history and nature: St. Mary’s Church combines a medieval hall church with a Baroque altar, historic houses stand by the village pond, and a nature trail leads through woods and meadows. These different attractions offer practical starting points for planning your trip—whether you’re interested in architecture, a place’s history or a walk.

St. Mary’s Church and the Brottour

St. Mary’s Church is a hall church built from granite blocks in the late 13th century. One particularly striking detail of its furnishings is the wooden Baroque altar: it was carved by Hans Gudewerdt the Younger and installed in 1653. The church’s architectural style and its altar thus belong to different periods, offering two ways to explore the history of the building.

The church is also a stop on the Brottour church cycling route. In the adjacent church square, there is a rest area with bicycle stands, information boards and toilets. For cyclists, this means the stop is part of a designated route, with the building’s history and practical information right there in the square.

Historic houses by the village pond

As of 2024, the historic houses around Schönkirchen’s village pond are considered evidence of important aspects of the village’s origins and way of life. The listed buildings include former inns, a residential and commercial building dating from 1900, the Hörn-Huus and other historic buildings. The different types of buildings draw attention to various aspects of everyday life in the past; the village pond is the shared focal point for these houses.

Nature trail through woods and meadows

The Schönkirchen nature trail is a circular route of about 2.8 kilometres through woods and meadows. Twelve stops along the way provide points of interest, and the route starts in Augustental, near the sports facilities. The stops give the walk a theme, while the circular route makes for a clearly defined nature outing. Its length, route and starting point are useful details when planning this walk into your stay.

In the wider destination of Plön: lakes and the Baltic coast

The wider destination of Plön opens up views of the landscape of Plön District: it lies between the Baltic Sea and Holstein Switzerland and has about 50 kilometres of Baltic coastline. The district is home to around 80 lakes. Lake Großer Plöner See covers 29 square kilometres, while Lake Selenter See covers 22 square kilometres. Large areas of the district are also part of Holstein Switzerland Nature Park, which covers 75,000 hectares and offers opportunities to enjoy nature as well as the chance to see rare animals.

Along Plön District’s Baltic coast, there are places to swim from Mönkeberg to Sehlendorfer Strand. Sailing, surfing, diving, boat trips, offshore excursions, cutter trips and surf fishing are also possible there. Canoe tours along the Schwentine waterway offer a different perspective on the water; the lakes can also be explored by sailboat or excursion boat. Coastal activities, lakes and the Schönkirchen nature trail offer different options for planning your trip.

You can plan your search around the experiences that matter most to you during your stay.

Discover more destinations: Mönkeberg.

View the wider travel guide: Schrevenborn.