Pfarrkirche St. Marien Loitz

The oldest references to the town parish church date back to 1299. The church is a three-nave, five-bay hall church with a straight end in the east and a steeple in the west. The core of two bays of the church dates back to the 13th century. The entrance hall and the two side aisles followed in the late Middle Ages. However, there were profound additions and changes in the 17th century and additions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The church was built of fieldstone and brick, later the masonry was plastered.
The rebuilding of 1600 was financed by the duchess dowager Sophia Hedwig. The original enclosing walls of the tower hall to the north and south were demolished and three bays were added to the east; the choir was also demolished at the same time. From 1809 to 1811, the church was again extensively renovated under the direction of Johann Gottfried Quistorp. At this time, from 1802/03 to 1836, Joachim Friedrich Barkow had been appointed pastor by the Swedish king and later superintendent and consistorial councilor. He was buried at the northern wall. The church tower was rebuilt in 1832. In 1866 two vestries were added to the gable wall on the east. In 1906 the two southern entrances were walled up.
The furnishings of St. Mary's Church include a Baroque altarpiece made in 1720 in the workshop of Elias Kessler, a pulpit made by Johann Gottfried Quistorp, a granite baptismal font with four sculptural heads on the cupola, thirteen panels with portraits from the princes' pews, and a library donated by the duchess in 1621. The organ was made in 1941 by the Lübeck firm Kemper. The ringing of the church consists of two bronze bells and three small cymbals made in 1996.