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Arson attack on Germany's largest wooden church: suspect caught!
On the night of July 22nd, 2025, the market church in Clausthal-Zellerfeld burned, arson is suspected, investigations are ongoing.
Arson attack on Germany's largest wooden church: suspect caught!
On the night of July 22, 2025, there was a fire at the Marktkirche zum Heiligen Geist in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, which was presumably caused by arson. The police suspect that the incident was caused intentionally after the fire department was alerted via the fire alarm system at 12:40 a.m. and within a very short time over 100 firefighters were deployed to fight the fire. According to regionalheute.de, both flames and heavy smoke were visible when the first emergency services arrived.
The fire, which mainly attacked the facade of the church, was quickly brought under control. Although the spread to the roof structure was successfully prevented, the exact amount of damage remains unclear. The condition of the organ located near the source of the fire, which has not yet been checked, is particularly worrying. The Marktkirche is not only considered the largest wooden church in Germany, but was also built in the 17th century and has been classified as a cultural monument of national importance since 2005. The impressive dimensions of the church are 57 meters long and 26 meters wide.
Investigations are ongoing
The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office has already visited the scene of the fire and the investigation into arson is in full swing. One person was initially arrested on Sunday, but had to be released due to a lack of strong suspicion. The community is shocked by this incident. Juliane Neuß, the chairwoman of the parish, said that the situation could have turned out even worse and is concerned about the incident that happened in such an important church, which was ultimately only recently renovated for around ten million euros.
The market church, which was built over 400 years ago and can accommodate almost 2,000 people, is an important cultural and spiritual place for the community. The incident not only raises questions about the safety of historic buildings, but also about crime in the region. According to NDR, the police had already expressed suspicion of arson on Sunday, but so far no further information about possible further investigation approaches or a motive is known.
Currently, the church remains sealed and locked down while the community and authorities try to figure out how this terrible incident occurred. The entire region stands behind the market church and hopes for a quick clarification of what happened.