Stipshausen on the 'Gem Road'

The early medieval church Stipshausen was demolished in the second half of the 18th century and replaced by a new structure, which was dedicated in 1778. The "new" Stipshausen church was the same as the neighboring Schauren church in form as well as interior decoration. Both churches not only have a valuable Stumm organ made by the organ building family from Sulzbach am Idarwald (from the years 1779 and 1780), but also of interest is the Late Baroque style of the heavens made of wood, and what is documented in the paintings in the gallery, folk art impressed with a deep sense of piety. In Stipshausen Church there are 13 pictures on the front of the gallery representing Jesus with his 12 apostles. Stipshausen naturally has much more to offer; it not only lies on the "German Gem Road", but also on the Sirona trail, named after the Celtic-Roman goddess Sirona. Stretching over 100 km across the Nahe-Hunsrück region, this trail links a variety of cultural memorials from Celtic and Roman times that are well worth seeing. An information pavillon in Stipshausen shows the stops along the trail where there are ring walls, Celtic refuges, hill tombs, reconstructed Celtic villages, and Roman villas and temples. This means that one encounters traces of historical settlements of the region from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD.

For additional information: Eduard Finke, Kirchenbau in neun Jahrhunderten; In: Kunst und Kultur im Birkenfelder Land, Universitätsdruckerei und Verlag Dr. Hanns Krach, Mainz 1982, p. 49-80.