Kirchenburg Tiefenstockheim Church Castle

The Kirchenburg Tiefenstockheim is a fortified church complex (Kirchenburg) located in the village of Tiefenstockheim, a district of the market town of Seinsheim in the district of Kitzingen, Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), Bavaria, Germany. It lies in the southern foothills of the Steigerwald, in the scenic Breitbachgrund valley.

The first documentary reference dates from 1330 in the fief book of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, when Friedrich Hornung received land in the churchyard. In 1475 the cathedral provost (Dompropst) was granted the right of opening (Öffnungsrecht), allowing him to take refuge in the fortified churchyard in times of danger. Sixteenth-century records mention 13 Gaden (small storage houses built against the defensive wall) and church houses as well as six cellars. The core of the fortification belongs to the 15th and 16th centuries; some cellar gate arches bear dates from 1540 and the 1580s.

The complex originally consisted of a strong ring wall surrounding the churchyard, with Gaden and cellars used for storage and as a place of refuge. In 1898 a rebuilding of the church led to the loss of two Gaden and part of the defensive wall. The present parish church of St. Peter and Paul, a hall church (Saalkirche), was constructed between 1631 and 1637.