Four building eras can be identified at St. Pancratius Church Störmede.
The oldest Romanesque part dates from the 12th century and was built on the foundations of a castle chapel. The middle part of the church dates back to the late Gothic period. The year 1521 is carved on the foundation stone next to the northern portal. The two western bays and the church tower were added in 1870/71. The youngest part of the church is the sacristy in the east, built in 1724.
The former entrance doors of the Romanesque church are bricked up today. It is still recognizable that the north-south axis of the village is aligned with the so-called Cross Gate.
The Romanesque choir is rectangular and does not appear as such from the outside. However, it is clearly distinguished from the rest of the church interior by the two columns made of green sandstone from Anröchte with the stone carvings: double capital, simple cube capital with beveled corners, checkerboard ornament set on it, double position of the belt arch.
The two late Gothic bays adjoining to the west were built - as excavations have shown - on the foundations of the Romanesque predecessor building. In this part of the building, the simple but effective color scheme using different types of sandstone is particularly striking. The load-bearing parts are made of dark stone, the light ribs of the net vault of light stone. Noteworthy are the keystones in the late Gothic vault bays. In the second nave bay there is the coat of arms of the benefactors of the renewal building Alhard the Old of Hörde and his wife Elisabeth of Hoberg. In the second bay of the southern side aisle we see as a keystone a five-wound cross, rare for the time of its construction.
The neo-Gothic extension follows the previous part with a barely noticeable transition, even if the play of colors of the different types of sandstone could not be imitated.
Among the church's furnishings, the late Gothic sacrament box in the Romanesque nave bay, with its richly decorated architecture and delicate sculptures, takes first place. Unfortunately, the figural ornamentation was demonstrably severely damaged in the 16/17th century.
In the Romanesque choir there are two impressive Renaissance epitaphs, which were found during the renovation of the church floor in 1963. They represent the former lords of the castle: Alhard the Elder and his son Alhard the Younger.
The organ was built in 1935 by the Speith company in Rietberg. The organ front dates from 1879. The organ is a pneumatic organ, an organ construction in which all switching operations during playing are controlled by air. Since only a few examples of this type of organ still exist, it was thoroughly restored in 1987. It has 30 sounding stops (about 2300 pipes).
(Karl Petermeier)