The history of the parish church of St. Martin in Görmar goes back a long way, even before the first written mention of the place in 1267. The fact that it was named after St. Martin suggests that it belonged to a royal court that already existed here in the early Middle Ages. The Germar-Mark, named after Görmar, was established in the 8th century as a border area (“Mark”) to protect the Frankish Empire from the Saxons to the north.  When Charlemagne conquered the area between 772 and 804, the Grenzmark lost its function and Mühlhausen gradually replaced Görmar as a regional outpost of the empire. Until the Reformation, however, St. Martin’s retained a special significance compared to the other parish churches in the area. It was a meeting place for the Kalands Brethren, a community of priests of the region. It was not until the late Middle Ages that St. Martin’s shared the parochial rights with St. Nicholas’s, which was located close to the banks of the Unstrut. The church of St. Nicholas was completely demolished in 1562. Today, only the street name “Alte Pfarre” (old parish) reminds us of its existence.

It is not known exactly what the oldest church building of St. Martin’s looked like. The current building dates from the Romanesque period and has typical arched windows on the north side. The tower and the end of the choir were probably rebuilt in the late 13th century. The eastern part was moved out of the centre and aligned with the north side. Inside the church, the asymmetry is clearly visible. Here, the tower arch, choir area, pointed arches and the excellently preserved vault ribs, consoles and keystones make for an impressive sight.

In 1747, the south side of the nave was changed, and the interior was redesigned in the late Baroque/Rococo style. The pulpit and high altar in the choir also date from this period. The organ was built in 1838 by Johann Friedrich Schulze from Paulinzella. In 1894, the early Gothic tower was finally given a new half-timbered belfry and a high, pointed dome, which is visible from afar and points to the great importance of Görmar and St. Martin’s in earlier times.