The Baroque “Schelfkirche” was constructed between 1707 and 1713 for the Schelfstadt district, which was founded in 1705. The plans were by Jacob Reutz and the church replaced a previous building. Reutz died during the construction work and Leonhard Christoph Sturm completed the church.

For Friedrich Franz II the church was significant as the burial site of his 18th century ancestors, thus authenticating his sovereignty. It enabled him to call upon his family’s long tradition of sovereignty. He had the church renovated in 1858 to a design by Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch.