Gnadenfrei Lutheran Church

Few Barossa views are as quietly perfect as Gnadenfrei church on its rise above Marananga, red-brown stone against vines in every direction. A congregation first worshipped here in the early 1850s under the guidance of Pastor Kavel, on land given by settler Carl Kriebel; the present church of St Michael was built in 1873, with its gallery and bell tower added in 1913.

The name tells a story of its own. The village was originally called Gnadenfrei - "free by the grace of God" - by its Silesian settlers, but anti-German sentiment during the First World War saw it renamed Marananga. The church kept the old name, and its graveyard of pioneer headstones keeps the old families.

It stands minutes from the busiest cellar doors on Seppeltsfield Road - slow down between tastings at Seppeltsfield Road Distillers and pay it a visit. For the wider story of the valley's steeples, read The Barossa's Lutheran churches.