Strait Gate Lutheran Church

Strait Gate exists because of an argument. In 1860, around twenty-five families left the neighbouring Immanuel congregation over doctrinal differences and formed a church of their own - calling Immanuel's own schoolteacher, Gustav Julius Rechner, to be their pastor. He served them for forty years, until 1900, and the two congregations have worshipped within sight of each other ever since.

The first Strait Gate church was dedicated in 1861, and a large bell bought in 1871 was eventually housed in a tower built in 1877. That 19th-century tower still stands, making a striking pair with the church beside it: a boldly modernist building designed by architect Erik von Schramek and dedicated on 6 August 1961, its steep triangular profile unlike anything else in the valley.

The contrast between old tower and new church - and between the two rival congregations standing barely two hundred metres apart - tells the story of Barossa Lutheranism in a single streetscape. Combine a visit with Luhrs Cottage Museum just along the road for a full picture of this small, history-dense village.