The Volkstedt church was built in the 12th century. Towards the end of the Second World War the church was completely destroyed by aerial bombs of the allied units. What has been preserved is the Gothic staggered altar from the 15th century, which comes from the "Saalfeld School" and is attributed to the famous "Zeigerheim Master". The altar was taken out of storage in 1943 at the instigation of the parish priest of the time and was thus saved. There was a well-founded fear of a bombardment of the Saale dam wall with flooding of the Saale valley, similar to the catastrophe caused by the destruction of the Eder dam in May 1943.

The nave was rebuilt in 1949/50 - initially without the tower - in a simplified form. The tower followed later, with a plain roof (formerly baroque dome). After the fall of the Wall, the church was thoroughly renovated.

In the summer of 1788, Friedrich Schiller lived in the house of the cantor Unbehaun in Volkstedt. Even today, a plaque commemorates this very happy time for Schiller.