Rūjiena's ancient history is reflected in the face of the first Teutonic church built almost two kilometers from the castle in 1263. Mythical tales of an underground tunnel from the church to the castle are alive and well and embraced by the local inhabitants.
The Gothic style church at 32 Riga Street has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. A stone wall encircles the church with two gates – a smaller entrance facing the manor and a larger entrance facing the Rūja River.
After the complete destruction of the church during the last fire in 1974, it was abandoned for ten years before locals initiated reconstruction.
A memorial plaque and sculptor Egons Zvirbulis' monument, At the FatherlandS Altar, in memory of members of the congregation who died during WWI and the fight for Latvia's freedom are located at the church. The altar painting is the work of Estonian German painter Friedrich Ludwig von Maydell (1795–1846) that was acquired by Minister Benjamin Bergmann for a cartful of old Bibles in 1836 in Tartu. The painting survived fire and destruction.
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