Lügde was first mentioned in 784 in the "Annales Regni Francorum" ("Royal Frankish Annals") when Charlemagne celebrated his first Christmas in what was then the Duchy of Saxony, namely in "Villa Liuhidi". At that time a small, wooden church probably existed. It may have been built outside the settlement on a previous thing-place, at the time of the first Saxon Wars. This was, where Charlemagne celebrated the Christmas mass.

The foundations of this early church were found during excavations, undertaken in and around the Romanesque church dedicated to St. Kilian. The oldest part of St. Kilian, a cruciform vaulted basilica, is the tower, built around 1100 and raised by 1200. Nave and choir were built at the end of the 12th century.
The apse mural was created at the beginning of the 13th century. The apostle frieze below was uncovered and supplemented in 1873. The overpainting was partially removed in 1937 and painted with a Majestas Domini with assistant figures. With a partial collapse of the apse arch in 1958, this work was lost except for fragments. During a restoration in 1961, it was supplemented with grisaille painting.