The village of Ohrdorf lies in the north German state of Lower Saxony in the district of Gifhorn and belongs to the town of Wittingen.

[2] In East German times the state border ran down the centre of the Ohre not far from the village.

The nearest settlement on the East German side was Haselhorst; but it was no longer accessible after the 1950s and the road link was not reopened until 1990.

According to legend the altar was intended for a church in Wittingen.

The wagon on which the altar was carried, broke a wheel in Ohrdorf, an incident that the villagers exploited in order to make the driver drunk and to take the altar for their own church.