St. Mary's Church

The Church of St. Mary (Marienkirche) is located in the city of Lübeck in northern Germany. The temple was built between 1250 and 1350. This is the most famous temple of the city and a symbol of power of the Lübeck Starograd Island.

The Church of St. Mary played an important role in the development of the architecture of the city. She is known as the “mother of North German brick Gothic.” 70 temples were built in this style. The vaults in it are higher than those of all other brick churches, and are 38.5 meters. The temple is a basilica with side chapels, a roundabout of the choir and a crown of chapels at the apse and a porch with a nave. The central nave is 40 meters high. The western facade is decorated with 2 towers with weather vanes.

On the site of the Church of St. Mary used to be a wooden church, and after the re-founding of the city, in 1156, a Romanesque brick church appeared in its place. The model for the construction of the current basilica in Lübeck was the Gothic cathedrals from France and Flanders.

By 1310, near the southern tower, the Pisar Chapel was added, which with its star vault is considered the pride of the Gothic. On Palm Sunday night in 1942, Marienkirche almost completely burned down along with much of the historic city centre during an air raid. The fire bells were a reminder of the tragedy. Today, their remains are in the Memorial Chapel of the south tower of the temple.