Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The construction of St. Mary's Church began shortly after the foundation of Neubrandenburg in 1248, but the tower was not completed until the second half of the 14th century. The 16th and 17th centuries were marked by numerous damages due to lightning and fires. From 1832 to 1841 a complete restoration of the church was carried out. But in 1945 the church was severely destroyed by a fire. In 1975 the town of Neubrandenburg bought the ruin and the building was rebuilt with the aim of transforming it into a concert hall.

the St. Mary's Church was built in late Romanesque style around 1230. After a fire in 1455, the building was extensively renovated, the choir bay with a five-sided end and a massive tower with a pointed helmet were erected. The great town fire of 1759 completely destroyed the high tower crown, vault and medieval interior of the church. The tower roof and the interior of the church were redesigned in the Baroque style.

St. Mary's Church is a hall church built mainly in the 14th century. From 1987 to 1994, the tower and the first yoke of the nave were rebuilt. The design of the façade was inspired by the medieval building that preceded it.

St. Mary's Church was built from 1326 to 1364 and belonged to the Order of St. Mary. The interior of the church was only furnished in the second half of the 15th century. In the 16th century the Protestants took possession of the church. After the invasion of the Russian army on March 7, 1945, the church was destroyed. The Franciscan Order rebuilt the church until the 1950s. Today, the Catholic community uses the church.

St. Mary's Church in Bergen is a long church in the form of a basilica. Inside, strong square pillars support the vaults and mark the transition between the nave and the aisles. The choir is lower and narrower than the nave. The church has two towers that rise above the western end of the aisles. The church was built in the classical Romanesque style in the first half of the 12th century, but there are also later additions in the Gothic style. The magnificent altarpiece was probably made in Lübeck in the late 15th century.

St. Mary's Church is a Lutheran-Evangelical church built from 1250, making it one of the oldest places of worship in the city. After the damage caused by a fire, the parish renovated the tower structure in 1663-1666 according to the plans and under the direction of Michael Mathias Smids in the Baroque style. In the sense of a return to the Gothic style, Hermann Blankenstein commissioned extensive work between 1893 and 1894, which contributed considerably to giving the church its present appearance.

St. Mary's Church is the oldest of the three Roman Catholic parish churches in Biel. On the outside, the church adopts neo-Gothic forms; inside, it is one of the few Swiss churches in the expressionist style. The church building consists of an upper church, built by the architect Adolf Gaudy in 1927-1929, and a crypt, formed by the former church, built in 1867-1870 by the architect Wilhelm Keller.

This church began its construction in the 13th century, at the foot of the Sparrenburg fortress. The church gained its final appearance in the 15th century and is most noted by its two 78 meter tall gothic spires. These spires were replaced after the originals were destroyed in the Second World War. The church houses a 15th-century altarpiece done by an unknown artist that is considered one of the most valuable pieces of medieval art in Germany; two of its fragments are kept in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

St. Mary's Basilica served as a Catholic and Protestant church (in 1572-1945). Built in the years 1346-1502, the church is an example of brick Gothic (typical of the Baltic basin) and is one of the largest temples in the world built in bricks.

The sister churches on Gran were built in the 12th century and expanded in the 13th century. The two stone churches, St. Mary's Church (Mariakirken) and St. Nicholas' Church (Nikolaikirken), are built only 30 meters apart. The churches have been named "Sister Churches" after the legend of two sisters who, due to unfriendliness, had to have their own church. But it was actually not uncommon in the Middle Ages for churches with different functions to be built close together. After a lightning strike in 1813, St. Mary's Church remained a ruin until the 1860s when the church was restored with roofs and windows. In 1912-15 it was again restored to be used as a burial chapel. In 1990-92 it was restored for use as a parish church. The church is built of rough-hewn stone with a chancel that is almost as wide as the nave.