Brick Gothic Churches of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Schwerin Cathedral was founded as a Romanesque building during the reign of Henry the Lion (12th century), at the same time as the cathedrals of Lübeck, Ratzeburg and Braunschweig. A new cathedral was built in the Gothic style from 1270. The building was rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style after being damaged by fire in the 19th century.

The church of St. Nicholas, built in the 14th and 15th centuries, is the only one of the city's three large parish churches that survived World War II. The building is essentially based on the church of St. Mary, which, like St. Nicholas, is based on the original form of Lübeck's St. Mary's Church. Its central nave, 37 metres high, is the second-highest Gothic brick church in the world after Lübeck's St. Mary's Church.

Damaged during the Second World War and completely destroyed in 1960, only the 80-metre high tower of the 13th-century church of St. Mary remains. It is a landmark of Wismar, that is visible in its skyline. The church was considered to be one of the most beautiful brick churches in northern Germany.

St. George's Church is one of the three main churches in Wismar and a remarkable architectural monument of North German brick Gothic. The church dates from the first half of the 13th century. During its centuries-long construction, the church was modified several times and completed in 1594. The building was severely damaged during the Second World War. It was rebuilt in 1990.

First mentioned in a document in 1232, the construction of today's St. Mary's Church began around 1290 and was completed in the mid-15th century. On 12 November 1419, the University of Rostock was ceremoniously opened in St. Mary's. During the Second World War, St. Marien was the only one of Rostock's four city churches to survive the heavy bombing raids of 1942 and 1944. St. Mary's is a major work of the North German brick Gothic style.

The oldest church in Stralsund, St. Nicholas church was from the 13th century. The south tower was completed, probably in the early 15th century, then the north tower, both Gothic towers were the same height. A fire in 1662 destroyed the wooden tower superstructure of St. Nicholas. In 1667, the southern tower was given a baroque dome and the northern tower only received a makeshift roof.

St. Mary's Church, built in the 13th century, is considered a late Gothic masterpiece in Central Europe. Built on the model of the Marienkirche in Lübeck, it was from 1549 to 1647 (the date on which its gothic spire fell), supposedly the highest structure in the world. Very little of the original rich interior remains, the iconoclastic period of the Reformation and a great city fire in 1647 destroyed almost all inventory.

The St. Mary's Church was founded around 1275 and is one of the most important hall churches in the Gothic brick style in north-eastern Germany. The interior contains medieval wall paintings from the 15th century, a pulpit built in 1587 and the neo-Gothic altar wall designed in 1837.

The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1280 in honour of St. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, fishermen and merchants. During the Second World War, the church was severely damaged, except for the surrounding walls. In 1994, a support group was founded to preserve the church. In 1995, St. Nicholas received an emergency roof, when it was gradually put into use. Since 1999, the church has been reopened to the public.

The church of St. Mary was first mentioned in 1308. At the beginning of the 16th century, it was destroyed three times by city fires or was badly affected, but was always rebuilt. In 1780 it was given the baroque tower helmet, in 1880-1883 it was rebuilt and given its current shape as a three-nave hall church.

Bad Doberan Cathedral is the church of the former Cistercian monastery built at the end of the 13th century. The High Gothic Cathedral It is one of the most important Gothic brick buildings in the Baltic Sea region. The rich furnishings include the high altar, the upper part of which dates back to around 1310 and is one of the oldest winged altars in the history of art.