The Church of the Virgin Mary ( Marienkirche , German Lübecker Marienkirche ) is the most famous temple of Lübeck , a symbol of power and well-being of the Hanseatic city and the main decoration of the Lübeck Old Town Island ( Altstadtinsel ), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site .
| Church | |
| St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck | |
|---|---|
| Lübecker marienkirche | |
 | |
| A country |  Germany |
| City | Lubeck |
| Denomination | |
| Architectural style | brick gothic |
| Founding date | |
| Building | 1250 - 1350 years |
| Material | |
| Site | st-marien-luebeck.de |
The Lübeck Marienkirche, built between 1250 and 1350 , played a huge role in the development of local architecture. She is called the “mother of the North German brick Gothic ”, because she served as a model for 70 temples in this style in the Baltic region . In this church, the Gothic style spread in France was embodied in North German red brick . The vaults of the Lübeck Marienkirche are the highest in the world for brick churches (38.5 m).
The church is a three-nave basilica with side chapels , a round of choir and a crown chapel around the apse , as well as a porch with a transverse nave . The monumental western facade is decorated with two towers. Together with weathercocks, their height is 124.95 and 124.75 m. As the main parish church for city officials and citizens of the Hanseatic city of Lubeck, Marienkirche is located in the shopping area, which extends to the warehouses on the embankment of Trave , near the Lübeck town hall and the Market Square.
Construction History
The wooden church of the epoch of the first German colonization used to be in place of the Marienkirche, and after the city was re-founded in 1156 , a Romanesque brick church appeared, which by the beginning of the 13th century both in size and representativeness, it no longer meets the requirements of an independent and prosperous merchant class. Romanesque sculptures from this Romanesque church are currently on display in the Lubeck Monastery of St. Anne .
The Gothic cathedrals of France and Flanders , built from natural stone, served as a model for the new three-nave basilica in Lübeck. Marienkirche is one of the most prominent examples of brick building in the style of the sacred building and served as an example for many churches in the Baltic region (for example, the churches of St. Nicholas in Stralsund and Wismar ) to follow.
By 1310, the Pisars' Chapel was added east of the south tower. It combined the functions of the porch and the chapel and, decorated with a portal , served as the second main entrance to the church from the side of the Lübeck Market Square. Presumably it was dedicated to St. Anne and her modern name received after the Reformation , when the scribes drove into it. The chapel with a star-shaped vault (12 mx 8 mx 12 m) is considered a masterpiece of high Gothic. It is often compared with samples of the English cathedral gothic and the capitulary hall of the Marienburg castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork . At present, parish services are held in the Pisarsky Chapel during the winter period (from January to March).
In the southeastern part of the deambulatory center, the city authorities erected in 1390 their own chapel, the Burgomistr , which is distinguished externally by the combination in the laying of glazed and unglazed bricks. Ceremonial inauguration of elected members of the city council took place here. On the top floor of the chapel there were stored especially important values of the city: city privileges, letters, treaties and other documents of the city council. This part of the church is still owned by the city.
In total, the church of St. Mary has nine large side chapels and ten small burial chapels, named after the members of the Lübeck City Council.
Destruction and restoration
On the night of Palm Sunday , March 28-29, 1942 , the Lübeck Marienkirche, like the Lübeck Cathedral and the Church of St. Peter , almost completely burnt out during an air raid on Lübeck , which destroyed a fifth of the historic center of the city. The fire destroyed the famous "Dance of Death Organ", which was played by Dietrich Buxtehude and most likely Johann Sebastian Bach .
In the fire, the “Gregorian Mass” by Bernt Notke , the monumental “ Dance of Death ” (by Bernt Notke, replaced in 1701 with a copy), the Lettner carving, “Trinity Altar” by Jacob van Utrecht (formerly attributed to Bernart van Orley ), and the “Entry Christ to Jerusalem ”by Friedrich Overbeck .
The bells which fell during the fire became a reminder of these tragic events, their fragments can be seen in the Memorial Chapel in the south tower of the church.
Even before the end of the war, a temporary roof was erected over the Marienkirche. The restoration of the church began in 1947 and lasted for 12 years. In 1951 , under the restored roof of the church, the 700th anniversary of the church was celebrated. On this occasion, the church received a new main bell as a present from the Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer , and the Memorial Chapel in the south tower was consecrated.