St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
| St Mary's Church | |
|---|---|
| St Mary's Church of Lübeck | |
| Marienkirche | |
St. Marien zu Lübeck | |
St Mary's Church, Lübeck, from the south | |
| 53°52′04″N 10°41′06″E / 53.8677°N 10.685°E | |
| Location | Lübeck |
| Country | Germany |
| Denomination | Lutheran |
| Previous denomination | Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Part of UNESCO world heritage site |
| Architectural type | Basilica |
| Style | Brick Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | c. 1250/1265 |
| Completed | c. 1350 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 102 metres (335 ft) (total length) 70 metres (230 ft) (Length of the middle nave)
|
| Height | 125 metres (410 ft) (tower) 47.5 metres (156 ft) (roof top) 38.5 metres (126 ft) (vault height in the main nave) 20.5 metres (67 ft) (vault height in the side naves)
|
| Floor area | 4,400 square metres (47,361 sq ft) |
| Number of spires | 2 |
| Bells | 9 (+37 carillon) |
| Tenor bell weight | 5,817 kilograms (5.725 long tons) |
| Clergy | |
| Provost | Petra Kallies |
| Pastor(s) |
|
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Johannes Unger |
The Lübeck Marienkirche (officially St Marien zu Lübeck) is a medieval basilica in the city centre of Lübeck, Germany. Built between 1265 and 1352, the church is located on the highest point of Lübeck's old town island within the Hanseatic merchants' quarter, which extends uphill from the warehouses on the River Trave to the church. As the main parish church of the citizens and the city council of Lübeck, it was built close to the town hall and the market.
The church was built as a three-aisled basilica with side chapels, an ambulatory with radiating chapels, and vestibules like the arms of a transept. The westwork has a monumental two-tower façade. The height of the towers, including the weather vanes, is 124.95 metres (409.9 ft) and 124.75 metres (409.3 ft), respectively. It has the tallest brick vault in the world, the height of the central nave being 38.5 metres (126 ft).
St Mary's epitomizes north German Brick Gothic and set the standard for about 70 other churches in the Baltic region, making it a building of enormous architectural significance. It is referred to as the "mother church of brick Gothic" and is considered a major work of church building in the Baltic Sea region. Because of its architectural importance and testimony to the medieval influence of the Hanseatic League (of which Lübeck was the de facto capital), in 1987 St Mary's Church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Lübeck City Centre. St Mary's is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.