The Saint Mary church in Rostock

image author: RG-Webservice

The St Mary church was first mentioned in 1232. The church was built by the city's citizens. The first building was a red brick hall church.
The three tower halls of the west tower still stem from this time.

In 1265, St. Mary became the main church for the four settlement centres, that were developing into a Hanceatic town.
In 1290, the church in the east received a new choir and an apse chapel.

image author: RG-Webservice


Around 1398, the Hanseatic town council changed the hall-church to three-nave basilica with side chapels and large transept and two west towers. The alternating layers of greenish, brownish glazed and non-glazed bricks of the exterior are easily recognised.
This wall surface distinguishes St. Mary from all other churches in Rostocks. The vaults of the transept and the centre nave are around 32 metres high, the aisles and side chapels are around 15 metres high.

image author: RG-Webservice


In 1796, the tower received baroque pavilion roof, which still exists today. Constructed in several building phases, St. Mary impresses through its size and simplicity of the brick Gothic.
St. Mary as a main parish church stood always in the centre of Rostock's development. In 1419, the church founded the Rostock university and stayed university church until 1900. It was a place of pilgrimage and a reformed church. It was a town hall-church until 1945, the baroque council chairs in the west are witness to that.

image author: RG-Webservice


In autumn 1989, thousands of Rostock citizens gathered on Thursdays, to pray for a renewal of society. Today, christenings, weddings, community services, organ concerts, great church music and exhibitions take place in Mecklenburg's biggest church building. Up to 15.000 tourists participate in lunch prayers in summer and around 150.000 tourists visit the church annually.