St. Mary's Church, Prenzlau, Germany

St. Mary's, the chief parish church in Prenzlau, is a High Brick Gothic building with a three-aisled hall and three polythagonal chapels on the church's eastern site. St. Mary's dual towers dwarf the town; the legendary gables featuring elaborate tracery are worthy of a cathedral. Excavations have shown that this replaced an earlier church on the site (1235-1250), a vaulted three aisled hall church with a transept and an elongated right-angled ambulatory built from loose fieldstone.

The church was almost completely destroyed in April 1945, with a fire destroying all but the enclosure wall. However, the church's Arcardian pillars featuring rounded arches and (most importantly!) the ornate gables and elaborate tracery on the eastern side of the building survived the fire. Construction work aimed at rebuilding the church as been underway since 1970; the artistic decoration in the church's interior is currently being restored. Despite the ongoing work, the church is home to large concerts that bring together the architectural appreciation of the unique heritage site with the pleasure afforded by live music.

References:

European Route of Brick Gothic

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

David Byle (3 years ago)
Well worth the 2 euro admission fee, especially for the breathtaking views from the church steeples.

Doug Martin (4 years ago)
Big and beautiful church.

Suidan Suidan (5 years ago)
Good

Krzyś Cysiu (6 years ago)
Beautiful place

Albina Nerubalska (6 years ago)
Recommend!

St. Mary's Church

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