The St. Marien zu Luebeck or St. Mary's Church is the most impressive edifice of Luebeck´s churches. It
was erected in the years AD 1250 - 1350 in the merchant's borough near the market and close to the town
hall. With 38.5 meters (125 ft), this church has the highest brick vault in the world. Also extraordinary
are the other measures of this church: Including the weather vanes, the two towers are 124.95 meters
(406 ft) and 124.75 meters (405.5 ft) high.
At the time of the Hanseatic League, St. Mary's Church served as a model for north German Gothic style and is
reflected in approximately 70 churches in the Baltic area. St. Mary´s Church was built by the Hanseatic merchants
of Luebeck; the built was seen as a symbol of the independence, the power and prosperity of Luebeck, that was
named "Queen of the Hanseatic League". Furthermore, St. Mary is Germany's third largest church and remains the tallest building of the old part of Luebeck.
In the year AD 1310, the Epistle Chapel was added next to the south tower of St. Mary´s Church. It was named
"Epistle or Letter Chapel" because it accommodated paid hack. The entrance of this chapel is facing the
market place of Luebeck. In 1390, St. Mary's Church was a mayor chapel at the time was expanded, and that
it is still in possession of the city. The St. Mary's Church owns across 19 major and smaller chapels,
about ten smaller ones of them were required as funeral chapels used and paid for by the members of the
city council.
On the night of Palm Sunday March 28, 1942, St. Mary's Church was almost completely destroyed by British bombs
during an air raid on Luebeck. Hereby, also the masterpiece Luebeck´s "Dance of Death or (French) Danse Macabre"
was decimated. The Mass of St. Gregory, the carved figures by Lettner, the "Altar of Trinity" by Jacob van
Utrecht and the "Christ's Entry to Jerusalem" by Friedrich Overbeck were destroyed by the fire.
The heat of the disastrous fire made the original paintings of St. Mary visible. These paintings were hidden
by various covering layers of paint. In 1947, the St. Mary's Church was rebuilt again. This time, the roof
was not built of wood as before but from lightweight concrete to protect the building of fire. Since 1531,
St. Mary's Church's congregation belongs to the "Nordelbisch" Evangelical-Lutheran Church.
Like other parts of historical Luebeck, St. Mary Church has been listed by UNESCO because of its
cultural significance.