The Doberan Minster is the main Lutheran Church of Bad Doberan. Close to the Baltic Sea and the Hanseatic city of Rostock, it is the most important religious heritage of the European Route of Brick Gothic. It is the remaining part of the Ex-Cistercian Doberan Abbey, dedicated in 1368. The first abbey in Mecklenburg, founded in 1171, which was also used as the burial site for the regional rulers, became important both politically and historically.
Through the activities of its inhabitants, the abbey greatly contributed to the cultural and economic development of Mecklenburg and became the centre of Christianity in this region. No other Cistercian abbey in Europe can lay claim to such a large amount of the original interior remaining intact. Among the treasures are the main altar which is the oldest wing-altar in art history, the monumental cross altar and the sculpted tomb of Danish Queen Margarete Sambiria.
Even after the reformation and the dissolution of the abbey in 1552, the church continued to serve as the main burial place for the ruling Mecklenburg nobility as well as the place of worship for the Evangelical-Lutheran congregation.
The Minster in Bad Doberan is said to be the most important medieval building in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the best example of medieval creativity put in practice and it is a building of the highest technical and artistic perfection. The furnishings on display are of highest artistic quality. No other church in northern Germany has such complete and historically important liturgical furnishings. The mostly well preserved Cistercian furnishings are unique. The abbey is a unique and precious artistic monument in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea.
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