Doberan Minster in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Originally a Roman Catholic church, Doberan Minster is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Bad Doberan, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. A minster (Münster in German) is a church connected or originally connected with a monastic establishment or any large or important church or cathedral. Beginning in the 12th century, Doberan Minster served as one of the traditional burial sites of the Lords of Mecklenburg and the Dukes of Mecklenburg. Several members of the Grand Ducal Family of Mecklenburg-Schwerin are also buried there, including Friedrich Franz I, the first Grand Duke.

The town of Bad Doberan was originally in the Lordship of Mecklenburg and then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, which was divided and partitioned a number of times over the centuries. In 1701, the last division created the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After the division, Bad Doberan was in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna recognized both Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz as grand duchies. Bad Doberan was then a part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

History

After Pribislav, an Obotrite prince and the first Prince of Mecklenburg, converted to Christianity around 1164, he approved the founding of a monastery in Bad Doberan under the supervision of the Cistercian monk, Berno, Apostle of the Obotrites, later the first Bishop of Schwerin. Pribislav died from wounds received at a tournament in Lüneburg (now in the German state of Lower Saxony) on December 30, 1178, and was buried in St. Michaelis Church in Lüneburg. In 1219, his remains were transferred by his son Heinrich Borwin I, Lord of Mecklenburg, to the Bad Doberan Monastery’s small Romanesque church. Today, Pribislav’s remains lie in a sarcophagus in the Chapel of Pribislav at Doberan Minster.

After Pribislav died in 1178, the monks at the monastery were killed in 1179 during violent succession disputes. The monastery was refounded in Bad Doberan in 1186. In the 13th century, a new cathedral would replace the monastery’s small Romanesque church.

Construction of the Doberan Minster in the Brick Gothic style began around 1280, with preserved parts of the original Romanesque church incorporated into the new structure. Around 1296, the shell and roof of the entire cathedral were completed. In 1301, Johann von Elbing, the monastery’s Abbot, consecrated the first bronze bell. Nine years later, the initial furnishings of the choir were completed. It is thought that the east choir was provisionally covered, separated by a partition wall, and used for church services from 1310. Building continued for fifty-eight years, and finally, on June 3, 1368, Doberan Minster was consecrated by Frederick von Bülow, Bishop of Schwerin.

In 1552, during the Protestant Reformation, the dissolution of the monastery at the Roman Catholic Doberan Minster occurred. The monastery ceased to exist, and Doberan Minster became a Lutheran church. However, unlike so many other churches, there was no destruction of furnishings. Today, despite losses over the centuries, Doberan Minster contains the most complete original furnishings (85%) of all Cistercian monastery churches.

Doberan Minster was badly damaged in 1637 during the Thirty Years’ War when it was used as an ammunition depot. From 1806 to 1813, during the French occupation of Mecklenburg under Napoleon, the church was again used as an ammunition depot, and there was more damage. Between 1883 and 1896, the church was restored in what was considered an inappropriate 19th-century Gothic Revival style. Unlike many German churches, Doberan Minster was not damaged during World War II. During restorations from 1962 to 1984, the interior and exterior were renovated, including removing the 19th-century Gothic Revival style restoration. In 2002, further extensive long-term restoration measures began.

Burials at Doberan Minster

The Pribislav Chapel was the burial place and chapel of the House of Mecklenburg since 1302. It was named after Pribislav, the first Prince of Mecklenburg, the founder of Doberan Abbey, who died in 1178 in Lüneburg. His remains were transferred to Doberan in 1219.

• Pribislav, first Prince of Mecklenburg (? – 1178)
• Nikolaus I of  Mecklenburg (? – 1200)
• Nicholas II, Lord of Gadebusch (link in German) (circa 1180 – 1225)
• Heinrich Borwin I, Lord of Mecklenburg (? – 1227)
• Heinrich Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg (1170 – 1226)
• Sophia of Mecklenburg (1214 – 1241), wife of Heinrich Borwin III, Lord of Rostock
• Christina of Sweden, Lady of Mecklenburg (1184 – 1248), wife of Heinrich Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg
• Johann I the Theologian, Lord of Mecklenburg (circa 1211 –1264)
• Heinrich Borwin III, Lord of Rostock (circa 1220 –  1278)
• Heinrich I the Pilgrim, Lord of Mecklenburg (circa 1230 – 1302)
• Heinrich II the Lion, Lord of Mecklenburg (1266 – 1329)
• Eufemia Eriksdotter of Sweden, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1317 – 1370), first wife of Albrecht II, Duke of Mecklenburg
• Albrecht II, Duke of Mecklenburg  (circa 1318 – 1379)
• Heinrich III, Duke of  Mecklenburg (circa 1337 – 1383)
• Magnus I, Duke of Mecklenburg (1345 – 1384)
• Albrecht IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (circa 1363 – 1388)
• Albrecht III, Duke of Mecklenburg, also King Albert of Sweden (1339 – 1412)
• Johannes IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (circa 1370 – 1422)
• Albrecht V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397 – 1423)
• Johannes V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1418 – 1442)
• Anna of Mecklenburg (1447 – 1464), daughter of Heinrich IV, Duke of Mecklenburg
• Heinrich IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (1417 – 1477)
• Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg (1441 – 1503)
• Bathasar of Mecklenburg (1451 – 1507), son of Heinrich IV, Duke of Mecklenburg
• Erich II, Duke of Mecklenburg (1483 – 1508)
• Ursula of Brandenburg, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1488 – 1510), first wife of Heinrich V, Duke of Mecklenburg
• Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg (1486 – 1547)
• Magnus III, Duke of Mecklenburg (1509 – 1550)
• Philipp I, Duke of Mecklenburg (1514 – 1557)
• Anna Maria of East Frisia, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1601- 1634), first wife of Adolf Friedrich I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• Adolf Friedrich I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1588 – 1658)
• Christian Ludwig I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1623 – 1692)
• Karl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1678 – 1747)
• Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756 – 1837)
• Viktoria Feodora of Reuss-Gera, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – link in German – (1889 – 1918), first wife of Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a younger son of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1857 – 1920), a younger son of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg,
• Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1885 – 1969),  second wife of Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a younger son of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg; after her first husband died in 1920, Elisabeth married his half-brother, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg.

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Works Cited

• Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2005). Ehemalige Klosterkirche in Bad Doberan. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doberaner_M%C3%BCnster
• Doberaner Münster in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – Find a Grave Cemetery. (2025). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2192661/doberaner-m%C3%BCnster
• Welcome. (2025). Muenster-Doberan.de. https://www.muenster-doberan.de/index.php/en/welcome
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Doberan Minster. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.