Doberan Abbey (''Kloster Doberan'') is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monastery in Bad Doberan,

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

church continues in use as

Doberan Minster The Doberan Minster is the main Lutheran Church of Bad Doberan in Mecklenburg, Germany. 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 rema ...

(''Doberaner Münster''). After the conversion to Christianity of the Wendish prince Pribislav, Doberan was the first monastery founded in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, in 1171, as a daughter house of

Amelungsborn Abbey Amelungsborn Abbey, also Amelunxborn Abbey (''Kloster Amelungsborn''), is a Lutheran monastery in Germany. It is located near Negenborn and Stadtoldendorf, in the ''Landkreis'' of Holzminden in the Weserbergland. It was the second oldest Cist ...

. The first community, at Althof, was massacred in 1179 in the unrest following the death of Pribislaw, and the abbey was re-founded in 1186 in Doberan. It quickly became a political, social and spiritual centre in the region. The abbey church, which continues in use as Doberan Minster (''Doberaner Münster''), is one of the most important

buildings in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Until the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, during which it was secularised in 1552, the abbey possessed great estates, and was the burial place of the

Princes of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

. The premises were badly damaged in 1637 during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, when the minster was used as a storage depot, and some buildings were destroyed. During the French occupation of Mecklenburg under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

from 1806 to 1813 more damage was sustained, and the church was again used as an ammunition dump. Between 1883 and 1896 the church was "restored" in an inappropriate 19th century

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, which was undone in a further restoration in the 1960s and 1970s.

Burials

* Albert of Sweden *

Margaret Sambiria Margaret Sambiria (in Danish: ''Margrethe Sambiria'', ''Sambirsdatter'' or ''Margrethe Sprænghest''; c. 1230 – December 1282) was Queen of Denmark by marriage to King Christopher I, and regent during the minority of her son, King Eric V fro ...

Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Güstrow (1441 – 20 November 1503) was duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1477 until his death. Biography He was the son of Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Dorothea of Brandenburg, daugh ...

References

* Bülow, Ernst von, 2006: ''Doberan und seine Geschichte''. Godewind Verlag. * Compart, Friedrich, 2004: ''Geschichte des Klosters Doberan'' (reprint of the original edition of 1872). Godewind Verlag. * Erdmann, Wolfgang, 1995: ''Zisterzienser-Abtei Doberan. Kult und Kunst'' (Die blauen Bücher). Königstein/Taunus. * Fründt, Edith, 1987 (2nd ed. 1989): ''Das Kloster Doberan'', with photographs by Thomas Helms. Berlin. * Gloede, Günter, 1960 (2nd ed. 1965, 6th ed. 1970): ''Das Doberaner Münster. Geschichte, Baugeschichte, Kunstwerke''. Berlin * Minneker, Ilka, 2007: ''Vom Kloster zur Residenz – Dynastische Memoria und Repräsentation im spätmittelalterlichen und frühneuzeitlichen Mecklenburg''. Münster: Rhema-Verlag

External links

Doberaner Münster website
{{Authority control Monasteries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Cistercian monasteries in Germany Brick Gothic Bad Doberan Buildings and structures in Rostock (district)