St Mary's Church (Marienkirche) stands on the highest point of Lübeck's old town island, right beside the town hall and the market. Built by the city's merchants rather than its bishop, it became the model for some 70 brick churches around the Baltic Sea and still has the tallest brick vault in the world, 38.5 metres above the floor.
St Mary's Church at a glance
- Where: in the centre of the old town island, between the Markt with the town hall and Breite Straße.
- Built: 1265–1352 for the Gothic church, replacing an earlier Romanesque one; rebuilt 1947–1959 after the bombing of 1942.
- What it is today: a Lutheran parish church, part of the Lübeck old town UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
- Time needed: 30–45 minutes inside, plus a few minutes outside with the devil.
A merchants' church against the bishop
In the 1160s Henry the Lion moved the bishopric to Lübeck and founded the cathedral at the southern edge of town. The citizens answered with their own church right in the middle, next to the market and the town hall. After a wooden church and a Romanesque brick one, they began a Gothic basilica modelled on the stone cathedrals of France and Flanders, but built in brick, the local material. Nobody had built a vaulted brick church this tall before. Its twin west towers reach about 125 metres, and the result dwarfed the bishop's cathedral, which was exactly the point.
On the night of 28–29 March 1942, Palm Sunday, an RAF air raid set the church on fire. The roof and spires burned, the great Danse Macabre organ played by Dieterich Buxtehude was lost, and two bells crashed to the floor of the south tower. The church was rebuilt between 1947 and 1959, with spires on a fireproof structure under the copper roofs. In 1951, for the church's 700th anniversary, a memorial chapel against war was inaugurated around the shattered bells, which still lie where they fell.
What to look for
- The broken bells in the memorial chapel at the base of the south tower, left as a warning against war.
- The nave vault, 38.5 metres high, the tallest brick vault in the world: stand in the middle and look straight up.
- The Briefkapelle (Chapel of Indulgences), added in 1310, with its slender pillars and star vault.
- The astronomical clock, a replacement for the one destroyed in 1942, completed in the 1960s.
- The small stone mouse carved on a pillar inside the church, a detail most visitors walk past.
The devil outside the church
Next to the south side of the church sits a small laughing bronze devil, made by the Lübeck artist Rolf Görler in 1999, beside a large stone with deep marks. According to legend, the devil helped build the church because the townspeople told him it would be a tavern. When he saw the truth, he picked up a huge stone to smash the walls. A clever builder calmed him by promising him a wine tavern right opposite, and the town kept its word: the Ratskeller wine cellar is just across the square. It is a legend, of course, but the devil is a favourite with children and photographers.
Tips for your visit
- Go inside first, then walk round to the south side to find the devil; most visitors only notice him on the way out.
- Listen out for the organ: St Mary's has a long organ tradition, and recitals and concerts are held here regularly.
- Combine it with the town hall next door, whose arcades and courtyards you can walk through for free.
Nearby
- Lübeck Town Hall: one of the oldest town halls in Germany still in use, with its distinctive black-glazed brick façade on the Markt.
- St Peter's Church (Petrikirche): a former parish church with a lift up its tower to a viewing platform over the old town.
- Holstentor: the twin-towered city gate, symbol of Lübeck, about a ten-minute walk west across the old town.
- Niederegger: the marzipan maker's famous shop and café opposite the town hall.
See Lübeck with World City Trail
Our Lübeck scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone, and St Mary's Church is one of the stops. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 44 minutes of walking, and also includes the Holstentor and the town hall.
If you prefer a different format, Lübeck also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Lübeck scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Lübeck →
Play the outdoor escape game in Lübeck →
Facts checked in October 2026.