Rostock - Marienkirche

With more than 200.000 inhabitants Rostock is the largest city in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Small Slavic settlements existed already in the 8th century. A settlement named Roztok was founded in the 11th century by Polabian Slavs. This town was burnt down by troops of the Danish king Valdemar I in 1161. Afterwards the place was settled by German traders.

After 1226 Rostock became the seat of the Lordship of Rostock.

In the 1250s the city became a member of the Hanseatic League. In the 14th century it was a powerful seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants and the largest city in Mecklenburg. Ships for cruising the Baltic Sea were constructed in Rostock. Until the last Hansa Convention in 1669, Rostock took a leading role in the Baltic Sea behind Lübeck.
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Marienkirche is a large Brick Gothic church. Built in the 13th century, it was enlarged and modified at the end of the 14th century into the present basilica. The first reference to a church on this site is in 1232, which is thought to be the predecessor of the current building. The triple-nave cross-shaped basilica is in Brick Gothic, a building style typical of the Hanseatic port cities. The huge tower with a baroque lantern at the top was not completed until the end of the 18th century.

In 1419, the University of Rostock was founded, the oldest university in the Baltic Sea area. It was ceremoniously opened in the Marienkirche. The parish priest of the church, Nikolaus Türkow, was personally involved in the founding of the university and the church remained closely associated with it for a long time. Even today, the "professors' pews" indicate that St. Mary's Church had the function of a university and council church until the turn of the century around 1900.

The astronomical clock in Marienkirche was built in 1472 by Hans Düringer (~ 1420 - 1477), who lived in Danzig (Gdansk) where he built the astronomical clock in the Marienkirche (Bazyliką Mariacką). The clock here was built a little later. Both astronomical clocks have a close resemblance. It took Hans Düringer, whose official title was "Architekt der Zeit" (architect of the time), 6 years to finish this "wonder". Astronomical watches were very prestigious high tech items, that were extremely expensive.

The clock has been little rebuilt or extended, so it is still in its approximate original condition today. It also still works and the five movements are wound by hand every day.

In 1943, the clock was walled in to protect it from bombing and was not uncovered until 1951. In the 1970s the five movements, consisting of a total of 2,000 isndividual parts, were restored.