Lübeck Cathedral

The foundation stone for Lübeck Cathedral was laid in 1173 by Henry the Lion, after the bishop's seat was moved from Oldenburg to Lübeck. Originally conceived as a Romanesque cathedral and completed around 1230, the cathedral was converted into a Gothic hall church between 1266 and 1335, with the side aisles being raised. In the mid-14th century, the building underwent an extension with the purely Gothic eastern choir under Bishop Heinrich II. Bochholt, which doubled the length of the cathedral. Until the Reformation, the cathedral chapter was subordinate to the bishop; thereafter, until 1803, the cathedral was jointly owned by the city and the cathedral chapter, before passing into the sole ownership of the city. The cathedral suffered severe damage from storms and during World War II, particularly during an air raid in March 1942, which destroyed large parts of the high choir and the roof structure. Reconstruction spanned decades and was only completed in 1982.

Lübeck Cathedral is located in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, at an elevation of approximately 24 m above sea level.

Lübeck Cathedral is accessible to visitors and can be toured. It houses a collection of furnishings, including the Triumphal Cross by Bernt Notke from 1477, a bronze baptismal font by Lorenz Grove from 1455, and a Renaissance pulpit from 1586. Numerous burial chapels show its history as a burial site.