Women in a men's monastery:

The Marian chandelier is particularly striking and outstanding in terms of art history. The carved figure of the Virgin Mary was originally located in the middle of the high altar. It was later placed in a candlestick and hung close to the monks' stalls. This meant that the monks always had Mary with them, or above them - almost in the form of an apparition. Rarely and exceptionally, real, secular women were allowed to enter the monastery church, namely members of the ruling dynasty and noble donors, if they wanted to attend funerals or memorial masses. Over 50 people from the high nobility, almost all from the House of Mecklenburg, were buried in the cathedral, including some women. The painted wooden figure of Queen Margarethe of Denmark commemorates this ruler and is the oldest funerary sculpture in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. There is also a medieval tomb statue of Richardis, the wife of Duke Albrecht III, who temporarily served as King of Sweden. However, the queen died in Stockholm and was buried there. Curiously, the last two tombs in the cathedral from the early 20th century were artfully made for women: the sarcophagus for Duchess Feodora made of grey-green granite and the unusual "Byzantine" burial chapel for Elisabeth, Princess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and wife of Duke Regent Johann Albrecht.

Special guided tour: Dr. Angelika Rosenfeld Duration: 90 minutes