Anklam - Marienkirche

Anklam was originally a Wendish fortress, as there was a Scandinavian and Wendish settlement here in the early Middle Ages.

Later the town became part of the Duchy of Pomerania. During the German eastward expansion, the abandoned fortress was developed into a settlement. The town has significance as a shipping port on the river Peene. It was elevated to the status of a town in 1244 and joined the Hanseatic League in the same year and prospered through membership.

The town suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War when Swedish and imperial troops fought over it for twenty years. During this and subsequent wars, the town was repeatedly ravaged by fires and the plague. After the war, Anklam became part of Swedish Pomerania in 1648 but in 1676 it was conquered by Frederick William of Brandenburg.

In 1713 Anklam was sacked by soldiers of the Russian Empire. With the Stockholm Treaty of 1720, the southern parts of the town were ceded to Prussia, while a smaller part north of the Peene remained Swedish.
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The Marienkirche was first mentioned in 1296. The construction probably began 40 years earlier. It was a Romanesque church with a double tower, which can be classified as much older and was then rebuilt in Gothic style. The Romanesque tower is still recognisable in the masonry of its Gothic successor. By the end of the 15th century, St. Mary's Church had acquired its present appearance.

The design of the tower changed over time. In 1816, the pointed spire, which had been destroyed by fire, was replaced by a lower pyramidal roof. In 1884, the low spire also burnt down after a lightning strike, whereupon the four gables of the tower were rebuilt and substantially raised, and the Marienkirche was provided with a Gothic pointed spire, which reached a height of about 100 metres. The new spire was completed in 1888. During a bombing raid in 1943, this construction was destroyed and only three of the former four gables remained standing. After the war, the tower was given a simpler gable roof with only two gables and today has a height of 64 metres.

Much of the furnishings was removed during the Second World War. It did not save them, however, because most of it disappeared there.

Large parts of the choir stalls from the 15th century come from the Nikolaikirche in Anklam, which was almost completely destroyed during the war.

Carved from oak, the pews once closed off the rows of seats in the choir room, which once were reserved for religious and priests. After the Reformation, many choir stalls were lost because they had lost their function. They were often only preserved because of their carvings.

One mystery is why there is so much carved graffiti here (and only here). St. Lawrence looks a bit annoyed about them.