St. Mary's Church, Osnabrück

St. Marien (St. Mary’s Church) is a Lutheran parish and market church in Osnabrück, Germany. It is one of the most artistically and historically significant buildings in the North German city. A previous Romanesque church was mentioned in records as early as 1177. However, the history of the church’s construction began some time before it was first mentioned in writing. Archaeological traces suggest the existence of a predecessor building in the 10th century. Construction of the Gothic hall church which exists today started in the 13th century and was completed between 1430 and 1440.

The St. Marien church has a complex architectural history. Over time, extensive restorations have enabled archaeological excavations which have contributed considerably to a reconstruction of the building’s history. The existence of at least three predecessor buildings has thereby been established.

As Osnabrück’s oldest town church, it has a central location in the city. The Marienkirche is located directly on the market place, next to the Stadtwaage (city weighing house) and the town hall. Along with the cathedral, St. Katharinen (St. Catherine’s) and St. Johann (St. John’s), it is one of the four medieval churches which encompass the Innenstadt (city centre) of Osnabrück.

Before reconstruction of the Marienkirche started from 1950 onwards following severe damage caused by incendiary bombs during World War II, a series of excavations took place to investigate the building’s earlier architectural history. With the modernisation of the building’s heating systems in 1958 as well as internal and external renovation work from 1987 to 1992, there arose further opportunities to conduct research into the architectural history of St. Marien.

The excavations were carried out by the federal curator of Lower Saxony under the scientific supervision of the then-curators Dr. Roswitha Poppe and Dr. –Ing (Doctor of Engineering) Hans Roggenkamp. The research work received support from the municipal office for the preservation of historical monuments, the Amt für Bau- und Kunstpflege (office for the maintenance of art and buildings) of the Evangelical Church in Osnabrück, and ultimately from master sculptor Werner Paetzke.

The extensive excavations managed to establish the existence of at least three predecessor buildings.

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