Stadtkirche St. Jakobus und St. Dionysius, Gadebusch

The original late Romanesque town church of St. Jacob and St. Dionysius in Gadebusch is located on a central hill near the market and town hall. It is believed that the town hall once stood on the same square with the church, as the street that separates the two today was not built until the late Middle Ages.

The elongated brick building with the low west tower is divided into three naves of equal height and thus belongs to the type of hall churches. This construction method is probably influenced by Scandinavian and Westphalian churches; this assumption can be explained on the one hand by the long-term Danish rule over western Mecklenburg, and on the other hand by the settlement of the areas once dominated by Slavs by Westphalian settlers. Just like the oldest Mecklenburg village church in Vietlübbe, seven kilometers away, the Gadebusch town church is today considered one of the earliest brick churches in northwest Mecklenburg. The fact that both buildings have parallels to Ratzeburg Cathedral, which was begun in 1154, indicates that the Ratzeburg Bauhütte was involved in their construction. The churches of Ribnitz, Grevesmühlen and Malchin are considered to be Mecklenburg successor buildings.