Neukloster

Klosterkirche, Kloster Sonnenkamp, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

THE CHURCH

The St. Maria Monastery Church is one of the oldest preserved stone buildings in Mecklenburg. The lower part of the surrounding walls of the choir and transept dates back to a late Romanesque construction phase in the mid-1230s, while the upper wall section around 1240, starting from the sill level of the transept windows, was built with a different brick format in early Gothic style. Today, the church is a single-nave, cross-shaped building without apses. It measures 51 meters in length and 10.9 meters in width. Of particular importance is the largely intact roof structure from 1244 and 1251, one of the largest Romanesque roofs in northern Germany.

THE ORGAN

The organ is first documented in 1430 and 1511. The current organ is a work by Schwerin organ builder Friedrich Friese from 1864, with two manuals and 18 stops, and is one of his largest organ constructions. The organ's façade reflects the structure of a Baroque organ. In 1920, it was repaired by organ builder Christian Börger from Gehlsdorf, and in 1970, it was restored and revoiced by the Apolda organ building company Bahr. In 2004, the technical restoration to return the original state of 1864 began under organ builder Andreas Arnold, and was completed professionally in 2010.  The restoration was primarily funded by the church's sacristan through private donations.