Sacred Evening Music at Doberan Minster

Over 800 Years of Musical Tradition

Doberan Minster boasts a continuous tradition of church music spanning over 800 years, with around 400 years of organ music practice. Since the 1990s, the concert series "Sacred Evening Music" has consolidated the summer concert practice into a recurring format. The organizer is the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Doberan Minster.

Friday Evening Concerts

Concerts take place every Friday at 7:30 PM between June and October. The ensembles vary: organ concerts on the Schuke organ (1980, main organ) and the Bach chamber organ, choir concerts by the Minster Choir, vocal ensembles like Berlin's VOX NOSTRA, string orchestras, wind quintets, and soloists from Northern Germany and internationally. The repertoire ranges from Gregorian chant and medieval Cistercian songs to Bach, Buxtehude, and Mendelssohn, as well as contemporary sacred music.

Acoustics and Atmosphere

Doberan Minster is among the most significant brick Gothic structures in Northern Germany. Its exceptional acoustics make the Minster one of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's most sought-after concert venues. The Lange-Reihe concerts and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival regularly perform at this location.

Regional Context

Bad Doberan is located in the Rostock district (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). Doberan Minster was founded in 1171 as a Cistercian monastery and consecrated in 1368. It is part of the "Cisterscapes" network, a European cultural route that is a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage recognition. The Sacred Evening Music makes this musical heritage tangible every week.