St. Paul's Church with a stand of dominion

Situated on the highest elevation in the city, the tower and three turrets of St Paul's Church rise into the sky. Along Schlossstrasse, the church forms the fundamental visual axis to Niklot Hall in the main tower of the palace and to St. Nikolai above the Pfaffenteich. In this way, it connected the power center of the palace with the steadily growing parts of the city. The Neo-Gothic church from 1869 is almost dainty, which makes it surprising that nothing has been able to harm it since its consecration. The church defied both world wars and other stormy times - all parts are original.

Its stained-glass windows, the pews, the pulpit and a mighty organ by Friedrich Friese III are therefore preserved as they were when they were built. The organ captivates with its powerful, warm sound - just as connoisseurs attribute to all of Friese's instruments. Time and time again, the organ is heard in concerts, for the church music tradition has been cultivated in St Paul's Church since its consecration just as much as the instrument itself.
But it is not only the organ that is bursting with power. The foundations of the church are also extraordinarily massive. There is a simple reason for this: St Paul's Church is located directly on the railway tracks - they almost run underneath it. The foundation on which it stands is therefore twice its own mass. In general, the most modern methods were used in the construction of the church. Its roof truss is made of steel, its tracery of weather-resistant clinker.

A new bell ringing awaits its use

There are plans to rebuild in the near future: The steel bells in the tower of St Paul's Church are to be removed, because the largest one is already defective and is no longer rung regularly. It is lovely that the community of Neheim near Arnsberg has donated five bells. Their Paulskirche has been deconsecrated and so their bronze bells will now ring in Schwerin. Then their tones form the beginning of the hymn "Lord God, we praise you. Lord God, we thank you." The new bells weigh a total of more than 35 centners. The largest weighs about twelve centners and has a diameter of more than one meter. Before the new bronze bells can ring, some preliminary work has to be done. Money is needed to adapt the belfry. For this reason, the people of Schwerin and tourists will have to be patient.
Until then, the donated bells can be admired in St Paul's Church. They are set up there - a visit is worthwhile.

About the Style
The beautiful building is based on the Eisenach Regulations. This is a catalogue of regulations. From 1861, it ensured the standardized construction of Protestant churches. The president of the church council in Schwerin, Theodor Kliefoth, was instrumental in this process. Modern materials such as iron, concrete and asphalt were used in the technical construction of St Paul's Church. Most of the money for the church building came from the Grand Duke's treasury. A quarter of the building sum came from a private foundation and was intended for the church tower. At that time, the entrance on the south side of the church was reserved for the Grand Duke and his relatives. From here, he could easily reach the splendidly executed ruler's stand. Here the magnificent canopy stands on the south side of the choir.

Anyone looking around the interior of St Paul's Church today will be able to admire the pulpit and its elaborate Gothic-style carvings. The viewer will recognize the four evangelists as well as Moses and Paul. The altarpiece is in three parts and depicts the story of salvation: God's incarnation in the birth of Jesus, his death on the cross and the resurrection. This establishes the reference to the three key dates of the church year: Christmas, Good Friday and Easter.
The windows of the church, designed by the Düsseldorf history painter Gustav Stever and created by Ernst Gillmeister, are equally impressive. They show the programs of the Oberkirchenrat Kliefoth - among other things with the depiction of Luther before the Imperial Council in Worms, which was a matter of course at the time. Pribislaw, son of Niklot, who was baptized and was the first Christian representative of the Obotrite house since 1170, is also depicted.