In front of the chapel is the tomb stone of Magister Hermann Kruse (died 1599), the first Lutheran pastor taking office in 1564. Magister Kruse is shown carrying a layman’s chalice which was in accordance with the reformatory convictions of that time. This depiction of the chalice is a statement of evangelical teaching meaning that the Lutheran belief is the proper religion. Tomb stone restored 2007.
The organ, built in 1980 by the organ builder Schuke from Potsdam, is above the von Bülow Chapel. The first organ was installed in the Minster around 1600, the second organ was built and installed by the organ builder Friese from Schwerin. Today’s organ has 3220 pipes, 44 registers and three manuals.
It is played during church services, organ recitals and concerts. Starting in May through September concerts are held every Friday at 19:30. The present organ gallery was the gallery of the House von Mecklenburg during med medieval times.
The Chapel was the burial place and chapel of the House von Mecklenburg since 1302. It was named after Duke Pribislav, founder of the abbey, who died in 1178 in Lüneburg. His remains were transferred to Doberan in 1219.
In the chapel there are numerous noteworthy exhibits. In the eastern wall a partially medieval window, dated to the 16th century, shows Mary with Jesus as a child, God the father and the Evangelist John. In front of it there is a late-Gothic cross (1480) from Lübeck and two cupboards (14th century). It is assumed that the cross was originally in the inner yard of the abbey. In front of the altar is the tomb stone of the first Lutheran bishop and administrator of Mecklenburg, Magnus III (died 1550). He was a friend of Philipp Melanchtons. Furthermore, there is the tomb stone of Duchess Ursula, the mother of Magnus III. Set into the northern wall is a renaissance script epitaph, in Latin and German, for Magnus III with the Duke’s coat of arms. To the left there are several memorial plates of the nobles buried here and below it are medieval stone slabs displaying heraldic animals (14th century) to mark the ducal graves (restored in 2005/06).
Beneath the organ gallery you can see the painting of Great Duke Friedrich Franz I. von Mecklenburg, the founder of the first German seaside health resort in Heiligendamm in the year 1793. The marble sarcophagus serves as final resting place for Princess Feodora von Reuß (died 1918), wife of Duke Adolf Friedrich von Mecklenburg. Next to it is the tomb stone of Duke Pribislav (died 1179) thought to have been mistakenly placed on top of the grave of Duke Heinrich I von Mecklenburg (died 1302) sometime during the 19th century.
Inside the archway to the organ gallery, valuable wall paintings were preserved showing vines and the suffering Jesus, dated 15th century.
On the pillar to the choir there are two statues, one of Duke Balthasar (died 1507) and the other of Duke Erich (died 1508). Both are dated from the transitional period between Gothic and Renaissance. These are epitaphs of the highest quality.
The colourful tile paintings on the central column in the northern transept (a similar one is in the southern transept), were created in the 14th century based on oriental designs. The central column, the arches in the crossing, the rafters beneath the vaulted ceilings and the side columns stabilise the church building which was built in a swampy area.
On the other side the tomb stone of Duchess Anna von Mecklenburg (died 1464), the daughter of Heinrich IV von Mecklenburg and sister of Magnus II.
The “Mill Altar” (1410/20) was created as one of the first of its kind. The middle section shows a very picturesque depiction of the transformation of the word to the flesh, or the Eucharist. The four evangelists pour the word of God into the mill funnel, the mill in cross form represents Jesus Christ and shows the place of transformation, the 12 apostles power the mill and the four church fathers catch the trans-substantiated nourishment in a chalice and pass it on to the believers. On the side section, scenes from the life of St. Martin are portrayed.
The scaled model of the Abbey shows the abbey buildings at the time of the dissolution in 1552 with the crosswalk and numerous side buildings. Several of those buildings are still intact today e.g. the charnel house (1250) to the north of the Minster as well as the grain storage and the ruins of the trade building (1290) to the south of the abbey grounds. The abbey wall, 1400 metres long, remains nearly as it was in medieval times.
On the other side is the tomb stone of Heinrich von der Lühe, restored in 2004. It shows the inscription “In the year of Our Lord 1401, on the day of the martyr Vincentius, the good Heinrich von Lühe, a sincere friend of the abbey, died and is resting under this stone. May he rest in peace. Amen.”
The tomb of Lord Samuel von Behr (died 1621) was built by Julius Döteber from Leipzig and the canopy was erected in 1626 by Cheer Evert Pilot. Samuel von Behr was chancellor, marshal, minister, manager and mentor of Duke Adolf Friedrich who had this memorial erected in gratitude to his mentor.
To the right of the chapel and opposite, the swan and antlers remind us of the abbey’s founding legend. After the first abbey was destroyed, Duke Nikolaus from Rostock looked for a new building site for the abbey. The new abbey’s building site would be the place where the first stag was killed in the hunt. The Prince killed the stag here. The monks surveying the site thought that this ground would be too wet as it was swampland. However suddenly a swan rose out of a thicket into the air and shouted “dobr, dobr” ("dobr" is Slavic for "good") which the monks took as a sign from God, and decided to build the abbey on that spot. "Doberan" is Slavic for "good place".
The late-Romanesque, early-Gothic figure of Queen Margarete of Denmark (died 1282) carved from oak, is supposed to be the oldest tomb sculpture in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the oldest female sculpture of all Cistercian abbeys (see picture next page).
After Margarete’s husband Christopher I. of Denmark was murdered in his homeland, she made a journey to Rome and upon her return lived as a contributor and inhabitant of the Holy Cross abbey in Rostock. Although she lived in Rostock, she was buried in the Minster, since that was the place where the Dukes and Duchesses of the House von Mecklenburg were buried.
To the right, behind the tomb sculpture, the centre section of the altar of the crucifixion of Christ (1340) depicts seven women representing the seven virtues: obedience, persistence, compassion, love, humility, justice and peace. This rare exhibit is based on Isaiah 4.1 which tells of the struggle of the virtues for the human soul: Christ died so that the virtues could come into the world and the place where the virtues reign there the Kingdom of God has come. On the inside of the wings you see the prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel. On the outside of the wings you can see the annunciation scene with Mary, the birth of Christ, the 3 kings worshipping and the dedication in the temple. The altar was renovated 2003/2004.
The Altar of the Passion of Christ from the 14th century with parts of a further side altar, is only partially preserved.
The Corpus Christi Altar with The Last Supper (1330 - see picture) shows one of the oldest tablet paintings in Mecklenburg. It is thought to have stood in the gate chapel at the western gate of the abbey, and is associated with the Doberan holy blood relics.
The tablet is attributed to the second quarter of the 14th century. The left folding wing section was already missing around the year 1700.
Tomb and crypt of Duke Adolf Friedrich I von Mecklenburg (died 1658) and wife Anna Maria von Ostfriesland (died 1634) was built by Julius Döteber from Leipzig and Daniel Weber from Rostock in the transitional style of renaissance to baroque in 1634.