The Lübeck Marienkirche (officially St Marien zu Lübeck) is a medieval basilica in the city centre of Lübeck, Germany. Built between 1265 and 1352, the church is located on the highest point of Lübeck's old town island within the Hanseatic merchants' quarter, which extends uphill from the warehouses on the River Trave to the church. As the main parish church of the citizens and the city council of Lübeck, it was built close to the town hall and the market. The church was built as a three-aisled basilica with side chapels, an ambulatory with radiating chapels, and vestibules like the arms of a transept. The westwork has a monumental two-tower façade. The height of the towers, including the weather vanes, is and , respectively. It has the tallest brick vault in the world, the height of the central nave being . St Mary's epitomizes north German Brick Gothic and set the standard for about 70 other churches in the Baltic region, making it a building of enormous architectural significance. It is referred to as the "mother church of brick Gothic" and is considered a major work of church building in the Baltic Sea region. Because of its architectural importance and testimony to the medieval influence of the Hanseatic League (of which Lübeck was the de facto capital), in 1987 St Mary's Church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Lübeck City Centre. St Mary's is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. History of the building In 1160, Henry the Lion moved the Bishopric of Oldenburg to Lübeck and established a cathedral chapter in the south of the old city island. After 1160, a wooden church was built on the site of the Marienkirche in the middle of the town, which was first documented in 1170 together with St. Petri as a market church. Already at the end of the 12th century it was replaced by a Romanesque brick church that existed until the middle of the 13th century. Romanesque sculptures from the furnishings of this second Marienkirche are now on display in the St. Annen Museum. The sixth pair of pillars in the nave (from the west) dating from around 1200 can be seen as a remnant of the Romanesque Marienkirche in today's High Gothic building. The design of the three-aisled basilica was based on the Gothic cathedrals in France (➜Reims) and Flanders,