Bad Doberan, formerly the summer residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, lies 15km/9mi west of Rostock. It is famed for its Minster, which is unique in the Baltic area.
The district of Heiligendamm was originally built as a seaside resort - the first in Germany.
Bad Doberan's great landmark is the Minster, a brick-built Gothic church (1294-1368; restored 1984) which originally belonged to a Cistercian monastery. One of the most beautiful churches in the Baltic area, it has a richly furnished interior, with a tabernacle 11.60m/38ft high, a huge Triumphal Cross group, fine altars, wood sculpture, grave slabs and burial chapels.
Of the old conventual buildings there survive the charnel-house (13th c.) and the granary (c. 1270).
Address: Bad Doberan Minster, Klosterstrasse 2, D-18209 Bad Doberan, Germany
In the center of the neo-classical town of Bad Doberan is the Kamp, a landscaped park in the English style, with the Saloon (Salongebäude; by T. Severin, 1801-02), now the seat of the District Council; the Grosses Palais (Severin, 1806-10), now occupied by offices; and the old Logierhaus (by Seydewitz, 1793), now a hotel. The two Chinese pavilions in the park are the only examples of chinoiserie in Mecklenburg (1808-09 and 1810-13; now a cafe and an exhibition hall).