Vilmnitz: St. Mary Magdalene Church and Concerts

St. Mary Magdalene Church in Vilmnitz combines late Romanesque and Gothic brick architecture with a building history spanning several centuries. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Vilmnitz, the church and its concert tradition can provide a specific cultural focus for your trip.

Church architecture and furnishings

St. Mary Magdalene Church is a late Romanesque-Gothic brick church. Among its oldest surviving elements are the Romanesque eastern choir and sacristy. The nave was built in the mid-14th century and renovated in the 15th century. The older eastern section and the nave, built or renovated later, therefore belong to different construction phases. The church cannot be reduced to a single date of construction.

Inside the church is an accessible crypt associated with the Putbus family, containing around 28 coffins. The furnishings also include four large sandstone epitaphs dating from 1600, a Baroque pulpit from 1708/09, and the restored historic Mehmel organ. The crypt and epitaphs give the history of burials its own place alongside the subjects of architecture, the pulpit, and the organ. As access to individual areas may vary, check visiting arrangements in advance if you are particularly interested in the crypt.

Summer concerts at St. Mary Magdalene Church

For more than 25 years, weekly concerts have been held at the church on Thursday evenings during the summer months. The concert tradition adds a musical reason to visit alongside the church’s architectural history. If you would like to plan your trip around a concert date, check the current summer program in advance.

Putbus as the broader travel destination

As a broader point of reference, Putbus is the main travel destination. Putbus was planned in 1810 as a purpose-built residential town centered on the castle of Prince Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus. A Neoclassical ensemble of whitewashed residential and commercial buildings surrounds the Circus. Putbus is located in southeastern Rügen, directly within the UNESCO Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve; this designation adds the surrounding landscape to the town’s history.

Putbus Palace Park also offers its own historical and landscape setting: the approximately 75-hectare English landscape park is one of the most significant surviving park landscapes in northern Germany. The Putbus Palace Church was created in the park at the end of the 19th century by converting a former spa hall; it was consecrated in 1892. The Marstall in the palace park was built between 1821 and 1824 and served the princely family as a stable and carriage house. Today, it is used as a venue for the Rügen Festival; you can check individual event dates in advance.

For exhibitions, the Orangery in Putbus hosts changing displays presented by the Rügen Cultural Foundation. If a particular exhibition is important to your plans, it is worth checking the current program. The Rügen Doll and Toy Museum in Putbus displays dolls, toys, stuffed animals, tin soldiers, ships, and model railways from three centuries; individual displays may change. Putbus Theatre is a venue for Theatre Vorpommern and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Its repertoire includes drama, musical theatre, cabaret, children’s performances, concerts, and guest performances throughout the year.

Train and circular route in Putbus

The Rasender Roland is a steam-powered narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 750 millimeters that has operated on Rügen since 1895. It connects Putbus with the Baltic seaside resorts of Binz, Sellin, Baabe, and Göhren; the route comprises a total of 24.2 kilometers of track. As timetables vary by season, check the current timetable for your travel dates.

Another option in Putbus is the easy Bodden circular route, which is about 12 kilometers long. It starts in Putbus, passes through Lauterbach and the Goor forest, and returns through the palace park. The route is flat and family-friendly, with views of the Rügischer Bodden. If you plan to cycle the route, check the trail conditions in advance.

Discover more destinations: Lonvitz, Neuendorf, Groß-Stresow, Lauterbach, Güstelitz, Pastitz, Kasnevitz.

Back to the main travel overview: Putbus.