Henry the Lion founded the cathedral in 1173, after the bishop's seat moved from Oldenburg in Holstein. The article names no master builder. The Romanesque church was finished around 1230, and from 1266 to 1335 it was converted to Gothic, with the side aisles raised to the main aisle's height of about 66 feet (20 m). It is a brick basilica 430 feet (131 m) long.
A Royal Air Force raid on the night of March 28 and 29, 1942 collapsed the east choir vault and the towers, and destroyed the 1696 altar and the Schnitger organ. Much of the interior was saved, including most medieval altarpieces and Bernt Notke's 56-foot crucifix of 1477.
Reconstruction was completed in 1982. It is a Lutheran church and part of the UNESCO site of Lübeck, designated in 1987.
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