The Church of Görmin in a Baroque Perspective

Pomerania suffered from different wars and crises during the mentioned centuries. Thus, the last Duke of Pomerania, Bogislav XIV, was forced to accept the treaty of Franzburg, where he promised in 1627 to deploy imperial troops under the commander Albrecht of Wallenstein in his territory during the Thirty Years’ War. Only a few years later, the king of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, entered into the war by landing on the island Usedom and squazing Bogislav into a contract against the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II. During the following years, Pomerania was badly damaged by acts of war, lootings and billeting of foreign forces. During the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Pomerania became of part Sweden, due of the death of the Bogislav XIV and hence the extinction of the House of Greifen.

Nevertheless, the conflicts didn’t cease during the Swedish reign in Pomerania in the peace treaty of Stockholm (1720), however, Brandenburg-Prussia received the territories south of the river Peene and Sweden’s period as a great power ended.

The choir, which is made of boulders, dates back to the 13th century, while the roofed hall, made of bricks, was completed one century later. The foundations of the church tower have its origin in the 15th century, whereas the upper parts of the building were added in 1869/70. Since the year 1460, the University of Greifswald was the patron of the church of Görmin. In the interior there are some wall and vault paintings, made in the 14th century. The retable, carved by the famous artist Elias Keßler from Stralsund, shows a picture from the Last Supper. Tow Corinthian columns and two evangelists frame this painting. Above this, there is a painting of Christ in the Garden Gethsemane which is surrounded by the evangelists and some angels. The retable, decorated with acanthus ornaments is completed by the crucifixion group. The original pulpit from the Renaissance was partly redesigned by Keßler in the 1720s. Examples for this are the cherubs and the triumphant Christ, who swings a Swedish flag.

While the organ was built by Grüneberg in 1854, the rest of the interior, such as the galleries, were renovated thirteen years later.