Domstift Ratzeburg

The Ratzeburg Cathedral Chapter was founded in 1154 by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony. Originally conceived as an offshoot of the Magdeburg Cathedral Chapter of Our Lady, it was established as an ecclesiastical administrative body within the Diocese of Ratzeburg. After the abdication of the last Catholic bishop in 1554, the Cathedral Chapter initially adhered to the old faith but introduced the Augsburg Confession in 1566. With the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the Cathedral Chapter was dissolved by the Peace of Osnabrück, but continued in a limited institutional form until the death of the last canon in 1683. The cathedral church and the cathedral district are situated on an island in Lake Ratzeburg, connected to the old town by causeways. The Cathedral Chapter had two patron saints, Saint Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, which can be attributed to a relocation from St. Georg auf dem Berge to Ratzeburg around 1158.

The Ratzeburg Cathedral Chapter is located in the Duchy of Lauenburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on an island in Lake Ratzeburg, near the old town of Ratzeburg.

The former buildings of the Ratzeburg Cathedral Chapter are now part of the cathedral district and characterize Ratzeburg's historical cityscape. The cathedral church continues to serve as a place of worship.

• Manor House of the Dukes of Mecklenburg (manor and estate house, approx. 152 m away)
• Manor House Behlendorf (manor and estate house, approx. 7078 m away)
• Manor House Althorst (manor and estate house, approx. 7195 m away)
• Kogel Manor House (manor and estate house, approx. 7866 m away)