The relations between the bishops of Lebus and the citizens of towns were strained by numerous tensions. After the burning down of the cathedral in Górzyca, the bishop made efforts to elevate the St Mary's Parish in Frankfurt to the status of a cathedral, but the town elite strongly opposed this. The support of Margrave Ludwig finally succeeded in scuttling the bishop's plans, and he had to settle down in Fürstenwalde. After this showdown in Frankfurt extensive construction work started on both St Mary's and St Nicholas' parish churches, giving the choirs a modern form with an ambulatory. It is not surprising, that after the Hussite destruction of the cathedral in Fürstenwalde, it also received a new choir with an ambulatory, with a clear reference to the programme at St Mary's Church in Frankfurt. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the impact of political conflicts on the architectural form and decoration of parish churches in the larger urban centres of the Diocese of Lebus.
