Cathedrals in Germany
Dresden Cathedral
Dresden Cathedral (Hofkirche) stands as one of Dresden's foremost landmarks. It was designed by architect Gaetano Chiaveri from 1738 to 1751. The church was commissioned by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland while the Protestant city of Dresden built the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) between 1726 and 1743. The Catholic Elector decided that a Catholic church was needed in order to counterbalance the Pro ...
Founded: 1738-1751 |
Location:
Dresden, Germany
Fulda Cathedral
Influenced by Roman Baroque architecture, the Fulda cathedral was built between 1704 and 1712 by the renowned architect Johann Dietzenhofer. The cathedral is not only Fulda’s famous landmark, but also the most significant baroque religious building in the State of Hesse. During construction many parts of the previous church, the 9th century Ratgar Basilika, were integrated in the new cathedral. Since 1752 it has bee ...
Founded: 1704-1712 |
Location:
Fulda, Germany
Schleswig Cathedral
Schleswig Cathedral is the main church of Schleswig and was the cathedral of the Bishop of Schleswig until the diocese was dissolved in 1624. After the founding of Schleswig diocese in 947, the first cathedral in Schleswig was built. Today, neither the size nor the location of this cathedral is known. In 1134, construction of a new Romanesque basilica began. The work was only completed around 1200, because an additional n ...
Founded: 1134 |
Location:
Schleswig, Germany
Bamberg Cathedral
The Bamberg Cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four imposing towers. It was founded in 1002 by the emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on May 6, 1012. It was later partially destroyed by fire in 1081. The new cathedral, built by St. Otto of Bamberg, was consecrated in 1111, and in the 13th century received its present late-Romanesque form. Due to its long construction process, several styles were ...
Founded: 1002-1111 |
Location:
Bamberg, Germany
Lübeck Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style ...
Founded: 1173 |
Location:
Lübeck, Germany
Erfurt Cathedral
Erfurt Cathedral, dedicated to St. Mary, is a late Gothic cathedral which replaced the church built on this site for Bishop Boniface in 742. Martin Luther was ordained in the cathedral in 1507. The architecture of the Erfurt Cathedral is mainly Gothic and stems from around the 14th and 15th centuries. There are many things of note as far as the architecture is concerned, not least the stained glass windows and furnishing ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Erfurt, Germany
Paderborn Cathedral
Paderborn Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mary, Saint Kilian and Saint Liborius. Today"s cathedral is located in a position that has been occupied by churches for hundreds of years. Charlemagne had a Kaiserpfalz built near the sources of the Pader river. As early as 777 this palace had an attached church. This church, located north of today"s cathedral, served as chapel to the court as well as a basis for missio ...
Founded: 1100-1145 |
Location:
Paderborn, Germany
Xanten Cathedral
Xanten Cathedral (Xantener Dom) is considered the biggest cathedral between Cologne and the North sea. The cathedral owes its name to Victor of Xanten, a member of the Theban Legion who was supposedly executed in the 4th century in the amphitheater of Castra Vetera for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods. This Roman camp is near today"s town of Birten. According to legend, Helena of Constantinople re ...
Founded: 1263 |
Location:
Xanten, Germany
Hildesheim Cathedral
Hildesheim Cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985, together with the nearby St. Michael's Church. The cathedral church was built between 1010 and 1020 in the Romanesque style. It follows a symmetrical plan with two apses, that is characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque architecture in Old Saxony. The cathedral's treasures include world-famous artworks, bronzeworks from the time of Bishop Be ...
Founded: 1010-1020 |
Location:
Hildesheim, Germany
Osnabrück Cathedral
St. Peter"s Cathedral in Osnabrück is a late Romanesque building and dominates the city"s skyline. The first version of St. Peter"s Cathedral was built in the year 785, 15 years after the diocese was founded by Charlemagne. The Normans destroyed the church 100 years later, and the present version of the church developed only gradually after a fire around 1100. The oldest parts of the present-day churc ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Osnabrück, Germany
St. Hedwig's Cathedral
St. Hedwig"s Cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of Berlin. It was built in the 18th century as the first Catholic church in Prussia after the Protestant Reformation by permission of King Frederick II. The intention of Frederick was to offer the numerous Catholic immigrants who had arrived in Berlin, especially those from Upper Silesia, a place of worship. The church was therefore dedicated to the patron of Siles ...
Founded: 1773 |
Location:
Berlin, Germany
Freising Cathedral
Freising Cathedral, also called Saint Mary and Corbinian Cathedral, is a romanesque basilica. An early church was present on the site by AD 715, consecrated as episcopal church by Boniface in 739. A triple nave was constructed in 860 and rebuilt after a fire in 903. The church was completely destroyed by fire on Palm Sunday, 5 April 1159. Construction of the current romanesque building started in 1159 and completed in 120 ...
Founded: 1159-1205 |
Location:
Freising, Germany
St. Stephen's Cathedral
St. Stephen's Cathedral is a baroque church built in 1688. Since 730, there have been many churches built on the site of the current cathedral. The current church, a baroque building around 100 metres long, was built from 1668 to 1693 after a fire in 1662 destroyed its predecessor, of which only the late gothic eastern side remains. The cathedral's overall plan was made by Carlo Lurago, its interior decoration by Giovanni ...
Founded: 1688 |
Location:
Passau, Germany
Eichstätt Cathedral
Together with the cloister and the mortuary, the two-aisled Eichstätt cathedral is regarded as one of the most important medieval monuments in Bavaria. The first Roman Catholic cathedral of Our Lady and Sts. Willibald and Salvator was built in the 8th century. It was destroyed during the Hungarian invasions but the church preserved. Parts of this church have been preserved in the masonry. The current cathedral has parts ...
Founded: 1022 |
Location:
Eichstätt, Germany
Essen Minster
Essen Minster was formerly the collegiate church of Essen Abbey, founded in about 845 by Altfrid, Bishop of Hildesheim. The present building, which was reconstructed after its destruction in World War II, is a Gothic hall church, built after 1275 in light-coloured sandstone. The octagonal westwork and the crypt are survivors of the Ottonian pre-Romanesque building that once stood here. The separate Church of St. Johann Ba ...
Founded: 1275-1316 |
Location:
Essen, Germany
Görlitz Cathedral
The cathedral of St. Jakobus (St. James) in Görlitz was built between 1898-1900 in neo-Gothic style as a parish church. It became a cathedral in 1994, due to the reorganisation of East German dioceses. The neo-Gothic hall church in brick construction with the 68-foot tower stands on a hill and is therefore visible from afar. During the last days of World War II, the church was badly damaged by artillery fire. It was ...
Founded: 1898-1900 |
Location:
Görlitz, Germany
Rottenburg Cathedral
St. Martin"s Cathedral has been the cathedral of Rottenburg since 1821. Its tower, dating from 1486, is its most prominent feature. It was reconstructed in 1644-1655 after a fire in Baroque style.
Founded: 1486 |
Location:
Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany
Ratzeburg Cathedral
The Cathedral of Ratzeburg, one of the oldest brick churches of Northern Germany, is a basilica with three naves. Its arches are supported by pillars and it is built in the form of a cross with a choir quadrangle and a halfround apse. The last restoration (completed in 1966) returned the cathedral to its late Romanesque conception, so you can discover most of the unity and integrity of its original design. The cathedral ...
Founded: 1154 |
Location:
Ratzeburg, Germany
Güstrow Cathedral
Güstrow Cathedral is a Brick Gothic Lutheran cathedral initially completed in 1335. It is the oldest extant building in Barlachstadt Güstrow. The church was originally dedicated by the Bishop of Kammin. The cathedral"s charter was removed in 1552, and the cathedral fell into disuse and was used to house vehicles for 12 years. In 1568 it began to be used as an evangelical palace chapel and resting place for ...
Founded: 1335 |
Location:
Güstrow, Germany
St. Nicholas' Cathedral
St. Nicholas" Cathedral is a significant, well preserved example of northern German Late Brick Gothic; the church features three aisles, two transepts and a single-aisled ambulatory. Particularly impressive is the church"s northern tiered gable. The church features 22 stained glass features considered to be treasures of international significance, a feature of the cathedral elevating the building to a heritage s ...
Founded: 1188 |
Location:
Stendal, Germany