St. Marien Cathedral

The St. Marien Cathedral in Wurzen is an Evangelical Lutheran church. Built as a collegiate church of the Wurzen collegiate monastery, it has been known as the cathedral since the end of the 15th century when the Meißner bishops built their residence in Wurzen Castle.

The first church, the predecessor of today's cathedral, was consecrated in 1114 in honor of the Virgin Mary. It was a flat-roofed Romanesque pillar basilica , which was roughly the size of today's central nave. The first major expansion was the addition of the four yokes of the east choir around 1260 to 1290. In the middle of the 14th century, the central nave was vaulted and the south aisle was expanded into a hall, before a fire destroyed large parts of the church in 1470. After the reconstruction, the next extensions took place after 1500 under Bishop Johann VI von Saalhausen (1444–1518). In 1503 he had the west choir built, which he intended to be his burial place, and in 1508 two yokes were added to the east choir, today's chancel. From 1491 to 1497 he had the neighboring Wurzen Castle built as a bishop's residence, so that the church now became a cathedral. The collegiate foundation became the cathedral chapter.

The church has been used for Protestant worship since 1542. It is also used for church music concerts because of its good acoustics. A special feature is the uniform furnishing of the church with architectural sculptures by the sculptor Georg Wrba.

References:

• second.wiki

Address

Domgasse 19, Wurzen, Germany

Details

Founded: 1112–1114
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Salian Dynasty (Germany)