Meissen Cathedral

Meißen, Germany

The Meissen Cathedral is situated on the castle hill of Meissen, adjacent to the Albrechtsburg castle. It was the episcopal see of the Bishopric of Meissen established by Emperor Otto I in 968. It replaced an older Romanesque church. The present-day hall church was built between 1260 and 1410, the interior features Gothic sculptures of founder Emperor Otto and his wife Adelaide of Italy as well as paintings from the studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder. The first Saxon elector from the House of Wettin, Margrave Frederick I, had the Prince's Chapel erected in 1425 as the burial place of his dynasty. The twin steeples were not attached until 1909.

In 1581 the Meissen diocese was dissolved in the course of the Protestant Reformation, and the church was used by the Protestant Church since. It is the cathedral church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony.

Burials in the Prince's Chapel include many Electors and Dukes of Saxony.

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Address

Domplatz 1, Meißen, Germany
See all sites in Meißen

Details

Founded: 1260-1410
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Albrechtsburg Castle (0 km)


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Semperoper (22,2 km)
Albertinum (22,9 km)
Pillnitz Castle (33 km)
Moritzburg Castle (14,5 km)
Dresden City Museum (22,9 km)

User Reviews

Dana Giurgea (3 months ago)
Magnific view
Stefan Leitner (10 months ago)
awesome historic place! The castle and the cathedral are a must for Visitors!
ruud waij (11 months ago)
To enter the Dom in Meissen, you need to pay for a guided tour. This kind of behavior does not bring me closer to God. There is a nice view above the city and the river.
Marc Albert (11 months ago)
The guides all say that it's a relatively small Cathedral but it doesn't look like it from the inside. There's a charge to enter but it's definitely worth seeing. If you're there around noon you can attend an organ concert for an extra fee. It's definitely worth it to pay extra for the guided tour of the bell tower. The climb is about 300 steps but it's not too taxing. The guide stops several times along the way.
Eric Pan (14 months ago)
Nice view, nice weather.
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The castle was constructed after Olav Engelbrektsson returned from a meeting with the Pope in Rome, presumably in anticipation of impending military-religious conflict. As Archbishop Engelbrektsson's resistance to the encroachment of Danish rule escalated, first with Frederick I of Denmark and his successor Christian III of Denmark, Steinvikholm Castle and Nidarholm Abbey became the Catholic Church's military strongholds in Norway. In April 1537, the Danish-Norwegian Reformation succeeded in driving the archbishop from the castle into exile in Lier in the Netherlands (now in Belgium), where he died on 7 February 1538. At the castle the archbishop left behind St. Olav's shrine and other treasures from Nidaros Cathedral (Trondheim). The original coffin containing St. Olav's body remained at Steinvikholm until it was returned to Nidaros Cathedral in 1564. Since 1568 St. Olav's grave in Nidaros has been unknown.

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