St. Thomas Church is associated with a number of well-known composers such as Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, but mostly with Johann Sebastian Bach who worked here as a Kapellmeister (music director) from 1723 until his death in 1750. Today, the church also holds his remains. Martin Luther preached here in 1539.
There has been a church at the current site of the Thomaskirche at least since the 12th century. Foundations of a Romanesque building have been discovered in the choir and crossing of the current church. Between 1212 and 1222 the earlier structure became the church of the new St. Thomas Monastery (Stift) of the Augustinian order.
The current building was consecrated by Thilo of Trotha, the Bishop of Merseburg, on 10 April 1496. The reformer Martin Luther preached here on Pentecost Sunday in 1539. The monastic buildings were demolished in 1541 following the monastery's dissolution. The current church tower was first built in 1537 and rebuilt in 1702. Chapels added in the 17th century and an ante-building along the northern front of the nave with two stairways were removed at the end of the 19th century.
References:The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city, it is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles.Â
The site where it stands was the principal mosque of Lisbon when it was an Arab settlement. The construction of the cathedral started around 1150, three years after the city was conquered from the Moors during the Second Crusade. Shortly after the victory the English knight Gilbert of Hastings was named bishop of the city of Lisbon.
One good reason to visit the Cathedral is to visit its charming cloisters located in the back. There are several tombs in the cathedral, the most notable of which is the beautifully sculpted tomb of Lopo Fernandes Pacheco and his wife.