Erfurt Cathedral (, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in the

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

n city of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, central Germany. It is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erfurt. The cathedral was mainly built in the

International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art that began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the ...

style and is located on a hillside overlooking the main town square (, Cathedral Square), directly next to St Severus' Church. As a unique architectural ensemble, both churches together form the city's landmark. Former German names include and .

History

The site of the present

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

has been the location of many other Christian buildings, for example a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

and a church hall. In 742, Saint Boniface erected a church on the mound where Erfurt Cathedral is now sited. In the mid-12th century, the foundations of the original church were used for a Romanesque basilica. In the early 14th century, the mound was enlarged to make room for St Mary's Cathedral. In 1184 it was the site of the Erfurt latrine disaster when a floor collapsed during an assembly summoned by Henry VI,

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. About 60 people, including many nobles, drowned in the liquid excrement underneath.

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

was ordained in the cathedral on 3 April 1507.Lull, Timothy, Nelson, Derek (2015) ''Resilient Reformer: The life and thought of Martin Luther'', Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress

Architecture

The architecture of Erfurt Cathedral is mainly Gothic and originates from the 14th and 15th centuries. The building has many notable architectural features, including the

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows and the interior furnishings. The central spire of the cathedral's three towers houses the Maria Gloriosa which, at the time of its casting by Geert van Wou in 1497, was the world's largest free-swinging bell. It is the largest surviving medieval bell in the world. It is known for the purity of its tone.

Relics and treasures

The cathedral houses many rare and rich furnishings and sculptures, including the tomb of the supposedly bigamous Count von Gleichen, accompanied by both of his wives, a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

altar from around 1160, a bronze candelabra called Erfurter Wolfram, the oldest free standing cast work in Germany, and, out on the portal, statues of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. File:ErfurtDomAltar.jpg, The altar File:Erfurt-Dom-rechtehaelfte-Seiteneingang.jpg, The Foolish Virgins of the parable The Ten Virgins File:Wolframleuchter.jpg, Wolfram candelabra

Bells

References

External links

* * (in German) {{Authority control

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...