Worms Cathedral

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St. Peter cathedral in Worms, view of the east end, crossing tower and north arm of the transept
South side with Nikolauskapelle
View from the west
The city of Worms with its cathedral around 1900

The St. Peter cathedral in Worms is the smallest of the three Rhenish imperial cathedrals . The Worms Cathedral is steeper and slimmer and about a hundred years younger than the cathedrals in Speyer and Mainz . It was essentially built between 1130 and 1181.

Importance of the Worms Cathedral

Worms Cathedral before 1901

The Worms Cathedral, located on the highest point of the Worms city center, is the most important building of the Worms Romanesque and closely associated with the name of Bishop Burchard and the heyday of Worms city history during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Major events in connection with the cathedral were, among other things, the Pope nomination of Leo IX. in 1048, the Worms Concordat in 1122, with which the investiture controversy ended, the marriage of Emperor Frederick II in 1235 with Isabella of England and the Diet of Worms in 1521, during which Martin Luther had to answer to Emperor Charles V. the rupture in the occidental church.

Until the secularisation of the Bishopric and Bishopric of Worms (1801/02) was Dom St. Peter , the Cathedral of the Bishop of Worms. Since 1802 the Worms Cathedral has been a Catholic parish church , which in memory of its former importance as a bishop's church in 1862 by Pope Pius IX. to the provost church and in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. was raised to the " Basilica minor ". This papal honorary title, which includes honorary rights for the provost and the house of God, is intended to emphasize the importance of a church for the surrounding area.

North portal with sheet mask on the middle of the capital band

The cathedral was built from 1130 to 1181, with the demolition of an early Romanesque basilica from the first quarter of the 11th century parallel to the new building . According to the latest research, construction possibly began as early as 1105 with the sanctuary and transept.

The main synagogue in Strasbourg , built by Ludwig Levy in 1896–98 , was destroyed in 1940–41. Its design was based on the Worms Cathedral.

history

Prehistory of the cathedral

The Worms Cathedral stands on the highest hill in the city. Since this hill was safe from floods, people have settled there since the third millennium BC. Presumably in Augustan times , the Romans settled the Vangionen tribe here , whose affiliation with the Germanic peoples or Celts is unclear. The name Wonnegau for the Worms area still reminds of them . In Borbetomagus , the capital of the Civitas Vangionum , an administrative center and a temple district were built on the hill. The decline of the Roman Empire also hit Worms in 401 when the Roman garrison troops withdrew. Twelve years later the Burgundians settled in Worms; they were settled by the Romans with the task of securing the borders of the empire. However, when they tried to shake off Roman supremacy, they were defeated in a battle by the Romans in 435. A year later the Huns broke into the Rhine plain and destroyed most of the Burgundian people.

First church building under Brunichildis

After the battle on the Catalaunian fields , the Franks pushed into the Rhine plain and took power in the Worms area. At the same time Christianity spread. When the Franconian Empire of the Merovingians split into three parts, Worms belonged to Austrasia . After the rulers of Austrasia and Neustria married sisters, a family war broke out, in which the two kings and one of the two sisters fell victim. The surviving Austrasian king widow Brunichildis resided in Worms around 600. According to medieval sources, she and her successor Dagobert I had a church built on the foundation walls of the Roman forum . This church is considered to be the forerunner of the cathedral. There is no archaeological evidence for this tradition. The excavations under the cathedral carried out at the beginning of the 20th century rather suggest a larger, Carolingian predecessor building. However, whether this was an extension of a Merovingian system can no longer be clarified due to the limited evidence.

Cathedral construction under Bishop Burchard von Worms

Bishop Burchard of Worms

Berthulf was the first surviving bishop of Worms in 614. The cathedral was fundamentally rebuilt in today's dimensions under Bishop Burchard von Worms from the beginning of the 11th century, because Burchard I became Bishop of Worms in 1000 and immediately began to reorganize the city. He succeeded in persuading the Salians to give up their castle, in the place of which the Paulus Abbey was built from 1002/1003. He also had the old main church laid down and the cathedral started, which probably still bears the contours of the 11th century planning: A cruciform basilica with two semicircular choirs, which was built in an east-west direction. The cathedral could already be consecrated in 1018 in the presence of the emperor, but the western structure collapsed two years later and had to be renewed. The church interior had a flat wooden ceiling. According to Burchard's biography from around 1030/1040, Worms Cathedral was splendidly furnished. There is talk of columns with gilded capitals, which, however, could hardly have been the main pillars of the church. Rather, the Burchard Cathedral was in all probability a pillar basilica, because nowhere were the remains of columns (which were harder to obtain in the 11th century anyway) to be found.

Only the basement floors of the west towers and the treasury north of the choir, which presumably dates from the end of the 11th century, remained in the following renovations.

In 1110 the cathedral was consecrated for the second time. Major damage may have occurred. Their elimination was completed with a renewed consecration.

Cathedral construction under Bishop Burchard II of Worms

Epitaph inscription by Burchard II, on the outside of the cathedral

The new building in the 12th century essentially corresponds to today's cathedral. Around 1130, Bishop Burchard II began - probably due to severe structural damage - to tear down the cathedral built under his predecessor Burchard I and to replace it with a new building. So the entire east building with flank towers and octagonal crossing tower, as we know it today, was built under him until around 1144. The nave and west building were built between 1160 and 1181 under his successors Konrad I and Konrad II ; the latter consecrated it on May 2, 1181.

The cathedral shows a late Romanesque architectural style, it is completely vaulted and richly decorated under Burgundian-Cistercian influence. Many sacred buildings in the area were given similar decorative forms based on his model, so that one spoke of a Worms building school . In addition, the elevation of the nave, which is slightly varied by yoke, is derived from that of the imperial cathedrals in Speyer and Mainz. The gradual progress of the new building can be followed by dendrochronological examination of the scaffolding timber remaining in the masonry. In 1172 lamps were donated for the west choir and in 1192 Bishop Conrad II was buried there. At that time, the St. John's Church , which was demolished around 1812 and served as the cathedral's parish and baptistery , was built on the south side of the cathedral.

Extension buildings under Johannes von Dalberg

About a hundred years after the third consecration, the new construction of the Nikolauskapelle began. A new south portal was installed, to the east of it in the first quarter of the 14th century two more chapels, the St. Anne's and St. George's Chapel. When part of the north-west tower collapsed in 1429, it was rebuilt - although late Gothic in detail, but strictly reconstructed in its forms - by 1472, an extremely early case of monument preservation. The Aegidia Chapel (today: Marienkapelle) was added to the eastern part of the north aisle in 1480/85.

Gothic reliefs from the broken cloister

Towards the end of the century, under Bishop Johannes von Dalberg, the originally Romanesque cloister (west of the Nikolauskapelle) was renewed, from which the five monumental late Gothic reliefs on the life of Jesus, now installed in the north aisle of the cathedral, come: Root Jesse (1488), Annunciation (1487) , Birth of Christ (1515), Entombment (around 1490) and Resurrection (around 1490). An originally existing sixth relief, which showed the crucifixion scene, was probably a victim of the destruction of 1689. There are four large (88 cm diameter), round coat-of-arms vault keystones in the Worms City Museum , which come from the cloister and belong to Bishop Ruprecht II of Regensburg as well as were donated by the canons Philipp von Flersheim , Erpho von Gemmingen and Wilhelm von Stockheim . Another cloister keystone of the Archbishop of Cologne and former Worms Cathedral Scholaster Hermann von Hessen is now walled in above the entrance to the abbey church of Stift Neuburg in Heidelberg . The foundation stone of the cloister from 1484, which was thought to be lost, was found again at the end of February 2014 while cleaning up in the Dom lapidarium .

reformation

The importance of the diocese and the cathedral in Worms decreased steadily at the time of the Diet of Worms in 1521. Shortly after the Reichstag, some parishes in Worms converted to the teachings of Martin Luther . In 1556 all parishes followed on Electoral Palatinate soil.

Thirty Years' War

During the Thirty Years War , Swedish troops occupied the city from 1632 to 1635, and a Protestant preacher held services in the cathedral.

War of the Palatinate Succession

In the Palatinate War of Succession , on the orders of the French King Louis XIV, his troops devastated Heidelberg, Mannheim, Speyer and Worms. All of the churches were looted and sacked, but unlike the Speyer Cathedral, attempts to blow up the Worms Cathedral failed. However, it burned out completely and most of the vaults collapsed. Bishop Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg had the cathedral restored from 1698. As a result, some baroque elements were added, such as the enlarged windows of the silver chamber or the high altar by Balthasar Neumann .

French Revolution

Worms Cathedral, 1824

The rebuilding of the cathedral was destroyed by the troops of the French Revolution . At the end of 1792, Speyer, Worms, Mainz and Frankfurt were conquered by the revolutionary troops. The cathedral now served as a horse stable and warehouse. Between 1818 and 1830 the cloister was demolished and its stones were auctioned.

Renovations from the middle of the 19th century

In the course of the 19th century there was increasing damage to the structure, which even questioned the stability of some of the components. Ignaz Sacrificemann (1799–1866), initially provincial master builder for Rheinhessen , later district master builder for the Mainz district , made the first security from 1859. He replaced the Baroque Welsche hood over the eastern crossing dome in analogy to the western cupola by a polygonal roof. He provided the outside of the west choir with iron tie rods . The result was neither aesthetically nor technically satisfactory : the iron rusted, the vaults cracked and the rose window was deformed into an oval.

From 1886 - for years - the removal of the damage was discussed, in 1892 the foundations were thoroughly examined. It turned out that the foundations of the cathedral in the east stood almost on the solid gravel layer of the Rhine gravel, while to the west they were embedded in a steadily increasing layer of loess , which could shift when wet. Karl Hofmann , then city and cathedral architect in Worms, therefore suggested that the west choir, including the dome between the two west towers, be completely removed, new foundations laid and the building rebuilt on top. However, the Art Council, a committee of experts accompanying the measure, did not like that. Therefore, it was not until 1901, until Karl Hofmann was able to prevail with his proposed "radical cure": The west choir and the western Langhausjoch were removed and a concrete - foundation down to the gravel recreated let down, covered the medieval foundations with it and the concrete reinforced with iron. During the renovation, circumferential canals at three different heights were discovered inside the wall of the west choir, which originally contained wooden ring anchors, but which had since completely decomposed. They were replaced by reinforced concrete during the reconstruction. The western nave yoke was redesigned in pumice concrete . The vaults and roof structure of the eastern crossing dome were also replaced by reinforced concrete.

During the reconstruction, great importance was attached to reusing as many original stones as possible. In the case of the outer wall shell, this was possible to such a large extent that the old stones are still in their original places with the exception of a small part. On the inside, however, large stones had to be replaced and reconstructed true to the original. The bold cranked course of duty around the central rose window was not renewed because it was assessed as structurally questionable. Today the services run vertically here as well and clearly cut the rose window.

The extensive renovations also included the new construction of the Nikolauskapelle, the renovation of the entire floor, the replacement of the vaults in the east choir and parts of the transept with concrete and the establishment of a completely new crypt for the Salier graves under the high choir. All this work was not completed until 1935.

Second World War, 1945

During the devastating bombing raids on February 21 and March 18, 1945 , the cathedral was seriously damaged by an air raid, although the furnishings were not affected: although the roofs burned down, the vaults remained intact. During the reconstruction of the roof structure, steel material from the Gernsheim Rhine Bridge, which was blown up in 1945, was reused.

architecture

The Worms Cathedral is a double-choir pillar basilica in a bound system with a transept . A central tower is on the crossing , another on the western choir. Both choirs are flanked by two round stair towers each. The nave is vaulted differently. In the nave there is a ribbed vault , the aisles a groin vault . The apse on the western choir has the shape of an octagon and is provided with various rose windows.

Stained glass window

After the explosion of the Oppau nitrogen works on September 21, 1921, none of the medieval glass windows have survived.

The contemporary glazing of the cathedral is quite diverse. In addition to simple clear or frosted glass glazing in the transepts, sophisticated modern picture windows were created, especially in the chapels, such as the colored glass windows by Heinz Hindorf in the Nikolauskapelle and those in the Marienkapelle, which deal with the life of Mary and the 14 helpers in need (1986–1988), or the history window (1992) in the Georgskapelle. The history of the Worms diocese is depicted in twenty scenes from the first accepted bishop Victor 345 to the destruction of the city in the Second World War . An unusual political statement can be found in the portrayal of the Biblis nuclear power plant as the “ Tower of Bablis” in a number of examples of human sinfulness.

The cathedral as a burial place

Sarcophagi in the crypt

Four Salier graves were already in the sanctuary of the Franconian cathedral and were built over; five more followed until 1046. They are ancestors and relatives of Emperor Konrad II :

Salier Crypt, left side
  1. Konrad the Red , Duke of Lorraine (great-grandfather) † 955,
  2. Judith , Duchess of Carinthia (grandmother) † 991,
  3. Heinrich , Count im Wormsgau (father) † 990/991,
  4. Judith (sister) † 998,
  5. Konrad I , Duke of Carinthia (uncle) † 1011,
  6. his wife Mathilde † 1031/32,
  7. Mathilde von Franken , † 1034 (transferred to Worms in 1046),
  8. Conrad II , Duke of Carinthia (cousin, son of Conrad I) † 1039,
  9. Bishop Azecho , successor to Bishop Burchard, † 1044.

The sarcophagi have been in a specially created, accessible crypt since the beginning of the 20th century.

Because the floor level of the transept and the east choir protrudes over six meters from the ground, one must assume that there was a crypt.

See also: Master lists of the Sieghardinger and Salier

Epitaphs

Tomb of Canon Eberhard von Heppenheim called vom Saal († 1559)

In the cathedral there is a large number of grave monuments, epitaphs and grave slabs. They come from u. a. from:

(outside by the former cloister)

  • Burchard II , also Bucco or Buggo († 1149), Bishop of Worms and builder of the cathedral east work

Nikolauskapelle

Nicholas Chapel from the outside
Baptismal font in the Nikolauskapelle

In the course of the third construction of the cathedral, an early Romanesque chapel in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra was added and consecrated in 1058. Its dedicatory inscription and the tympanum of the former entrance from the cathedral, with one of the oldest known representations of St. Nicholas, have been preserved. Apparently it served as a place of storage and worship of a relic of the saint, which the cathedral - according to tradition - received from Empress Theophanu from Byzantium on the occasion of her wedding to Emperor Otto II in 972.

At the same place, between 1280 and 1315, today's larger, two-aisled St. Nicholas Chapel was built in Gothic style immediately west of the main portal on the south aisle of the cathedral. During this time, when St. Nicholas was still resting in Myra , his cult spread throughout the West; He was highly respected as the patron of various professional groups and a helper in many different matters. This could explain the unusual size of the chapel and its quality. The Jesuit and Bollandist Daniel Papebroch (1628–1714) saw the original Worms St. Nicholas relic in 1660 himself. He describes them as the saint's “finger bones” , which in his time was kept in the cathedral sacristy, but was previously kept in its own chapel. He also testifies that the Worms relic always secreted some oil, as is still the case today with the body of St. Nicholas in Bari . Papebroch also attests to a precious consecration gift from Queen Constance of Sicily († 1198) to St. Nicholas that still existed here at that time . The old St. Nicholas relic from Worms Cathedral was lost during the destruction in the Palatinate War of Succession . At the end of the 20th century, a new one could be obtained, which is in a modern reliquary in the Nikolauskapelle again.

Romanesque Nikolaustympanon

The chapel was originally part of the cloister immediately to the west and half of its length was covered by it. When the remains of the cloister were finally torn down in 1830, the statics of the chapel got out of balance, so that it finally had to be completely demolished, re-founded and rebuilt in 1920/27, similar to the west choir a few years earlier. On this occasion, attempts were also made to correct the proportions of the chapel, which seemed rather unsightly without the cloister as context, by lengthening it by half a yoke to the west and adding the windows. The current (southern) entrance portal of the chapel also dates from this modern era, but its tympanum comes from the portal that used to lead from the cloister into the chapel.

The furnishings in the Nikolauskapelle today consist of pieces that were not originally intended for this room. The Gothic carved altar comes from southern Germany and was only bought a few decades ago. The late Gothic baptismal font was originally located in the St. John's Church , which was demolished in the 19th century , while the almost life-size Gothic three virgin stone was in the not far away mountain monastery. The modern glazing, framed in intense blue and red, bathes the chapel in an almost mystical twilight. The collection of exchanged building jewelry and its casts are housed in the heavily raised roof of the chapel, while the cellar houses the cathedral's central heating. Today it serves in particular as the baptistery of the cathedral and for weekday services and has thus largely taken over the functions of the old Johanneskirche.

High altar

High altar by Johann Balthasar Neumann

The Elector of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Worms, Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg, left enough money in his will to have a new high altar built. His successor, Prince-Bishop Franz Georg von Schönborn , asked his brother Friedrich, the Bishop of Würzburg, to make the master builder Johann Balthasar Neumann available to him. He created the new high altar out of gilded wood and different colored marble.

Chapel next to the south portal with Bishop Burchard on a sheet mask

Extension buildings

Around 1300, under the influence of the Strasbourg cathedral construction works, the Gothic south portal with its rich cycle of figures and the adjoining St. Nicholas' Chapel were built. Under Bishop Johann von Dalberg (1482–1503) the cathedral cloister was rebuilt in late Gothic form and decorated with sandstone reliefs.

Destruction and rebuilding

In the Palatinate War of Succession, the interior of the cathedral was completely destroyed . In the following decades, a new, baroque interior with altars and choir stalls was created. Most striking is the high altar by Balthasar Neumann . The side altars by the Kurmainz court plasterer Johann Peter Jäger were made between 1749 and 1751. Between 1755 and 1759, the choir stalls were made in the Rococo style by Franz Anton Hermann. In the south transept is the baroque St. Nicholas altar , donated by Canon Franz Rudolph von Hettersdorf († 1729), in the north transept the similar Walburgis altar , donated in 1738 by cathedral vicar Martin Augsthaler . Both are made of yellow sandstone.

Organs

Main organ (Klais 1985)

Swallow's Nest Organ from Klais

The Klais company built an organ with three manuals and 34 registers in 1985 as a so-called swallow's nest organ , which was slightly redesigned and re-voiced by the builder in 2007. The instrument has a mechanical key action, the key action is electric.

I Rückpositiv C – a 3
1. Praestant 8th'
2. Dumped 8th'
3. Principal 4 ′
4th Reed flute 4 ′
5. Gemshorn 2 ′
6th Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
7th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Scharff V
9. Krummhorn 8th'
II main work C – a 3
10. Praestant 16 ′
11. Principal 8th'
12. Pointed flute 8th'
13. Octave 4 ′
14th Hollow flute 4 ′
15th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Super octave 2 ′
17th Cornet V 8th'
18th Mixture VI 2 ′
19th Trumpet 8th'
III Swell C – a 3
20th Reed flute 8th'
21st Gamba 8th'
22nd Vox coelestis 8th'
23. recorder 4 ′
24. Principal 2 ′
25th Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
26th Hautbois 8th'
27. Trumpet harm. 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
28. Principal 16 ′
29 Sub bass 16 ′
30th Octave 8th'
31. Bourdon 8th'
32. Tenor octave 4 ′
33. Trumpet 8th'
34. trombone 16 ′

Choir organ (Oberlinger 1996)

Choir organ from Oberlinger

There is also a choir organ with mechanical action and stop action in the style of the Aristide Cavaillé-Colls choir organs , built in 1996 by the Oberlinger company . The special thing about the design of this organ is that it is extremely compact for the size of its disposition and, thanks to a special construction developed by Oberlinger, can be moved approx. 50 cm away from the wall for tuning the pipes. This compact construction was necessary and desired so that the organ did not restrict the full view from the nave to the valuable high altar. A special construction of the windchest was necessary to achieve this compactness. The master organ builder and architect Wolfgang Oberlinger delivered the draft in close consultation with the diocesan building department and the diocesan monument maintenance department. The organ was planned in cooperation with the Oberlinger workshop, Windesheim, with the organist Daniel Roth . The instrument was voiced with the assistance of Jean-Pierre Swiderski , who is a recognized expert in sound design by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

I Grand-Orgue C-g 3
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Flûte harmonique 8th'
4th Bourdon 8th'
5. Prestant 4 ′
6th Fittings
7th Bombard 16 ′
8th. Trumpets 8th'
II Récit C – g 3
9. Cor de nuit 8th'
10. Viol 8th'
11. Voix celeste 8th'
12. Flûte octaviante 4 ′
13. Octavine 2 ′
14th Trumpet harm. 8th'
15th Hautbois 8th'
Tremblant
Pedale C – f 1
16. Soubasse 16 ′
17th Bourdon 8th'
18th Bombard 16 ′
  • Coupling : II / I, II / P, I / P, Sub II / I, Sub II / II, Sub II / P.
  • Playing aids : Appel steps Grand Orgue, Récit and Pédale.

Bells

Bottom left Peter and Paul , Maria below right, Brother Konrad above right
(September 12, 2015)

Before the destruction of Worms in the War of Succession in 1689, a total of 16 church bells hung in the four cathedral towers . In 1728 the cathedral received a new six-part bell. In the course of secularization at the end of the 18th century, the bells were confiscated. When the cathedral became a parish church, four bells were hung in the south-east tower in 1831 with the striking tone sequence h 0 –dis 1 –fis 1 –gis 1 . They were destroyed in a major bomb attack at the end of the Second World War.

Three new bells were cast in 1949 by the Junker ( Brilon ) bell foundry in the striking tones c 1 –e 1 –g 1 . They consist of a substitute metal, the so-called "Brilon special bronze" (tin-free copper-silicon alloy). They were consecrated on Easter Sunday by the Mainz Bishop Albert Stohr and then hung in the southeast tower. The relatively small peal was the fifth in a row.

For the big cathedral anniversary in 2018, the existing bell from 1949 was extended by five bells. The previous bells received new clappers. A new bell with the lowest pitch and the strike tone h 0 was cast for the new ringing . The other bells have the chimes d 1 , a 1 , h 1 , d 2 . The chimes of the new bells were coordinated with the bells of the surrounding Worms inner city churches, in particular with the bells of the nearby Evangelical Trinity Church (a 0 –cis 1 –e 1 –fis 1 ) and the Protestant Magnuskirche (gis 1 –h 1 –cis 2 ); by ringing the bells, there should be a real "town peal". The new bells were cast by the Rincker ( Sinn ) bell foundry and - with one exception - placed in the northeast tower. The names of the new bells and their inscriptions were designed and presented in December 2017 by the Worms artist Klaus Krier. The first official bell, with the town bell, was on the Saturday before Pentecost, May 19, 2018.

No.
  		Surname
  		Casting year
  		Caster
  		Weight
(kg) 		Ø
(mm) 		Nominal
(16th note) 		Inscription (s)
  		tower
 
1 Amandus and Rupert 2018 Rincker , Sinn 2855 1649 h 0 −4 Saint Amandus - Patron of the city of Worms and Saint Rupert - Great Missionary - Holy Bishops of Worms - Prays for the Church and her shepherds Northeast
2 Peter and Paul 1949 Junker , Brilon 2218 1580 c 1 −4 Peter and Paul - protect the city of Worms Southeast
3 Heinrich  and  Kunigunde 2018 Rincker, Sinn 1789 1405 d 1 −2 Saint Henry and Saint Kunigunde - rulers of the Roman Empire and friends of Bishop Burchard - Pray for those who rule us - for peace between peoples Northeast
4th Maria 1949 Junker, Brilon 1114 1260 e 1 −2 Maria - your help we all desire. Southeast
5 Brother Konrad 0653 1060 g 1 −1 Holy Brother Konrad - pray for us. Donated by Karl Kübel and his wife. Southeast
6th Petrus Faber SJ 2018 Rincker, Sinn 0556 0947 a 1 −1 Saint Peter Faber SJ - Fighter for reconciliation and ecumenism - “That all be one” - For the unity of the church Southeast
7th Heribert 0473 0880 h 1 −1 Saint Heribert - Bishop - Chancellor - Friend of the poor - That we do not forget the poor and weak - Pray for us Northeast
8th Hanno von Worms 0297 0751 d 2 +1 Saint Hanno von Worms - pious religious and wise bishop - prayer for our sick and the dying Northeast

Literary

Sculpture “Queen's Dispute” by Jens Nettlich (2000) near the cathedral

The Worms Cathedral in the Nibelungen saga

Floor plan of the Worms Cathedral (without side chapels)

A key episode from the Nibelungen saga plays with the queens' dispute on the portal of Worms Cathedral. According to the legend , the rivals Brünhild and Kriemhild argue about which of their husbands has the higher rank and which of the two queens is therefore allowed to enter the cathedral first.

The portal mentioned in the Nibelungenlied was on the north side of the cathedral and was designed much more elaborately until it was destroyed in 1689.

In connection with the queens' dispute, the Worms Nibelung Festival has been taking place on an open-air stage in front of the cathedral since 2002.

Johann Nikolaus Götz

The anacreontist Johann Nikolaus Götz writes about the "reconsideration of his hometown" in November 1743:

"My Worms already delights me from afar." :

Philatelic

On June 7, 2018, the first day of issue, Deutsche Post AG issued a special postage stamp with a face value of 90 euro cents with the title 1000 year consecration of the cathedral in Worms . The design comes from the graphic designers Annette le Fort and André Heers from Berlin.

Current

House at the cathedral

The controversial "Haus am Dom"

In 2018, the parish of St. Peter built a new community center with a café and church shop on the south side of the cathedral as a so-called house at the cathedral . The building project was controversial among the population. The "Bürgererverein Domumfeld eV", founded in this context, complained in particular that the panoramic view of the south side of the cathedral was being destroyed by the new building. The cathedral community and monument protectors, on the other hand, pointed out that the east wing of the medieval cloister stood on the site of the new building and in similar dimensions until the 19th century , so that the house at the cathedral partially restored the original spatial effect of the cathedral. The citizens' initiative sued in several instances for a referendum and lost in 2015 at the Mainz administrative court. The foundation stone was laid on July 3, 2016.

Light bridge

To mark the anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 , a light bridge was installed that “connected” the Worms Cathedral with the Evangelical Luther Church from October 27 to November 1, 2017 .

See also

literature

in alphabetical order by authors / editors

  • Siegfried Englert : The Worms Cathedral . Catholic Provost Parish Office Dom St. Peter Worms, Worms 2nd edition 1986.
  • Walter Hotz : The importance of the cathedral in Worms. Worms art in the Advent of the Reformation. For the writer's 75th birthday . Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1987, ISBN 978-3-88462-050-2 .
  • Walter Hotz: The cathedral in Worms . 2nd edition, revised and supplemented by Günther Binding . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-534-13730-2 .
  • Jürgen Keddigkeit / Britta Hedtke / Matthias Untermann: Worms, St. Peter (and Paul). Cathedral pin. In: Palatine monastery dictionary. Handbook of the Palatinate Monasteries, Stifts and Coming, Vol. 5 (Contributions to Palatinate History, Vol. 26.5), ed. by Jürgen Keddigkeit / Mathias Untermann / Sabine Klapp / Charlotte Lagemann / Hans Ammerich. Kaiserslautern 2019, pp. 409–504, ISBN 978-3-927754-86-7
  • Wilfried E. Keil: The master builder column on the east facade of Worms Cathedral . In: INSITU. Zeitschrift für Architekturgeschichte 3 (1/2011), pp. 5–18.
  • Peter Kohlgraf , Tobias Schäfer, Felicitas Janson (eds.): The cathedral in Worms, crown of the city. Festschrift for the 1000th anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral. Schnell & Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7954-3146-4 .
  • Clemens Kosch: The Romanesque cathedrals of Mainz, Worms and Speyer. Architecture and Liturgy in the High Middle Ages . Schnell und Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7954-2401-5 .
  • Eduard Sebald: The south portal of the Worms Cathedral (= preservation of monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Research reports 5 ). Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1999, ISBN 978-3-88462-155-4 .
  • Matthias Untermann, Wilfried E. Keil: The east building of the Worms cathedral. New observations on the construction sequence, construction design and dating . In: INSITU. Zeitschrift für Architekturgeschichte 2 (1/2010), pp. 5–20.
  • Ferdinand Werner : The long way to new building . Volume 1: Concrete: 43 men invent the future . Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2016, ISBN 978-3-88462-372-5 .
  • Ferdinand Werner: Worms. Cathedral views . Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2018, ISBN 978-3-88462-383-1
  • Dethard von Winterfeld , photos by Ingeborg Limmer: The Worms Cathedral . 4th edition, Langewiesche publishing house, Königstein im Taunus 2003, ISBN 3-7845-5233-1 .

Movie

  • The Worms wonder building - 1000 years of the imperial cathedral. Documentary film with computer animation and game scenes, Germany, 2018, 43:30 min., Book: Hannes Schuler, director: Alexander Hogh, speaker: Udo Wachtveitl , production: ifage Filmproduktion, ZDF , series: Terra X , first broadcast: May 20, 2018 at ZDF, table of contents by ZDF, online video available until May 20, 2028.

Web links

Commons : Wormser Dom  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kurt F. de Swaaf: Worms Cathedral: Historians snatch their secret from the stones. In: spiegel.de , August 19, 2009.
  2. ↑ See the cathedral. ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: Portal Wormser Dom / Dompfarramt Worms , 2007.
  3. ^ Rüdiger Fuchs: Root Jesse relief in the Worms Cathedral. In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , DI 29: Worms (1991), No. 316, cathedral, inside, from cloister, year 1488.
  4. ↑ Photo: Keystone, donated by Archbishop Hermann von Hessen. In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , 1991, DI 29, No. 11: Dom, inside, year 1488.
  5. ↑ Sandra Dörr: "Anno domini 1484 ..." - Found the foundation stone of Worms Cathedral. ( Memento of July 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). In: Wormser Zeitung , February 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ a b c Werner, p. 285.
  7. ↑ Werner, p. 286.
  8. ↑ The destruction of the original cathedral windows. In: City of Worms .
  9. ^ TG Biblis visits the imperial cathedral in Worms. In: Turngemeinde Biblis , TG aktuell magazine , issue 103, March 2015, page 3, (PDF).
  10. ^ Rüdiger Fuchs: consecration inscription from 1058. In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , DI No. 11, 1991, Dom, inside, year 1058.
  11. ^ Rüdiger Fuchs: Romanesque tympanum at the Nikolauskapelle. In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , DI No. 39, 1991, Dom, inside, (after 1160) / 1st half of the 13th century?
  12. ^ Udo Kindermann : Art monuments between Antwerp and Trient: Descriptions and evaluations of the Jesuit Daniel Papebroch from the year 1660. First edition, translation and commentary, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne, 2002, ISBN 3-412-16701-0 , p. 93.
  13. ↑ Rüdiger Fuchs: Consecration gift from Queen Konstanze In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , DI 29: Worms, 1991, No. 29 †, Dom, inside, E. 12th century.
  14. ↑ Rüdiger Fuchs: Worms Dreijungfrauenstein. In: inschriften.net / Deutsche Insschriften Online , DI 29: Worms (1991), No. 222, cathedral, inside, from St. Andreas' mountain monastery around 1430.
  15. ↑ a b Motette (Ed.): Glocken-Landschaft Bistum Mainz , Motette-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2005, p. 34.
  16. ↑ a b c Johannes Götzen: Worms Cathedral: Bauverein wants to build five new bells by the 2018 anniversary. In: Wormser Zeitung , May 22, 2015.
  17. ^ Bells from St. Peter Worms Cathedral - Plenum 2017 on YouTube .
  18. ↑ a b leaflet: Information on the bells to expand the peal, 2017, (PDF), accessed on April 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ Martina Bauer: The new bells and their names. Dombauverein presents the cathedral with five new bells on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of consecration. In: Parish group Dom St. Peter and St. Martin , December 8, 2017, accessed on September 11, 2018.
  20. ↑ dpa : The first of the new Worms cathedral bells is already in the tower. In: t-online.de , April 10, 2018, accessed on September 11, 2018.
  21. ↑ Worms, St. Peter's Cathedral, the first ringing of the new bells & city bells (May 19, 2018) on YouTube .
  22. ↑ Solo of the Amandus and Rupert bell (May 31, 2018) on YouTube .
  23. ↑ Solo of the Peter and Paul bell (June 3, 2018) on YouTube .
  24. ↑ New building "Haus am Dom". In: Stadt Worms , accessed on September 11, 2018.
  25. ↑ Susanne Müller: House at the cathedral: Provost Tobias Schäfer tightened the tone in response letters to building opponents. In: Wormser Zeitung , July 11, 2017.
  26. ↑ Johannes Götzen: Despite postponement of the start of construction: Haus am Dom opponents request the city of Worms to leave the building application unprocessed. ( Memento from August 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). In: Wormser Zeitung , February 20, 2014.
  27. ↑ Johannes Götzen: Worms Citizens 'Association, Dom-Surroundings: Application for citizens' petition for the house at the cathedral again fails in court. In: Wormser Zeitung , March 14, 2015.
  28. ↑ Ecumenical light bridge over Worms - Reformation. In: Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau , accessed on September 11, 2018.

Coordinates: 49 ° 37 ′ 48.6 ″  N , 8 ° 21 ′ 35.2 ″  E