Würzburg Cathedral

Würzburg Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of years. With an overall length of 103 metres, it is the fourth largest Romanesque church building in Germany, and a masterpiece of German architecture from the Salian period. Notable later additions include work by Tilman Riemenschneider and Balthasar Neumann. The cathedral was heavily damaged by British bombs in March 1945 but rebuilt post-World War II.

WWW dom-wuerzburg.de

History

A cathedral and an attached monastery existed in Würzburg as early as the 8th Century, presumably built by the city's first bishop, Burchard. On July 8, 752, Burchard transferred the relics of Kilian and his companions Totnan and Colman to the cathedral. The skulls of these three saints are still kept in the High Altar of the cathedral.
The cathedral was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice. The third and present cathedral was built from 1040 onwards by Bishop Bruno. After Bruno's accidental death in 1045, his successor Adalbero completed the building in 1075. Due to several rebuildings, notably after 1133, the cathedral was only consecrated in 1187. It retains its Romanesque cruciform layout to this day.
The cathedral school attached to the cathedral and run by the Würzburg cathedral chapter was one of the most important cathedral schools in the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, along with those of Liège and Worms.
The side aisles were remodeled in a late Gothic style around 1500. A baroque renovation began in 1627, and continued through the century. In particular, numerous pieces of valuable Baroque art were created for the Cathedral's altars. The stuccoist Pietro Magno decorated the cathedral in Baroque stucco work in 1701-04.
In 1721-34, Balthasar Neumann built the burial chapel for the Schönborn bishops, north of the transept. Around the foot of the eastern tower, he also added a Baroque vestry and Ornatkammer.
Additional Romanesque Revival changes made to the western façade and towers in 1879-85 were removed after 1946.
The Cathedral was heavily damaged in the bombing of Würzburg. Much of the interior was irreparably damaged. Large portions of the building, especially the nave, collapsed in the winter of 1946, almost a year after the bombing. Reconstruction was completed in 1967, in the course of which some Baroque components were removed in favour of a re-Romanisation. In particular, the collapsed nave was rebuilt unadorned, with a flat wooden roof, providing a marked contrast to the surviving baroque stucco in the rest of the building. Over the course of the renovation, the Romanesque Revival west front with its rose window, tripartite gallery, and clock niche were covered by a plain stone wall. The west front was once again revealed after a 2006 renovation. The choir was redesigned in 1988.

Description

With a length of 103 meters, the cathedral is thought to be the fourth largest Romanesque basilica in Germany.

Works of art

The cathedral contains numerous works of art, of which the following are of especial note:

A series of tombs and epitaphs of bishops, including the monumental effigies of the prince-bishops Rudolf II von Scherenberg and Lorenz von Bibra, both by Tilman Riemenschneider
Schönborn Chapel by Balthasar Neumann and Maximilian von Welsch with the tombs of Johann Philipp von Schönborn, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and Friedrich Karl von Schönborn
Double crypt. The eastern part dates from 1040 and contains the tomb of Bruno. The western one was demolished around 1700 but rebuilt after 1962. It features an old well, the tomb of Conrad of Querfurt and the oldest piece of art of the cathedral: a bearded face which may be Carolingean or even Merovingian in origin.
Burial chapel/Sepulture: Like the chapter hall above, the Gothic structure was destroyed in the bombing raids but has been rebuilt. It now contains a cycle of stained glass by Georg Meistermann.
Baptismal font, by Meister Eckart of Worms
Seven-armed candelabra by Andreas Moritz

Organs

The main organ was built in 1969 by the organ builders Klais. There is a second organ for the choir, and a third is planned for 2010.

Bells

The cathedral today has 20 bells, with a total combined weight of 26 tons.
The largest bell or bourdon is the Salvator Bell with a diameter of 2.3 m and weighing in at 10 tons. Of the old bells only the Lobdeburg Bell, by Cunradus Citewar of Würzburg, the most prominent bellfounder of his time, dates from 1257. Because it was taken down in 1933 and stored in the crypt, it is the only ancient bell of the cathedral to have survived the firestorm caused by the bombing of 16 March 1945. It now hangs in the south-west tower and is rung every Friday at 3:00 p.m., to mark the hour of the death of Jesus Christ.
All the other bells melted and the liquid metal ran down into the basement of the towers, where the stored cathedral treasure was destroyed.

Bell Number	Bell Name	Foundry & Year of Casting	Diameter	Note	Tower
1	Salvator	Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling, 1965	2.318	g⁰ ±0	South
2	Kilian, Kolonat und Totnan	Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling, 1965	1.765	b⁰ ±0	North
3	Osanna	Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling, 1965	1.573	c¹ ±0	North
4	Maria	Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling, 1965	1.487	d¹ ±0	North
5	Lobdeburg	Mag. Cunradus Citewar, 1257	1.270	es¹ +5	South
6	Michael	F. W. Schilling, 1965	1.237	f¹ ±0	North
7	Peter und Paul	F. W. Schilling, 1965	1.104	g¹ ±0	North
8	Bruno	F. W. Schilling, 1965	1.087	a¹ ±0	North
9	Andreas	F. W. Schilling, 1965	1.023	b¹ ±0	North
10	Evangelisten	F. W. Schilling, 1965	910	c² ±0	North
11	Josef	F. W. Schilling, 1965	808	d² ±0	North
12	Martin	F. W. Schilling, 1965	751	f² ±0	North
13	Frieden	Rudolf Perner, 2008	600	g² ±0	South
14	Kreuz	Rudolf Perner, 2008	527	a² ±0	South
15	Kapitel	Rudolf Perner, 2008	502	b² +2	South
16	Chor	Rudolf Perner, 2008	447	c³ +2	South
17	Augustinus	Rudolf Perner, 2008	393	d³ +1	South
18	Salve Regina	Rudolf Perner, 2008	371	es³ +3	South
19	Auferstehung	Rudolf Perner, 2008		f³	South
20	Bürger	Rudolf Perner, 2008		g³	South

Würzburg Synod

Between 1971 and 1975, the Würzburg Synod convened in the cathedral at the wish of Cardinal Döpfner, to determine the application of the Second Vatican Council to Germany.