Monday, May 5, 2014

2014 Germany Trip - Würzburg Cathedral (Würzburger Dom)

Location: Würzburg, Germany

German: Dom is German for cathedral; a cathedral is a church which a Bishop chose as his seat of authority, otherwise it is no different from a church and is not reflected fully in its architecture

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:


In hindsight I should have visited this cathedral, but at that moment the Neumünster Church was right next to it, and having confused which was which, I entered the church instead of the cathedral. As a consolation, I took some exterior shots of the Würzburg Cathedral even though its interior was a total miss.

The entrance of the Würzburg Cathedral. The famous façade of the cathedral misled me to the assumption that this was a modern church, leading to me missing it totally. If one were to stand at the Old Bridge of Würzburg, you could stare straight down the street with an unblocked view of this façade.

My first impression of Würzburg Cathedral was how contrasting its architecture was. From one side it was a medieval structure fitting for a building completed in 1045, twin spindly spires flanking a stout rotund center. The famous façade usually depicted for the cathedral looked surprisingly new for a building of its age. 

I later found out that it did not escape the ravages of war, having most of its structure collapsed and what I saw was mostly reconstructed. In comparison, it seemed to survive better than two of its predecessors occupying the same site, both churches and built in 787 and 855 respectively. The churches were respectively destroyed and severely damaged by fire.

In the course of reconstruction, certain Baroque elements of Würzburg Cathedral was removed in favour of re-Romanisation, leading to the aforementioned contrasting architecture. Sometimes modern and Baroque elements could be seen clashing with a predominantly Romanesque architecture.


The other side of the cathedral, which had a more archaic look to it.








Environment:         An ancient cathedral with a newer look
Suitable for:            History buffs, religious visitors
Visit worthiness:   cannot recommend because did not visit

Entrance Fee:                  €7.50
Opening Hours:              (Mon - Sat)       10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
                                                (Sun & holidays) 1.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Best Moment to Visit:  cannot recommend because did not visit
Length of Visit:               cannot recommend because did not visit

Website:                   http://www.dom-wuerzburg.de/ (in German)
Contact:                    +49 (0) 931 - 38 61 15 00 (phone)/+49 (0) 931 - 38 65 93
E-mail:                      internet@bistum-wuerzburg.de
Address:                   Domerschulstrasse 2, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.




No comments:

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...