St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim, Germany

World / Germany / World Heritage Sites
	Tweet

St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim are a World Heritage Site in Niedersachsen, Germany.

The St Mary's Cathedral (Dom St, Maria) is a cathedral church built between 1010 and 1020 in the Romanesque style characteristic of the Ottonic Romanesque architecture of Niedersachsen. It was in fact completely destroyed during a 22 March 1945 air raid, but was rebuilt between 1950 and 1960.

The St Mary's Cathedral has many famous works of art, including its bronze doors commissioned by Bishop Bernward in 1015, a bronze column with reliefs depicting the life of Christ, two large wheel-shaped candelabras from the 11th century, the sarcophagus of St Godehard, the St Epiphanius's shrine from the 12th century and the Baptismal Font from 1225. Within its courtyard is the Anne's chapel (Annenkapelle), first erected in 1321, which was one of the few structures undamaged by the bombings. There is also a 1000-year-old rose bush, which symbolises the prosperity of Hildesheim.

The Church of St Michael (Michaeliskirche) is a church built in the early Romanesque style between 1001 and 1031 by the Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim, to serve as a chapel for his Benedictine monastery. The church was named in honour of the archangel Michael. The bishop passed away eleven years before the church was finally completed. His successor Godehard transferred his remains to the crypt within the church upon its completion.

St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 9th session of the World Heritage Committee at Headquarters in Paris, France, on 2-6 December, 1985.

Photos of St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim

St Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim
Author: © bph

Interior of St Mary's Cathedral in Hildesheim
Author: Paulis (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

St Michael's Church, Hildesheim
Author: Heinz-Josef Lücking (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 52 9 10.008 E 9 56 38.004 in the district of Hanover, state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany
Inscription Year: 1985
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: I, II, III

Location Map of St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim

to be added soon.

Visiting St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim

The best way to reach Hildesheim is by car. It can be reached from Autobahn A7.

Preparing for your trip

If you are planning a trip anywhere, make sure you compare prices of hotel rooms as provided by different online booking sites. Enter your destination and travel date below to see which site offers the best price, then click to proceed to that site.

Finally, if you're interested in World Heritage Sites like me, here are a few books on World Heritage Sites which you might want to add to your library. They are all available directly from Amazon.