Wurzburg Cathedral

About

Würzburg Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Kilian, stands at the heart of the Bavarian city of Würzburg as the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg. For centuries it served also as the burial place of the prince-bishops who shaped the religious and civic life of the diocese.

The building stretches to an overall length of 103 metres, placing it among the four largest Romanesque churches in Germany. Its proportions and craftsmanship mark it as a masterwork of the German architectural tradition that flourished during the Salian period of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Notable later contributions include carved work by Tilman Riemenschneider, the celebrated late-Gothic sculptor whose hand graced many Franconian churches, and architectural elements by Balthasar Neumann, the master of Baroque ecclesiastical design in southern Germany. Their additions enriched the cathedral across centuries, layering Gothic and Baroque sensibilities upon its Romanesque core.

The cathedral was severely damaged by British air raids in March 1945, near the close of the Second World War. In the decades that followed, the building was carefully rebuilt, preserving where possible the original fabric while restoring its function as the spiritual heart of the diocese of Würzburg.

History

The cathedral was raised during the Salian period as the principal church of the diocese of Würzburg and dedicated to Saint Kilian, the Irish missionary bishop venerated as the apostle of Franconia. For centuries the prince-bishops of Würzburg were laid to rest within its walls.

In March 1945 the building was heavily damaged by British bombing. The careful post-war reconstruction restored the cathedral as the seat of the bishop and preserved later additions including carving by Tilman Riemenschneider and architectural work by Balthasar Neumann.