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Revision as of 03:07, 6 December 2004 by Patricksean (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Mainz Cathedral in Mainz, Germany is one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe. It is also known as the Cathedral of St. Martin. Perhaps it is most properly referred to as the Mainzer Dom, the name most often used in German.
The Mainz Cathedral is the seat of the bishopric of Mainz.
The six-towered cathedral is an interesting combination of various architectural styles. Along with the cathedrals of Worms and Speyer, the Mainz Cathedral represents the highpoint of Romanesque architecture in the Rhine Region of Germany. The cathedral commands a famous view over the historic city of Mainz, the regional capital of the German State of Rhineland Palatinate.
The cathedral houses several funerary monuments of former archbishops and bishops of the diocese.
St. Boniface (672-755) chose Mainz as the seat of the first German archbishop. The actual establishment of a cathedral in Mainz dates back to Archbishop Willigis (975-1010), who fostered the commerce of Mainz and built a cathedral which tragically burned down on the day of its inauguration in 1009. Archbishop Bardo von Oppertshafen (1031-51) completed the new cathedral by Willigis in 1037. Numerous fires damaged the Cathedral in the 12th century and it was rebuilt several times. The east choir and nave were developed under the direction of Archbishop Adalbert I (+1137). Archbishop Konrad I. (+1200) oversaw the construction of the western choir. Most of the present day cathedral was built before the 14th century.
