Erfurt Cathedral

(Local Name: Dom) The Cathedral on Erfurt's Domberg was founded in 742. In 1154 the original church was replaced by a Romanesque basilica, to which the High Gothic choir was added in 1349-70. In 1455-65 it was rebuilt as a hall-church, with a huge hipped roof spanning the nave and aisles.

The Cathedral has three towers, which in medieval times had tall steeples like those of St Severus (the present spires are 19th century). In the central tower is one of the largest bells in the world, the "Maria Gloriosa", which is famed for the beauty of its tone.

The fifteen tall windows in the choir are masterpieces of medieval stained glass, unique in Germany in their size and unity of theme. Among the Cathedral's other treasures are the sumptuous Baroque high altar, the finely carved 14th century choir-stalls, the stucco figure of the Virgin and a figure of Wolfram (both c. 1160), and the tomb of Count von Gleichen and his two wives (mid 13th C.).