Katholische Neumünsterkirche - Würzburg, Germany
Posted by: 
linkys
N 49° 47.633 E 009° 55.867
32U E 567015 N 5516129
Built in the 11th century, the Neumünster Church is located in the old town area of Würzburg, near the cathedral.
Waymark Code: WMHE03
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 06/28/2013
Views: 13
The Neumünster church was built in the 11th Century as a Romanesque Basilica. It is constructed on the site where 798 Irish Missionaries from Franconia were murdered. They had been martyred in 689 AD and included St Killian, St Kolonat and St Totnan. It has undergone an extensive refurbishment that was complete in 2009. Previously the church has served as the main cathedral in Würzburg owing to it sustaining less damage during the bombing of Würzburg in WW2. This lasted after the war until as late as 1967 when the cathedral was finally reopened.
It is a large Baroque building with a huge dome and sandstone façade which was added in the 18th century. Inside are many works of art, such as the 15th century Man of Sorrow, and a Madonna. Parts of a former cloister remain in a quiet courtyard. People buried here include St. Kilian, St. Kolonat, St. Totnan, and Walther von der Vogelweide. The skulls of the three saints are carried in a procession each year by theological students from the crypt to Würzburg Dom.
Sources 1, 2
From the register:
Kath. Neumünsterkirche, erste Bischofskirche über den Gräbern der
Frankenheiligen im 8. Jh., 855 Zerstörung, Neugründung als Kollegiatsstift 1060;
Langhaus, Ostteile und Turm etwa 1190-1250, westliches Kuppeloktogon und
Barockfassade 1711-16, die Fassade vermutlich eine Kollektivplanung unter Führung von
Joseph Greissing, mit Figurenschmuck von Jakob von der Auwera; Freitreppe 1719; mit
Ausstattung; nördlich der Kirche im sog. Lusamgärtchen Arkadenreihe des romanischen
Kreuzgangs, um 1170/80.