Schleswig Cathedral - Schleswig, SH, D - Medieval Churches on Waymarking.com

Schleswig Cathedral (German: Schleswiger Dom, Danish: Slesvig Domkirke) officially the Cathedral of St. Peter at Schleswig (German: St. Petri-Dom zu Schleswig), is the main church of the city of Schleswig and was the cathedral of the Bishop of Schleswig until the diocese was dissolved in 1624. It is now a church of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church, the seat of the Lutheran Bishop of Schleswig and Holstein, and ranks among the most important architectural monuments of Schleswig-Holstein.

In 850 a missionary church was founded in Haithabu (Hedeby). Between 947 and 949 Otto I installed three dioceses on the Cimbrian peninsula: Ribe, Schleswig and in 948 Århus. After the foundation of the Schleswig diocese in 947, the first cathedral in Schleswig was built. Today, neither the size nor the location of this cathedral is known.

In 1134, construction of a new romanesque basilica began. The work was only completed around 1200, because an additional nave was constructed that can still be seen today. Construction materials included granite, tuff from the Rhine, and brick.

In 1134, the Danish King Niels’ headless body was laid out in St. Peter's Cathedral after it was pulled from the Schlei in the nets of local fishermen. The monks who attended the corpse heard strange noises and thought that the spirit of King Niels was wandering about in the church. As a result, the king's body was taken to Gottorp and stuffed into a boggy grave. Someone hammered a stake through Niels' chest to keep him there. Legend has it that King Niels' still haunts the cathedral, and that he still hunts across the moors and forest of Schleswig with his hounds.[1] King Frederick I of Denmark is entombed in the cathedral.

After the collapse of two towers and some parts of the basilica in 1275, the High Gothic Hall Choir was constructed and completed around 1300.

The Late Gothic Hall Church was built from 1200 to 1408 and was finally completed in the 16th century. In 1894 that the cathedral got its final outward appearance. In 1879 Schleswig became the provincial capital in 1879, and in 1888 the construction of a Gothic revival western tower began at the request of the King William II of Prussia. It was completed in 1894 and at 112 metres, a little too high compared to the proportions of the cathedral. There is a viewing platform on the tower at 65 metres which commands a great view on the city of Schleswig, the Schlei and the fishing village of Holm. As of 2006, one can view the bells above the platform with a special guided tour starting in the cathedral.

Beside the Gothic Altar of the Magi (c. 1300) in the southern choir, a bronze baptismal font in the high choir by Ghert Klinghe (1480) and a four-metre-high wood carving of Christophorus, the cathedral's main attraction is the famous Bordesholm Altar.

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Building Materials: Brick

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