Imperial Cathedral in Worms

The cathedral houses the tombs of the ancestors and family of the Salian dynasty, whose possessions included a castle in Worms up to the 11th century. In the medieval period, the cathedral and its immediate surroundings saw numerous visits by emperors and other important events, some of which had serious political consequences. The existence in Worms, Mainz and Speyer of three imperial cathedrals in the Romanesque style, all in the northern part of the Upper Rhine Valley, is a unique situation worldwide, and Worms Cathedral has been the city’s towering landmark for more than 1000 years.

A new cathedral was built in the Early Romanesque style under Bishop Burchard (1000 - 1025), the most important of all the bishops of Worms. This building had the same dimensions as the present cathedral (the spires on the east tower reach to a height of 65 metres and those on the west tower to 58 metres), and parts of it are still to be seen. A process of rebuilding on a large scale and in the High and Late Romanesque style began in the 12th century.

The western parts were renewed between 1125/1130 and 1144, then the nave between 1160 and 1170. By 1181, work on the west choir had progressed far enough for the cathedral to be consecrated. During a later building phase around 1300, the Romanesque Chapel of St. Nicholas was replaced by one in the Gothic style, and at the same time the south portal was redesigned to include decorative figures as an illustrated Bible. The stone sculptures representing scenes from the life of Jesus that used to be in the Late Gothic cathedral cloister (end of the 15th century) are now set up in the northern part of the nave.

A Baroque high altar, the work of Balthasar Neumann, was installed after the devastation of the city in 1689.