West choir, keystone

Similar to the west rood screen inserted a short time later, the west choir contains numerous high-quality plant capitals which were worked in an unusual natural way for the 13th century and which are concentrated in the area of the dorsal in the choir quadrilateral. The large quadrum, which is separated from the raised polygon by four steps, already served to accommodate a large choir stall at the time of its origin. Today's stalls date from the 16th to 19th century. Between the columns below the canopy area, which was renovated in the 19th century, there are plates of noble Wechselburg sheaf slate on the wall, named after the striking inclusions in the rock. The quadrum is adjoined to the west by a 5/8 polygon, which thus consists of five sides of an assumed octagon. As a consequence of this ground plan, the west choir has five large tracery windows, three of which still have the original stained glass from the time of construction. The quadrum and polygon are surrounded by a raised walkway, which is connected to the cycle of the twelve Naumburg donor figures. The latter not only represent the artistic highlight of the Naumburg Cathedral. Rather, they are regarded as one of the outstanding sculptural creations of the European Gothic period.