Exploring Naumburg Cathedral

Imagine yourself: You are in the Elisabeth Chapel of Naumburg Cathedral. Above you rises the north-west tower. Such a heavy tower needs mighty masonry. It is so thick that it creates a constant climate in the Romanesque Elisabeth Chapel. That is why the chapel was used as a depot in post-medieval times. It was not until 2007 that it was opened to the public again: on the occasion of the 800th birthday of St. Elisabeth. Now the chapel is a "room of silence".

The first two floors of all four towers of Naumburg Cathedral contain chapel or treasure rooms, which, due to the relatively early construction of the towers, are among the earliest rooms that were completed in the new building of the 13th century and accordingly still display a rich repertoire of late Romanesque formal language. On the first floor of the northwest tower is the chapel of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1235.

Probably already a year later relics of the saint came to Naumburg, where a separate chapel was established for her. To this day, one of the oldest sculptures of the saint from the time shortly after her canonization has been preserved here. The skull has a sepulcrum, which once housed relics.

In the saint's jubilee year of 2007, the chapel received new stained glass windows, based on designs by the well-known Leipzig artist Neo Rauch, ...

... depicting scenes from the life of St. Elizabeth (saying goodbye to her husband before leaving for the Crusade, giving clothes to the poor, and caring for the sick).

In the apse there is a window assembled in 1938 from medieval fragments coming from Meissen; donation of the canon Tilo von Wilmowsky. In the south wall there are two windows by the artist Thomas Kuzio from 2012.

Immediately after passing through the main portal, the baptistery (also called St. Stephen's Chapel) opens on the side with a Romanesque baptismal font. The candlestick was created by the Magdeburg artist Heinrich Apel in 2003. It bears Apel's motto "Lux vita est" - "Light is life". Those who wish can light a light there for their personal wishes.

Gargoyle from the Naumburg west choir - with approx. 210 kg the heaviest exhibit of the exhibition.

The inner wings of the Cranach altar show on the right the saints Jacobus the Elder and Mary Magdalene as well as the Naumburg bishop John III of Schönberg as donor and on the left the saints Philip and Jacobus the Younger as well as the Naumburg bishop Philip of Wittelsbach as donor. The depiction of Saint Mary Magdalene on the Naumburg altarpiece is considered one of the most beautiful representations of women in the work of Lucas Cranach.

Door designed by Heinrich Apel

The head of the Naumburg St. John's Bowl is one of the oldest surviving Western European works of this type of image. The St. John's bowl, used as a reliquary, hung above the altar of St. John the Baptist in the north transept of Naumburg Cathedral until the 18th century.

Inside it impresses with a rare spring vault and a stained glass window with the scene of the holy three kings from the 19th century. Also from the 19th century is the collection of the so-called Nazarene pictures from the donation of a Naumburg canon.

Between St. Mary's Church and the cathedral's east choir rises the steep roof of the Epiphany Chapel, which dates back to a donation made by Naumburg Bishop Gerhard II of Goch in 1416. However, the chapel occupies only the upper floor of the building and was built on top of the St. Nicholas Chapel on the first floor, which probably already existed in the 11th century and today houses the cathedral store. The Epiphany Chapel can be reached via an external staircase from the Cathedral Square and serves as a room of silence.

Today's building essentially dates back to renovations in the late 19th century and serves as a heated winter church and event space.
The most important piece of equipment is an organ from the Bautzen company Eule, modeled on the Italian Renaissance.

On the left southern side of the cathedral square stands the Gothic choir of St. Mary's Church. This was probably the site of Naumburg's oldest parish church as early as the 11th century, even before the first cathedral was built. It was elevated to a collegiate church in 1343 and generously renovated in the Gothic style. In the fire of 1532 the church burned down completely except for the choir.

Thus, in harmony with the complete redesign of the cathedral garden, a restful and harmonious ambience was created that embeds the cathedral harmoniously in its surroundings.

Within the park, adjacent to the west choir, the "Garden of the Naumburg Master" brings the native flora closer to the visitor in natura.

It served the sculptor-architect of the west choir, donor figures and west rood screen in the 13th century as a model for the capitals, friezes and keystones of the west rood screen and the west choir.
More than 150 original capitals, which are decorated with botanically precisely determinable filigree foliage, can be found at the rood screen and in the west choir of the cathedral.

Flowerbed maintained by classes of the Cathedral High School.

The small cathedral church from the time of the relocation of the bishop's seat soon no longer met the requirements of an important cathedral and trading city like Naumburg, which is why plans for major structural changes matured in the second half of the 12th century. The starting point was most likely the installation of the crypt under the east choir of the church. At first, the new construction of the eastern parts of the cathedral still seemed to be based on the dimensions of its predecessor.

But only a few years later, at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the decision must have been made in favor of a ground plan that was significantly enlarged in the longitudinal axis. An attempt was made to integrate the components that had already been built by then into the new concept in as pleasing a manner as possible. Nevertheless, the change of plan can still be seen today in the conspicuous expansion of the crypt and in the system of the eastern nave piers.

The climb continues to the viewing platform of the top floor of the northwest tower, which is located at a lofty height of 52 meters. Here you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the panorama of the city of Naumburg and its charming surroundings during a romantic sunset. Public tours of the tower are offered from March to October from Friday to Sunday and on holidays from 3 pm.

Gargoyle of an apostle at the east choir

The roof truss of the Naumburg Cathedral fascinates with its historical roof and vault construction up to the well preserved bell ringing.

The Evangelist Chapel is the chapel room under the southwest tower of the cathedral church (ca. 1220s). The current name comes from wall paintings, the remains of which were still visible in the 19th century. Three windows in the chapel are by the artist Jochem Poensgen from 2013. The altarpiece is from the 16th century, originally from Naumburg and sold by the Othmar parish to the Angermuseum in Erfurt in 1915 (currently on loan from the Angermuseum).

The holdings of the Naumburg Cathedral Archives and the Naumburg Cathedral Library are among the most important in Saxony-Anhalt in terms of cultural history and are of international standing.

The written testimonies gathered here (charters, copial books, files, inscription plates, incunabula, etc.) represent a centerpiece of the historical tradition of Saxony-Anhalt.