St. Peter's Cathedral, Osnabrück
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St. Peter's Cathedral in Osnabrück,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück. The cathedral is a late Romanesque building and dominates the city's
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.


History, interior architecture, and equipment

The first version of St. Peter's Cathedral was built in the year 785, 15 years after the
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
was founded by
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
. The
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destroyed the church 100 years later, and the present version of the church developed only gradually after a fire around 1100. The oldest parts of the present-day church are the Romanesque
crossing tower A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
, the northern facade and the Romanesque-
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
west facade. The dome in the middle part of the three-
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
d
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
is as high as the pillars on which it rests. The oldest pieces of equipment that have survived to this day are the
baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...
from 1220 and the
triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...
from 1230. The broken
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
from 1664 has also survived. Twelve statues received from the
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
sculptor Heinrich Brabender remain preserved to this day, including figures of the
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
and of the
Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
, and also a smaller number of statues received from Duke Erich II of Saxe-Lauenburg,
Bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. These are on display at the Diocesan Museum of Osnabrück. Over the centuries, the cathedral changed in appearance - the interior primarily during the
Baroque period The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, to which the
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
s, figures, and
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s bear testimony, and the exterior during the major restoration in 1882-1910 under Alexander Behnes through renovations and building of annexes. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the cathedral roof with baroque domes and some church annexes were destroyed by
incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
. The cathedral has since been rebuilt and is still a major attraction for the Christians of the city and the diocese as well as people interested in
art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
from around the world. The Osnabrück Wheel, which on September 13, 1944 fell from the larger of the towers due to bombing, has been re-erected at the side of the cathedral. The
cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
is attached to the church at south of the nave. It has open pillar- arcades on the remaining three sides. Cushion capitals, which correspond to those in the former west
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
of 1140, are present in the east wing. The
barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
in the eastern part of the cloister features
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
s but no belt bows; the vaults in the south and west wings are supported by belt bows and
ogival arch An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking. Etymology The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...
es (built in the second quarter of the 13th century). During the Second World War the cloister, which had been walled towards the courtyard, served as an
air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...
.


Bells

The belfry in the southwest tower houses a
ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of six cast steel bells, one of the Bochumer Verein's best works. The bells were built in the so-called experimental V7 shape, a minor octave shape cast. The 1951 cast steel bells of the Paderborn Cathedral also ring in the same disposition, and were considered the first major bells ringing in the then newly developed V7 shape.


Organs

The cathedral has two organs: the main organ in the west, and a small choir organ in the north
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
.


Main organ

The main organ was built in 2003 by the organ maker Kuhn AG of
Männedorf Männedorf (High Alemannic: ''Mänidoorf'') is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Like in all other villages along the lake of Zürich, archeological findings indicate settlements in the st ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It stands above the main portal under the west
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
. The console is "in" the organ, centered over the back wall of the organ, facing towards the altar. It is electrically connected to a small tower organ chamber with four registers (cone chests), which is housed on the first floor of the large west tower. The organ chamber is swellable and has a sound-absorbing chamber.


Mutin-Cavaillé-Coll

The cathedral has an additional rare organ - on the north wall of the transept is a choir organ from the workshop of Mutin- Cavaillé-Coll. Built in 1898, the organ has 12 stops with three additional transmissions to the pedal. All the sounding pipes are swellable.


Gallery

File:Osnabrueck_Dom_Gesamt.jpg, View from the east File:Osnabrück_Dom_Vierungsturm.jpg,
Crossing tower A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
of the cathedral, viewed from the northwest File:Chancel_of_Cathedral_Osnabrueck.jpg,
Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
File:Baptismal_font_Cathedral_Osnabrueck.jpg, Baptismal font of 1220 File:Osnabrueck_Dom_innen_2012-2.jpg, Interior with triumphal cross of 1230 File:Altaatst.JPG, Altarpiece File:Hauptorgel_Dom_St._Peter_(Osnabrück).png, The main organ File:Osnabrücker_Rad.jpg, Osnabrück wheel, originally on the large southwest tower File:Osnabrück_Dom_Innenhof.JPG, Cloister surrounding the courtyard of the cathedral File:Osnabrück_Dom_Kreuzgang.JPG, Cloister File:Osnabruecker-loewenpudel.jpg, The ''Löwenpudel'' ("lion poodle") in front of the cathedral


References

* *


External links


Information
– Diocese of Osnabrück website {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peters Cathedral, Osnabruck Osnabruck Cathedral Osnabruck Cathedral Osnabruck Osnabruck Cathedral
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
Tourist attractions in Osnabrück