Dom St. Petri | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Simultaneum: Catholic/Evangelical Lutheran |
District | Diocese of Dresden-Meissen / Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | co-cathedral of the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen / Lutheran parish church |
Year consecrated | 1221 |
Status | active |
Location | |
Location | Bautzen, Germany |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Maximilian Emil Hehl |
Style | Baroque and Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 1456 |
Completed | 1463 |
Specifications | |
Dome height (outer) | 40m |
Dome height (inner) | 17m |
Spire height | 83m |
St. Peter's Cathedral is an interdenominational church in Bautzen, Germany. It is among the oldest and largest simultaneum churches in Germany. Located in the heart of the city's "Old Town", the church and the square it is situated within is a major tourist attraction.
The first church was built around the 1000 AD. Near the beginning of the 13th century, a cathedral was built under the supervision of Bishop Bruno II. The Bishop established the Catholic priest foundation at this time as well. This first cathedral was not specifically the Cathedral of St. Peter, as both John the Baptist and St. Peter were the patron saints for the church. [1]
Between 1456 and 1463, the cathedral that now stands was constructed and named after St. Peter. A fourth nave was added to the original structure.
A fire devastated much of the city and church in 1634, and the church required a new vault and significant restoration work. The entire interior of the church, with the exception of the original Gothic-style which can still be seen today.
Various cities came to Bautzen to help rebuild the city and Cathedral. Names of many Germanic cities are written on the lintels in the church to commemorate the rebuilding of the cathedral.
The church is a mixture of several different architectural styles, the most prominent being Gothic and Baroque. The early church was entirely a Gothic structure, but it has since been heavily modified. Today, only parts of the interior are Gothic in nature. The Baroque dome was added to the tower in 1664. [2]
In 1523, an Evangelical Lutheran started preaching in the church. Since 1530, both Catholics and Lutherans have shared the building. A 4-meter (12 ft) tall screen separated the sanctuary. In 1567 the Holy See separated the Lusatian areas outside Saxony from the Saxon parts of the ancient Meissen diocese and established there the Prefecture Apostolic of Meissen, seated at St. Peter's of Bautzen, with Johannes Leisentritt as its first prefect. [3] In canon law an apostolic prefecture is a diocese on approval.
According to its location and its seat the prefecture used to be called alternatively the Apostolic Prefecture of the Two Lusatias (Upper and Lower Lusatia) or Apostolic Prefecture of Bautzen. In 1583, the dean of the cathedral, Leisentrit, ordered that a contract be made between the two sects defining when each would be able to use the cathedral, among other details. This contract is still in effect today and has been only interrupted a few times in history, such as the Bohemian Uprising of 1620 that expelled the Catholics from the building for a short time.
On 24 June 1921 Pope Benedict XV elevated the Apostolic Prefecture of Meißen to the new Diocese of Meißen by his apostolic constitution Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum and thus St. Peter's became the cathedral of that diocese. [4] The 1743-founded Apostolic Vicariate in the Saxon Hereditary Lands was dissolved and its area and institutions integrated into the new Meißen diocese in 1921. [4] In 1980 the seat of the diocese was moved to Dresden, leading the diocese to be renamed Dresden-Meissen, and St. Peter's becoming the co-cathedral, besides the Trinity Cathedral in Dresden.
Today, Catholic and Lutheran altars are located on separate sides of the sanctuary. The Catholic high-altar was built in 1723. It was designed by a student of Balthasar Permoser, the same man that designed the Zwinger in Dresden. The altar murals were painted by the Venetian painter Pellegrini. [5]
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche. The Große Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district.
The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the Archdiocese of Berlin.
The Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, located in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Its seat is Magdeburg; it is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Paderborn.
Upper Lusatia is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Slavic Lusici tribe. Both parts of Lusatia are home to the West Slavic minority group of the Sorbs.
Dresden Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Dresden, previously the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, called in German Katholische Hofkirche and since 1980 also known as Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis, is the Catholic Cathedral of Dresden.
Schleswig Cathedral officially the Cathedral of St. Peter at 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.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church which covers the whole of the country of Iceland, and numbered 11,454 Catholics on January 1, 2014. It reports directly to the Holy See of Rome.
The Catholic Church in Iceland is part of the Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope. The island comprises a single diocese, the Diocese of Reykjavík. As of 2015, the ordinary is Bishop Dávid Bartimej Tencer. The diocese is not part of any ecclesiastical province, and the bishop reports directly to the Holy See in Rome.
Bremen Cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the Protestant umbrella organization named Evangelical Church in Germany. It is the previous cathedral of the former Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. Since 1973, it is protected by the monument protection act.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany, known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the NorthernMissions, was a Catholic missionary jurisdiction established on 28 April 1667. It belonged to a vicar apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe.
The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The archepiscopal see is in Berlin, with the archdiocese's territory extending over Northeast Germany.
The Diocese of Dresden–Meissen is a diocese of Catholic Church in Germany with its seat in Dresden. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Berlin.
Naumburg Cathedral, located in Naumburg, Germany, is the former cathedral of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz. The church building, most of which dates back to the 13th century, is a renowned landmark of the German late Romanesque and was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. The west choir with the famous donor portrait statues of the twelve cathedral founders (Stifterfiguren) and the Lettner, works of the Naumburg Master, is one of the most significant early Gothic monuments.
The Diocese of Görlitz is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. The current ordinary is Wolfgang Ipolt
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo is an exempt diocese located in the city of Oslo in Norway.
Meissen Cathedral or the Church of St John and St Donatus is a Gothic church in Meissen in Saxony. It is situated on the castle hill of Meissen, adjacent to the Albrechtsburg castle and forms a critical centrepiece of the iconic Meissen skyline overlooking the River Elbe in the valley below.
Johannes Leisentritt, also Johann Leisentrit was a Catholic priest, dean of St. Peter in Bautzen and administrator of the Diocese of Meißen, responsible for Lusatia. He is known for publishing a 1567 hymnal.
The St. Peter and Paul cathedral is the largest medieval church in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg, Germany. Construction began in 1165 as a Romanesque Saalkirche. It was expanded several times to a three-aisled Brick Gothic basilica. The cathedral is commonly designated “the cradle of the Mark Brandenburg” for its historic significance. The patron saints are Peter and Paul.