Cathedral Museum Hildesheim

By Michael Brandt

The Hildesheim Cathedral Treasure has been amassed over centuries. It has been part of the Hildesheim UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. It all began with a miracle 1,200 years ago to which the diocese of Hildesheim also owes its foundation: according to legend, a relic miracle in 815 led Emperor Ludwig the Pious to erect a lady chapel at the site of today's Domhof (Cathedral Yard). By order of Bishop Altfrid, it was here that the first cathedral construction began in 1872. A separate treasury was established in the so-called Altfrid Cathedral to house precious altar vessels, vestments, as well as liturgical books. The existence of this chamber is reported in the Annals of Hildesheim in connection to a fire that took place in 1013. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, a number of valuable items required for religious services and a large number of manuscripts were lost. In the Second World War, the timely relocation of the Hildesheim Cathedral Treasure saved it from destruction, when the Cathedral's Sacristy was reduced to a pile of rubble on 22 March 1945 during a bomb raid. Starting in 1960, the Cathedral Treasure was once again put on display in its own treasury above the Sacristy. As proof of its rich history, the Cathedral Treasure was made the focus of the central exhibition of the 79th German Catholic Day held in Hanover in 1962. Since 1978 and the time of the museum's re-establishment, it has formed the heart of the Diocesan Museum, in the meantime becoming one with the Hildesheim Cathedral Museum thanks to its inventory of items. To date, this one-of-a-kind collection of ecclesiastical art has remained significant to the formation of an identity, all made possible through the Cathedral Chapter's goal of repositioning it closer to Episcopal Church and carrying it out as part of the Cathedral's restoration. More than ever before, the Cathedral and Cathedral Museum can be experienced altogether, giving you full and direct access to information about a high medieval church - just one of the main reasons why UNESCO incorporated the Hildesheim Cathedral and its Cathedral Treasure into its list of world heritage sites in 1985.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3795430232
• ISBN13: 9783795430238
• Release Date: April 2015
• Publisher: Schnell & Steiner
• Length: 208 Pages