Erfurt Cathedral

The Catholic Erfurt Cathedral, also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is a 1200-year-old church located in the city of Erfurt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is of an International Gothic style and is located on a hillside overlooking the main town square, known as Domplatz (Cathedral Square).It is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erfurt.HistoryThe site of the present Cathedral has been the location of many other Christian buildings, for example a Romanesque basilica and a church hall. Saint Boniface erected a church in the year 742 on the mound which the Erfurt Cathedral now sits. The foundations of the original church were used for a Romanesque basilica in the mid 12th century. The mound was then enlarged in the early 14th century to make room for St. Mary's cathedral.Martin Luther was ordained in the cathedral on 3 April 1507.ArchitectureThe architecture of the Erfurt Cathedral is mainly Gothic and stems from around the 14th and 15th centuries. There are many things of note as far as the architecture is concerned, not least the stained glass windows and furnishings of the interior of the cathedral. The central spire of the three towers that sit aloft the cathedral harbours the Maria Gloriosa which, at the time of its casting by Geert van Wou in 1497, was the world's largest free-swinging bell. It is the largest existing medieval bell in the world. It is known to have purity and beauty of tone.