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{{Expand German|topic=struct|Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus|date=June 2011}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox church
{{Infobox church
| name = Frankfurt Cathedral
| name = Frankfurt Cathedral
| fullname = Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew
| fullname = Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew
| other name =
| other name =
| native_name = {{lang-de|Frankfurter Dom}}
| native_name = Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus
| native_name_lang =
| native_name_lang = de
| image = Frankfurt Am Main-St Bartholomaeus-Ansicht vom Nextower-20110812.jpg
| image = Frankfurt Am Main-St Bartholomaeus-Ansicht vom Nextower-20110812.jpg
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| location = Domplatz 1<br>[[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]]
| location = Domplatz 1<br />[[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]]
| country = [[Germany]]
| country = Germany
| denomination = [[Roman Catholic]]
| previous denomination =
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| founded date = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} - but see note below -->
| bull date =
| founded date = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} - but see note below -->
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| dedication = [[Bartholomew the Apostle]]
| dedication = [[Bartholomew the Apostle]]
| dedicated date =
| dedicated date =
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| relics = [[Bartholomew the Apostle#Bartholomew's relics|Pieces of Saint Bartholomew's skull]]
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| events =
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| functional status = Active
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| style = [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]
| style = [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]
| years built = [[Circa|c.]] 7th century (original building)
| years built = {{circa}} 7th century (original building)
| groundbreaking =
| groundbreaking =
| completed date = 1550<br>1990s (restoration)
| completed date = {{ubl|1550|1990s (restoration)}}
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| tower quantity = 1
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| diocese = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg|Limburg]]
| diocese = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg|Limburg]]
| province = [[List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany#Ecclesiastical province of Cologne|Cologne]]
| province = [[List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany#Ecclesiastical province of Cologne|Cologne]]
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| director = [[Andreas Boltz]]
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}}{{Expand German|Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus|date=June 2011}}
'''Frankfurt Cathedral''' ('''{{lang-de|Frankfurter Dom}}'''), officially '''Imperial Cathedral of [[Bartholomew the Apostle|Saint Bartholomew]]''' ({{lang-de|Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus}}) is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] church located in the centre of [[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Germany]]. It is dedicated to [[Saint Bartholomew]].
'''Frankfurt Cathedral''' ({{lang-de|link=no|'''Frankfurter Dom'''}}), officially '''Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew''' ({{lang-de|link=no|Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus}}), is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] church located in the heart of [[Frankfurt am Main]], Germany. It is dedicated to [[Saint Bartholomew]].


It is the largest religious building in the city and a former collegiate church. Despite its common English name, it has never been a true cathedral ([[episcopal see]]), but is called the ''Kaiserdom'' (an "imperial great church" or [[Imperial Cathedrals|imperial cathedral]]) or simply the ''Dom'' due to its importance as former election and [[Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor|coronation]] church of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. As one of the major buildings of the Empire's history, it was a symbol of national unity, especially in the 19th century.
It is the largest religious building in the city and a former collegiate church. Despite its common English name, it has never been a true cathedral ([[episcopal see]]), but is called the ''Kaiserdom'' (an "imperial great church" or [[Imperial Cathedrals|imperial cathedral]]) or simply the ''Dom'' due to its importance as former election and [[Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor|coronation]] church of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref name="FRANKFURT.DE – DAS OFFIZIELLE STADTPORTAL">{{cite web | title=Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus | website=FRANKFURT.DE – DAS OFFIZIELLE STADTPORTAL | url=https://frankfurt.de/frankfurt-entdecken-und-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten/fuer-historisch-interessierte/kaiserdom-st-bartholomaeus | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> As one of the major buildings of the Empire's history, it was a symbol of national unity, especially in the 19th century.

The present church building is the third church on the same site. Since the late 19th century, excavations have revealed buildings that can be traced back to the seventh century. The history is closely linked with the general history of Frankfurt and Frankfurt's old town because the cathedral had an associated role as the religious counterpart of the [[Kaiserpfalz|Royal Palace]] in Frankfurt.


The present church building is the third church on the same site. Since the late 19th century, excavations have revealed buildings that can be traced back to the 7th century. The history is closely linked with the general history of Frankfurt and Frankfurt's old town because the cathedral had an associated role as the religious counterpart of the [[Kaiserpfalz|Royal Palace]] in Frankfurt.
==History==
==History==
[[File:Martin van Meytens 015.jpg|thumb|Coronation of [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Archduke Joseph]] as [[King of the Romans]] in Frankfurt Cathedral, 3 April 1764]]
Frankfurt Cathedral was an imperial [[collegiate church]], termed [[Duomo|Dom]] in German - a [[synecdoche]] for all collegiate churches used [[totum pro parte]] also for cathedrals -, and thus traditionally translated as cathedral in English. St. Bartholomew's is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the [[Merovingian]] time.
Frankfurt Cathedral was an imperial [[collegiate church]], termed [[Duomo|Dom]] in German a [[synecdoche]] for all collegiate churches used [[totum pro parte]] also for cathedrals -, and thus traditionally translated as cathedral in English. St. Bartholomew's is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the [[Merovingian]] time.<ref name="Düring-2010">{{cite news |last=Düring |first=Ursula | title=Wo Kaiser und Könige gekrönt wurden | work=Mainpost | date=23 September 2010 | url=https://www.mainpost.de/aktiv-region/anschauen/kirchenkloester/wo-kaiser-und-koenige-gekroent-wurden-geschichte-des-frankfurter-kaiserdoms-art-5743909 | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref>


Since 1356, when the [[Golden Bull of 1356]] was issued by [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]], emperors of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] were elected in this collegiate church as kings in Germany, and from 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here. The imperial elections were held in the ''Wahlkapelle'', a chapel on the south side of the choir (''Hochchor'') built for this purpose in 1425 (See the Plan to the right) and the anointing and crowning of the emperors-elect as kings in Germany took place before the central altar–believed to enshrine part of the head of [[St. Bartholomew#Bartholomew's relics|St. Bartholomew]] – in the crossing of the church, at the entrance to the choir (See the Plan to the right).
Since 1356, when the [[Golden Bull of 1356]] was issued by [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]], emperors of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] were elected in this collegiate church as kings in Germany, and from 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here.<ref name="Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus">{{cite web | title=Dom :: Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus | website=Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus | url=https://www.dom-frankfurt.de/dom | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="katholisch.de">{{cite web | title=Als im Frankfurter Dom die Kaiser und Könige gewählt wurden | website=katholisch.de | url=https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/22017-als-im-frankfurter-dom-die-kaiser-und-koenige-gewaehlt-wurden | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> The imperial elections were held in the ''Wahlkapelle'', a chapel on the south side of the choir (''Hochchor'') built for this purpose in 1425 (See the Plan to the right) and the anointing and crowning of the emperors-elect as [[King of the Romans]] took place before the central altar–believed to enshrine part of the head of [[St. Bartholomew#Relics|St. Bartholomew]] – in the crossing of the church, at the entrance to the choir (See the Plan to the right).


In the course of the [[German Mediatisation]] the city of Frankfurt finally [[Mediatisation#Holy Roman Empire|secularised]] and appropriated the remaining Catholic churches and their [[Stift#Stift as an ecclesiastical endowment|endowments of earning assets]], however, leaving the usage of the church buildings to the existing Catholic parishes. Thus St. Bartholomew's became of the city's [[Free City of Frankfurt#City-owned dotation churches (Dotationskirchen)|dotation churches]], owned and maintained by the city but used by Catholic or Lutheran congregations.
When the city of Frankfurt [[German Mediatization|secularized]], it appropriated the remaining Catholic churches and their [[Stift#Stift as an ecclesiastical endowment|endowments of earning assets]], however, leaving the usage of the church buildings to the existing Catholic parishes. Thus St. Bartholomew's became of the city's [[Free City of Frankfurt#City-owned dotation churches (Dotationskirchen)|dotation churches]], owned and maintained by the city but used by Catholic or Lutheran congregations.


St. Bartholomew's was seen as symbol for national unity in Germany, especially during the 19th century. Although it had never been a bishop's seat, it was the largest church in Frankfurt and its role in imperial politics, including crowning of medieval German emperors, made the church one of the most important buildings of [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial history]].
St. Bartholomew's was seen as symbol for national unity in Germany, especially during the 19th century. Although it had never been a bishop's seat, it was the largest church in Frankfurt and its role in imperial politics, including crowning of medieval German emperors, made the church one of the most important buildings of [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial history]].


In 1867, St. Bartholomew's was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in its present style. During World War II, between October 1943 and March 1944, the [[Altstadt (Frankfurt am Main)|old town of Frankfurt]], the biggest old Gothic town in Central Europe, was devastated by [[Bombing of Frankfurt am Main in World War II|six bombardments of the Allied Air Forces]]. The greatest losses occurred in an attack by the [[Royal Air Force]] on 22 March 1944, when more than a thousand buildings of the old town, most of them half-timbered houses, were destroyed.
In 1867, St. Bartholomew's was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in its present style.<ref name="Dombaumeister E.v.-2014">{{cite web | title=Dom Frankfurt a. M. | website=Dombaumeister E.v. | date=21 April 2014 | url=http://dombaumeisterev.de/?dom=dom-st-bartholomaeus-frankfurt-am-main | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="Domturm Frankfurt am Main">{{cite web | title=Domturm Frankfurt am Main, Geschichte | website=Domturm Frankfurt am Main | url=http://www.domturm-frankfurt.de/index.php/geschichte | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> During World War II, between October 1943 and March 1944, the [[Altstadt (Frankfurt am Main)|old town of Frankfurt]], the biggest old Gothic town in Central Europe, was devastated by [[Bombing of Frankfurt am Main in World War II|six bombardments of the Allied Air Forces]]. The greatest losses occurred in an attack by the [[Royal Air Force]] on 22 March 1944, when more than a thousand buildings of the old town, most of them half-timbered houses, were destroyed.


St. Bartholomew's suffered severe damage; the interior was burned out completely. The building was reconstructed in the 1950s. The height of the spire is 95 metres.
St. Bartholomew's suffered severe damage; the interior was burned out completely. The building was reconstructed in the 1950s. The height of the spire is {{convert|95|m|ft|sp=us}}.


==Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School==
==Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School==


The Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School (German: ''Frankfurter Domsingschule''), founded in 2011, is a mixed ecumenical children's and youth choir, which accompanies not only mass and evensongs, but also official receptions and openings. The ''Frankfurter Domsingschule'' offers any singer, regardless of their religious affiliation, age-based, free vocal basic training at regular rehearsals and valuable one-on-one and group vocal training or early musical education. This extensive basic training is unique for Frankfurt.
The Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School (German: ''Frankfurter Domsingschule''), founded in 2011, is a mixed ecumenical children's and youth choir, which accompanies not only mass and evensongs, but also official receptions and openings.<ref name="Frankfurter Domsingschule">{{cite web | title=Frankfurter Domsingschule :: Geschichte der Frankfurter Domsingschule | website=Frankfurter Domsingschule | url=https://www.frankfurter-domsingschule.de/foerderer/foerderverein/geschichte/ | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> The ''Frankfurter Domsingschule'' offers any singer, regardless of their religious affiliation, age-based, free vocal basic training at regular rehearsals and valuable one-on-one and group vocal training or early musical education. This extensive basic training is unique for Frankfurt.


== Notable people associated with the cathedral ==
== Notable people associated with the cathedral ==
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== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==


<gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
<!--File:Frankfurt Dom 1866.jpg|The Cathedral as seen from St. Paul's church, 1866-->
File:Frankfurt Am Main-St Bartholomaeus-Dom von Sueden nach dem Dombrand-1868.jpg|View from the south after the fire of 1867
File:Frankfurt Am Main-Luftbild Bildstelle Generalbauinspektion-1942-44-932.657.jpg|Frankfurt on the Main: 1940's Aerial photograph from the northeast; ''Cathedral'' (left); in the background: ''[[St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main|St. Paul's Church]]''
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Tower Detail.jpg|The tower
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Tower Detail.jpg|The tower
File:Frankfurt Am Main-H Worms-Stadtansicht vom Muehlberg.jpg|View from ''Sachsenhaeuser Berg'' (Mountain of Sachsenhausen) to the north, 1845
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Organ.jpg|The organ
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Organ.jpg|The organ
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Vaults.JPG|Vaulted ceilings
File:Frankfurt Cathedral Vaults.JPG|Vaulted ceilings
File:Mk Frankfurt Dom Grundriss.png|Plan
File:Mk Frankfurt Dom Grundriss.png|Plan
File:Mk Frankfurt Dom Baugeschichte de.gif|Historical development of the current building. The colours show the various architectural styles.
File:Mk Frankfurt Dom Baugeschichte de.gif|Historical development of the current building; colors distinguish its various architectural styles.
File:Frankfurt Domturm vor 1867.jpg|Frankfurt Cathedral: tower before the fire of 1867
<!--File:Frankfurt Domturm vor 1867.jpg|Frankfurt Cathedral: tower before the fire of 1867-->
File:Rooftopper on top of Frankfurts Kaiserdom.jpg|alt=A rooftopper on top of Frankfurts Kaiserdom.|A [[Rooftopping|rooftopper]] on top of Frankfurts Kaiserdom.
File:Rooftopper on top of Frankfurts Kaiserdom.jpg|A [[Rooftopping|rooftopper]] on top of Frankfurts Kaiserdom
File:Frankfurt Am Main-Altstadt-Zerstoerung-Luftbild 1944.jpg|1944 Aerial photograph of the cathedral during World War 2
<!--File:Frankfurt Dom Glockenböden.jpg|Cut-away of the belfry-->
</gallery>
</gallery>


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*[[List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe]]
*[[List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news | last=Rösmann | first=Tobias | title=Wahlkapelle im Frankfurter Dom: Schlicht und ergreifend | work=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] | date=20 December 2019 | url=https://www.faz.net/1.6544959 | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}
* {{cite news |first=Claus-Jürgen |last=Göpfert | title=Kran stürzt auf das Dach des Doms | work=[[Frankfurter Rundschau]] | date=10 February 2020 | url=https://www.fr.de/frankfurt/kran-stuerzt-dach-doms-13532628.html | language=de | access-date=2 April 2021}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons|Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus}}
{{commons|Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus}}
*[https://www.dom-frankfurt.de/ Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus]
*[https://www.dom-frankfurt.de/ Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus]
*[http://www.domturm-frankfurt.de/index.php/startseite Domturm]
*[http://www.frankfurter-domsingschule.de/ Frankfurter Domsingschule]
*[http://www.frankfurter-domsingschule.de/ Frankfurter Domsingschule]
* {{cite web | title=Dommuseum Frankfurt – Dome Museum | website=Museumsufer Frankfurt | url=https://www.museumsufer.de/en/all-museums/dommuseum-frankfurt/ | access-date=21 December 2022}}


{{Buildings in Frankfurt timeline}}
{{Buildings in Frankfurt timeline}}

Revision as of 00:57, 29 May 2024

Frankfurt Cathedral
Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew
Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus
Map
50°6′38″N 8°41′6″E / 50.11056°N 8.68500°E / 50.11056; 8.68500
LocationDomplatz 1
Frankfurt am Main
CountryGermany
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitewww.dom-frankfurt.de
History
StatusCathedral
(also parish church)
DedicationBartholomew the Apostle
Relics heldPieces of Saint Bartholomew's skull
Architecture
Functional statusActive
StyleGothic
Years builtc. 7th century (original building)
Completed
  • 1550
  • 1990s (restoration)
Specifications
Number of towers1
Tower height95 meters (312 ft) (including spire)
Administration
ProvinceCologne
DioceseLimburg
Laity
Director of musicAndreas Boltz

Frankfurt Cathedral (German: Frankfurter Dom), officially Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (German: Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus), is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew.

It is the largest religious building in the city and a former collegiate church. Despite its common English name, it has never been a true cathedral (episcopal see), but is called the Kaiserdom (an "imperial great church" or imperial cathedral) or simply the Dom due to its importance as former election and coronation church of the Holy Roman Empire.[1] As one of the major buildings of the Empire's history, it was a symbol of national unity, especially in the 19th century.

The present church building is the third church on the same site. Since the late 19th century, excavations have revealed buildings that can be traced back to the seventh century. The history is closely linked with the general history of Frankfurt and Frankfurt's old town because the cathedral had an associated role as the religious counterpart of the Royal Palace in Frankfurt.

History

Coronation of Archduke Joseph as King of the Romans in Frankfurt Cathedral, 3 April 1764

Frankfurt Cathedral was an imperial collegiate church, termed Dom in German – a synecdoche for all collegiate churches used totum pro parte also for cathedrals -, and thus traditionally translated as cathedral in English. St. Bartholomew's is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time.[2]

Since 1356, when the Golden Bull of 1356 was issued by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected in this collegiate church as kings in Germany, and from 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here.[3][4] The imperial elections were held in the Wahlkapelle, a chapel on the south side of the choir (Hochchor) built for this purpose in 1425 (See the Plan to the right) and the anointing and crowning of the emperors-elect as King of the Romans took place before the central altar–believed to enshrine part of the head of St. Bartholomew – in the crossing of the church, at the entrance to the choir (See the Plan to the right).

When the city of Frankfurt secularized, it appropriated the remaining Catholic churches and their endowments of earning assets, however, leaving the usage of the church buildings to the existing Catholic parishes. Thus St. Bartholomew's became of the city's dotation churches, owned and maintained by the city but used by Catholic or Lutheran congregations.

St. Bartholomew's was seen as symbol for national unity in Germany, especially during the 19th century. Although it had never been a bishop's seat, it was the largest church in Frankfurt and its role in imperial politics, including crowning of medieval German emperors, made the church one of the most important buildings of Imperial history.

In 1867, St. Bartholomew's was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in its present style.[5][6] During World War II, between October 1943 and March 1944, the old town of Frankfurt, the biggest old Gothic town in Central Europe, was devastated by six bombardments of the Allied Air Forces. The greatest losses occurred in an attack by the Royal Air Force on 22 March 1944, when more than a thousand buildings of the old town, most of them half-timbered houses, were destroyed.

St. Bartholomew's suffered severe damage; the interior was burned out completely. The building was reconstructed in the 1950s. The height of the spire is 95 meters (312 ft).

Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School

The Frankfurt Cathedral Choir School (German: Frankfurter Domsingschule), founded in 2011, is a mixed ecumenical children's and youth choir, which accompanies not only mass and evensongs, but also official receptions and openings.[7] The Frankfurter Domsingschule offers any singer, regardless of their religious affiliation, age-based, free vocal basic training at regular rehearsals and valuable one-on-one and group vocal training or early musical education. This extensive basic training is unique for Frankfurt.

Notable people associated with the cathedral

Notable burials

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus". FRANKFURT.DE – DAS OFFIZIELLE STADTPORTAL (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ Düring, Ursula (23 September 2010). "Wo Kaiser und Könige gekrönt wurden". Mainpost (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Dom :: Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus". Dompfarrei St. Bartholomäus (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Als im Frankfurter Dom die Kaiser und Könige gewählt wurden". katholisch.de (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Dom Frankfurt a. M." Dombaumeister E.v. (in German). 21 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Domturm Frankfurt am Main, Geschichte". Domturm Frankfurt am Main (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Frankfurter Domsingschule :: Geschichte der Frankfurter Domsingschule". Frankfurter Domsingschule (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2021.

Further reading