UNESCO-World-Heritage-Site Hildesheim St. Mary’s Cathedral

The late Romanesque bronze baptismal font was created around 1226, most likely in a Hildesheim workshop. Its founder is presumed to be the Hildesheim provost of the cathedral, Wilbrand von Oldenburg-Wildeshausen. The impressive bronze casting is 1.70 meters high with a diameter of 96 centimeters. Its expressive, decorative visual imagery indicates Gothic stylistic elements.

The Romanesque wheel chandelier that Bishop Hezilo donated to the cathedral in 1061 impresses with its size and design: it measures six meters in diameter. Gold-plated copper makes the richly crafted goldsmith’s work gleam in the light. Latin inscriptions convey messages that identify the wheel chandelier as a symbol of heavenly Jerusalem: the city wall with twelve towers, twelve open gates and with battlements that bear 72 candles.

The Hezilo chandelier is the oldest and largest of altogether four preserved wheel chandeliers dating back to the Middle Ages (Azelin or Thietmar chandelier in the Hildesheim Cathedral, Barbarossa chandelier in the Aachen Cathedral and the Hartwig chandelier in Comburg Abbey). The Hezilo chandelier hung in the nave until the cathedral was destroyed in 1945. Following the cathedral’s reconstruction, it was given its place above the high altar. The chandelier was elaborately restored from 2002 until 2007, and returned to its original place in the nave in 2014. 

The Azelin or Thietmar chandelier is one of altogether four preserved wheel chandeliers dating back to the Middle Ages (Hezilo chandelier in the Hildesheim Cathedral, Barbarossa chandelier in the Aachen Cathedral and the Hartwig chandelier in Comburg Abbey).

The statue of the Virgin Mary, known as the ″Inkpot Madonna″, is the patron saint of St. Mary’s Cathedral. It was carved around 1430 by an unknown sculptor from Lower Saxony in Gothic S-shape from oak wood. Mother and son look down on the viewer with graceful faces. Their stately height of 1.80 meters and the rare form of presentation impress visitors and experts alike. While Mary carries her son in her left arm equipped with a quill and scroll, she hands him an inkwell with her right hand.

In 1015, Bishop Bernward commissioned the two door leaves with a height of 4.72 meters each for the western entrance to the cathedral. They were named after their founder and hold a special status among medieval doors: they are some of the highest of their epoch. For the first time since antiquity, a door once again shows an impressive sculptural program of images. Each of their door leaves was cast in one piece from bronze.

The crypt’s design language dates back to the construction of the cathedral under Bishop Hezilo around 1061. Hezilo had it connected with the older circular crypt to form a large, three-aisled room that was reserved for what was then the altar of Mary. Remains of the first Mary’s Chapel of Louis the Pious were found under the crypt in the eastern section during renovation work. The reliquary casket of Bishop Godehard, who passed away in 1038, is located in the western part of the crypt.

Around 1770, the crypt was redesigned in Baroque style, but it was restored to its original Romanesque character at the end of the 19th century. After reconstruction in 1960, the crypt was used as a sacrament chapel. The renovation uncovered the old entrances again from the front side of the high altar.

Legend has it that the rose tree has adorned St. Mary’s Cathedral for almost 1,200 years. Every year from the end of May until early June, it covers the outer apse in a delicate pink sea of flowers. The founding legend of the diocese dates back to the 1,000-year-old rosebush: In 815, Emperor Louis the Pious left a treasured St. Mary’s reliquary on the branch of a tree. Louis interpreted this as a divine sign and had St. Mary’s Chapel built on this spot, and he designated the site as the new bishop’s seat.

The Steinberg Chapel, built around 1405, is located on the left side of the North Paradise and is named after its founder Lippold von Steinberg (approx. 1325 - 1415). Remains of wall paintings, probably of the cathedral’s patrons and saints, as well as partly preserved inscriptions, testify to its original purpose: honoring the cathedral patrons. As canon and cathedral steward, Lippold von Steinberg contributed substantially to the cathedral’s structural expansion and furnishings in the 15th century.