Bremen Cathedral, Germany

St Peter’s Cathedral (St. Petri Dom) rises over the eastern side of Bremen’s Market Square, its twin towers the tallest landmarks of the old town. One of the oldest and most important churches in northern Germany, it traces its origins to a wooden missionary church founded around 789 by Saint Willehad, the first bishop of Bremen. The present building is essentially medieval: begun in sandstone in the Romanesque style and continued from the 13th century in brick as the vaults rose in early Gothic forms, making it one of the great historic brick churches of Europe. A sweeping restoration between 1888 and 1901 rebuilt the west towers to their present height and returned the cathedral to its medieval appearance. Once the seat of the powerful Prince-Archbishops of Bremen, it is today the principal church of the Bremen Evangelical Church.

What to See

The vast interior repays a slow look. Two Romanesque crypts survive from the 11th century: the western crypt, consecrated in 1068 and the oldest surviving room in Bremen, now serves as the baptismal chapel and holds a bronze font cast in 1229, while the eastern crypt shelters the tombs of nearly ninety bishops and archbishops. Look for the ornate pulpit of 1638, a gift from Queen Christina of Sweden; the finely carved 14th-century choir-stall panels displayed in a side chapel; and the cathedral’s set of five organs, heirs to a celebrated musical tradition that once included an instrument by the baroque master Arp Schnitger. The great curiosity, though, is the Bleikeller (“lead cellar”) beneath the church, where eight naturally mummified bodies — among them Swedish officers and an English countess — lie in glass-topped coffins; it has drawn intrigued visitors for more than three centuries. Energetic travellers can also climb the south tower for a panorama over the Market Square and the Weser.

How to Get There and Practical Information

Bremen Cathedral stands at Sandstraße 10–12, right on the Market Square in the pedestrianised old town — a 10 to 15 minute walk south from Bremen Central Station (Hauptbahnhof). Trams and buses stop at Domsheide, just a few steps away, and the whole historic centre is best covered on foot. Entry to the cathedral itself is free, and it is open to visitors on most days outside of service times, with shorter hours on Sunday mornings. A small charge applies to the Bleikeller crypt and to climbing the south tower, both of which keep seasonal opening hours (the Bleikeller is generally closed in winter), so it is worth checking the cathedral’s current schedule before you go.