Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, Romanesque cathedral in Chur, Switzerland
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption is a Romanesque cathedral in the center of Chur, the capital of the canton of the Grisons in Switzerland. It has thick stone walls, rounded arches, and a three-nave interior with stone columns and several medieval altars.
The site has been used for Christian worship since late antiquity, making it one of the oldest religious sites in what is now Switzerland. The current building took shape mainly during the 12th and 13th centuries, incorporating earlier foundations and elements added over time.
The cathedral is the bishop's church of the Diocese of Chur, whose bishop has resided in the Bischöfliches Schloss directly opposite the cathedral since the Middle Ages. From 1524 the episcopal court formed a separate territory within the city, and only after the cantonal constitution of 1854 could Catholics settle and use the cathedral as a parish church. The parish was established in 1880.
The cathedral is easy to reach on foot from the old town center, which sits in one of the oldest urban areas in Switzerland. A visit pairs well with a walk through the surrounding medieval lanes.
The late-Gothic high altar was completed in 1492 by the sculptor Jakob Russ, not by an unknown master. Look also at the oldest sculpture in the cathedral: 8th-century relief slabs of white Laaser marble with interlace, lions, leaves and grapes, now facing the mensa of the 1545 St Lawrence altar.
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