Frankfurt Cathedral, Gothic church in Innenstadt I, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Frankfurt Cathedral is a Gothic church in the city center of Frankfurt am Main, rising 95 meters into the sky with a tower that dominates the roofline of the old town. The interior houses several altars and chapels reflecting construction phases from the Middle Ages to modern times.
A church stood here from 852, when Louis the German founded the Salvatorstift; the Gothic building rose mainly between 1250 and 1514. From 1356 the Golden Bull made it the election site, and from 1562 to 1792 emperors-elect were crowned before the central altar. The west tower, begun in 1415, was finished only in 1878 after the 1867 fire.
The name Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral) comes from the church's role in the Holy Roman Empire: from 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here. The Wahlkapelle, a chapel on the south side of the choir built in 1425, was where the prince-electors met to choose the King of the Romans. The anointing and crowning took place before the central altar, which is believed to hold part of the head of St. Bartholomew.
The Dom is in the Altstadt, a short walk from the Römerberg; the tower is reached by a separate entrance and its 95-metre climb ends at a viewing level above the old town. The interior is entered at street level, and the crossing marks the spot where emperors-elect were anointed before the central altar. Excavations of the royal palace foundations lie beside the church.
The tower was rebuilt in the 19th century after a fire and received its current neo-Gothic form during this reconstruction. The building holds the title of cathedral even though it was never the seat of a bishop.
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