Merseburg Cathedral, Lutheran cathedral in Merseburg, Germany.
Merseburg Cathedral is a mostly Gothic church of light brown stone, its west front flanked by two tall dark spires, each with a clock face and arched windows below a steep pointed roof. Between them a gabled section holds three tall pointed-arched windows, a five-arch blind arcade and a cross at the peak, above a carved portal. Inside, clustered piers carry ribbed vaults over a wide nave leading to a stepped platform, where a wooden crucifix hangs on a long chain above a carved altarpiece and three stained-glass windows.
Founded in 1015 under Bishop Thietmar and consecrated in 1021, the cathedral served as the seat of the Bishopric of Merseburg until the Reformation transformed it into a Protestant church.
The cathedral houses the famous Merseburg Spells, among the earliest recorded German pagan incantations, alongside medieval manuscripts and a treasury containing 16th-century altars and liturgical artifacts.
Visitors can explore the European Centre for Romanesque Art located in the cathedral's southern wing, which offers exhibitions on medieval art and architecture throughout the year.
The cathedral contains one of Germany's oldest crypts from the Romanesque period and features a renowned 19th-century Ladegast organ that attracts musicians from across Europe.
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