Dom St.Peter und Paul in Brandenburg, Cathedral on the Cathedral Island, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany.
Dom St. Peter und Paul began in 1165 as a single-nave Romanesque brick church and grew into a three-aisled Brick Gothic basilica. Its west front has one full north tower and only a stump of the south tower, given crenellations by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1833–1836. Inside, white walls carry red-painted ribs and arcade bands; the nave arcades are round-arched Romanesque, the vaults pointed Gothic.
The church was begun in 1165 as a Romanesque structure and evolved over several centuries into a three-aisled basilica. A significant altar from Bohemia dating to the 14th century shows how the building connected early with other regions of Europe.
The name "cradle of the Mark Brandenburg" comes from the diocese founded here in 948 and restored in 1161. The wooden pulpit carries carved floral motifs and painted figures of the patron saints Peter and Paul. The triptych known as the Bohemian Altar, dated 1375, shows the coronation of Mary and four saints flanked by twelve saints on gold, linked to Emperor Charles IV's visit and relic donation.
The cathedral stands on the Dominsel, the highest point of the island between the Beetzsee and the Havel, reached from the old town by bridge. The ground beneath the foundations is filled-in soil of the former Slavic rampart, dug down to seven metres without reaching natural ground, which caused the static problems. The south tower never rose above its stump; Karl Friedrich Schinkel added its crenellated top in 1833–1836 and a monumental stone stair from the nave up to the high choir.
The cathedral's archive holds one of the oldest known mentions of Berlin, showing how the building has been connected to the region's history from its early years. This makes it an important witness to the early development of the surrounding cities.
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