Halle Cathedral, Gothic cathedral in Halle, Germany
Halle Cathedral is a three-aisled hall church 68 metres long, 20 wide and 18 high, built of white stone with thin dark vertical lines. Its long left section has a row of arched windows and a top edge of curved gables; to the right a taller block has large pointed-arch windows with tracery, smaller arched windows above and a rounded turret with a red clock face. Inside, smooth octagonal piers without capitals rise to ribbed vaults, with an organ above a wooden gallery on the left and a carved stone pulpit with a curved canopy against a pier.
Founded by the Dominicans in 1271 and completed around 1330 as a monastery church dedicated to Sankt Paul zum heiligen Kreuz, it was never a bishop's seat. From 1520 Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg had Bastian Binder add the ring of rounded gables and reconsecrated it in 1523 as a collegiate church; the name "Dom" came into popular use then. Albert left Halle in 1541 and took the movable furnishings to Aschaffenburg.
The name "Dom" came into popular use after the church was reconsecrated in 1523, though it was never the seat of a bishop. Since 1680 it has served an Evangelical Reformed congregation. The first abbess of the von Jena noble foundation was installed here in 1703, and the foundation's abbesses were buried in the church.
The building is open to visitors during the week and allows you to view the Gothic architecture from inside. Since it remains an active place of worship, it is best to plan your visit outside of service times.
Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg amassed up to 20,000 relics, known as the Hallesches Heilthum, and the trade in indulgences tied to them became a trigger of the Reformation. The treasures were moved to Aschaffenburg in 1541 and remain in the Staatsgalerie in Schloss Johannisburg. The church was never a bishop's seat, yet it has been called a Dom since 1523.
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