Limburg an der Lahn - St. Georg Dom 01
Limburg Cathedral (Limburger Dom, also known as Georgsdom ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg. Its high location on a rock above the river Lahn provides its visibility from far away. It is the result of an Early Gothic modernization of an originally Early Romanesque building and therefore shows a Romanesque-Gothic transitional style.
The medieval patron saints of the church were Saint George and Saint Nicholas.
The cathedral is a three-aisled basilica, which combines late Romanesque and early Gothic elements. It has a narthex at the western end and a semi-circular choir with an ambulatory. The outside measures 54.5 m long, with a width of 35.4 m. The building has a complicated structure; seven spires rise from it. The number seven is a symbolic reference to the number of the sacraments. The tallest of these towers are on the western side and rise to a height of 37 m. They form the distinctive "twin-tower façade [de]" of the west front. Such twin-tower façades are common in the Rheinland, for example at Xanten, Andernach [de] and Koblenz. The pointed crossing spire stands above all the other spires with a height of 66 m at the centre of the building. This height is the result of a lightning strike in 1774, before which the tower was 6.5 metres higher. The corner towers on the southern transept were erected in 1863.
The west front is divided into five levels. The most eye-catching stylistic element is a huge round window, surrounded by eight small rosettes, which forms a clear centre of the west front. The rosette symbolises the four Evangelists. Despite the symmetry of the twin towers, there is rich variation in forms and building elements, e.g. round and pointed arches, pilaster strips, small pillars, archivolts, windows and blind arches. The upper level of the north tower includes Gothic elements (e.g. window tracery).
During restorations between 1872 and 1873, the polychrome exterior painting of the cathedral was removed (the colours were, previously, white, red, yellow-brown, black and a little green) and the stone was left bare. Between 1968 and 1972, the polychrome exterior was restored, using remains of the colour from the period before 1872 in order to reconstruct the old patterns.
The Limburg cathedral was shown on the back of the 1000-DM-Banknote of the third series. The notes with the Limburg motif were issued from the end of July 1964 and replaced from 1992 by the 1000-DM-Banknote of the fourth (and last) series.
Limburg an der Lahn - St. Georg Dom 01
Limburg Cathedral (Limburger Dom, also known as Georgsdom ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg. Its high location on a rock above the river Lahn provides its visibility from far away. It is the result of an Early Gothic modernization of an originally Early Romanesque building and therefore shows a Romanesque-Gothic transitional style.
The medieval patron saints of the church were Saint George and Saint Nicholas.
The cathedral is a three-aisled basilica, which combines late Romanesque and early Gothic elements. It has a narthex at the western end and a semi-circular choir with an ambulatory. The outside measures 54.5 m long, with a width of 35.4 m. The building has a complicated structure; seven spires rise from it. The number seven is a symbolic reference to the number of the sacraments. The tallest of these towers are on the western side and rise to a height of 37 m. They form the distinctive "twin-tower façade [de]" of the west front. Such twin-tower façades are common in the Rheinland, for example at Xanten, Andernach [de] and Koblenz. The pointed crossing spire stands above all the other spires with a height of 66 m at the centre of the building. This height is the result of a lightning strike in 1774, before which the tower was 6.5 metres higher. The corner towers on the southern transept were erected in 1863.
The west front is divided into five levels. The most eye-catching stylistic element is a huge round window, surrounded by eight small rosettes, which forms a clear centre of the west front. The rosette symbolises the four Evangelists. Despite the symmetry of the twin towers, there is rich variation in forms and building elements, e.g. round and pointed arches, pilaster strips, small pillars, archivolts, windows and blind arches. The upper level of the north tower includes Gothic elements (e.g. window tracery).
During restorations between 1872 and 1873, the polychrome exterior painting of the cathedral was removed (the colours were, previously, white, red, yellow-brown, black and a little green) and the stone was left bare. Between 1968 and 1972, the polychrome exterior was restored, using remains of the colour from the period before 1872 in order to reconstruct the old patterns.
The Limburg cathedral was shown on the back of the 1000-DM-Banknote of the third series. The notes with the Limburg motif were issued from the end of July 1964 and replaced from 1992 by the 1000-DM-Banknote of the fourth (and last) series.