Minden Cathedral

Church in Minden, Germany

52°17′20″N 8°55′09″E / 52.28883°N 8.91918°E / 52.28883; 8.91918LocationMinden, GermanyDenominationRoman CatholicWebsiteWebsite of the CathedralHistoryStatusActiveDedicationGorgonius
Saint PeterArchitectureFunctional statusparish ChurchStyleRomanesque (original & westwork)
GothicGroundbreaking803 (803)SpecificationsLength91 m (298 ft 7 in)Width39 m (127 ft 11 in)Height11 m (36 ft 1 in)Number of spires1Spire height55 m (180 ft 5 in)Bells13Tenor bell weight5495kgAdministrationDioceseArchdiocese of Paderborn

Minden Cathedral, dedicated to Saints Gorgonius and Peter, is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From the year 803 AD, when the area was conquered by Charlemagne, Minden was the center of a diocese and subsequently became the center of a small sovereign state, a prince-bishopric (Hochstift) of Minden, until the time of the Peace of Westphalia (1648), when Minden was secularized as the Principality of Minden (which lasted until 1806). Despite the whole principality became a protestant region, the cathedral remeined Catholic, and the Cathedral chapter consisted of Catholic and Protestant members unitl it was abolished in 1810. Today the church belongs to the archdiocese of Paderborn.

History

Over the course of many centuries, the cathedral grew from a simple Carolingian church to a monumental basilica. The High Gothic nave and its large tracery windows inspired a number of other buildings. During World War II, the church was almost completely destroyed by an aerial bombing conducted by US Army Air Force B17s on 28 March 1945. This almost completely destroyed the town center including the town hall and cathedral and resulted in the death of over 180 people.

The church was rebuilt in the 1950s by architect Werner March. The church contains a number of valuable art treasures.

Patronage

From Rome in the 8th century the remains of St. Gorgonius were translated by Saint Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz to the monastery of Gorze in Lorraine. Some of the relics were later translated to Minden Cathedral.^[1]