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Germany: Inside Trier Cathedral

The Cathedral in Trier is the oldest church in Germany.

The history, and Cathedral itself, is impressive. It started as a Roman palace built by Constantine. In 330 the palace was leveled and replaced by a Christian church. It was the largest in Antiquity. According to the city’s web site, it was “four times as big as the present-day church and covering the area of the Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, the Cathedral Square, the adjoining garden, and the houses almost up to the market.”

That version of the church was destroyed in the in the 5th and 9th centuries. And rebuilt. Another part was torn down around 1200 and rebuilt as today’s Church of Our Lady.

The gothic Church of Our Lady has fantastic stained-glass windows, and you can see an excavation of the Roman ruins (thru a glass window in the floor). The Cathedral Dom has some great plasterwork and an interesting black and white pattern on the organ. And a nice garden.

Also notable: The Cathedral is home to the seamless robe of Christ. Legend says it was worn by Christ shortly before his crucifixion. There was no mention of it before the 12th century and even the church admits it can’t be authenticated. Oh, and you can’t look at it. Even during Holy Robe Days, it remains sealed up in a box (but you can enter the robe’s chapel).

I’m skeptical. Not so much because you can’t see it or that the church isn’t saying it’s the real deal—more because of the whole “seamless” thing. I’ve had a shirt without a seam before. It was called a tube top. Maybe that’s why they keep it locked in a box.

See all posts from Trier and our week in Mosel.

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From Trier's Cathedral Dom. Shot May 26, 2012 in Trier, Germany

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From Trier's Church of Our Lady. Shopt May 26, 2012 in Trier, Germany

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Czech Republic: Kutná Hora Czech bone church

So here’s a good place to confront your mortality. The Church of All Saints Ossuary, aka the Czech bone church, in Sedlec-Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.

The story goes: A Cistercian abbey with underground chapel in Sedlec was founded in 1142. One of Sedlec abbots traveled to Jerusalem in 1278 and brought back a handful of dirt which he scattered in the monastery’s cemetery. With this, the cemetery became known as a Holy Field (oldest in Central Europe), thus it become a very desirable place to be buried. The over-crowded cemetery was expanded during Plague in 1318 (where 30,000 people died), and during the Hussite wars.

Around 1400 a new church was built. It would have an underground chapel to house the bones of those displaced by the building (presumably the mass graves from the plague and war) and those who were simply dug to make room for others. The bones were exhumed by a near blind monk and stacked in and outside the underground chapel.

In 1784 Emperor Joseph II. abolished the monasteries, and the cemetery fell into the hands of the Schwarzenberg family. (That is their coat of arms in bones.) In 1870, the family hired Francis Rint, a Czech builder, to put the piles of bones in order. This is what he created…from the bones of about 40,000 people.

Rint’s masterpiece is the chandelier in the center; it’s constructed with at least one of every bone in the human body and surrounded by four spires of skulls.

Thoughts: Smaller than I expected, but worth the price of admission—60 KC (about 2.50€). Cool to finally see something like this. When we were in Paris, the catacombs flooded. When we in Rome, I was too slutty with my exposed knee caps to get in the Capuchin crypt. Too inappropriate in shorts to see a baby grim reaper constructed of human bones. Think about that for a minute.

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From Sedlec Ossuary bone church. Shot April 14, 2012. Sedlec-Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

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Ireland: Dublin Churches

Some pictures from two of Dublin’s most famous churches: Christ Church Cathedral and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral was founded in 1028. The church has a long history which I won’t even attempt to summarize (lazy). Read it here. Among the more interesting things: There is a mummified cat and rat and a crypt that you can rent for weddings (weird) and other events. There is also a coffee shop in the crypt. It’s not free to enter, which is a little strange to me considering that Dublin’s national museums are free (and arguably a better place to have a divine experience).

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From Christ Church Cathedral. Shot October 25, 2011. Dublin, Ireland

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Saint Patrick’s Cathedral was founded in 1191. It is the largest church in Ireland. And really hard to get the whole of it in a picture. Read about it here (still lazy). The cathedral was actually closed this day. They host a lot of graduations, so if going it’s best to check the web site to make sure they’ll be open.