Hildesheim - Dom

Louis the Pious founded the bishopric of Hildesheim in 815. The settlement developed into a town and was granted market rights by King Otto III in 983. Craftsmen and merchants were attracted and the city developed into an important community. By 1167, Hildesheim was an almost completely walled market settlement.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Hildesheim had about 5,000 inhabitants, and when Hildesheim received its city charter in 1249, it was one of the largest cities in northern Germany. The clergy ruled Hildesheim for four centuries before a town hall was built and the citizens gained influence and independence. In 1367, Hildesheim became a member of the Hanseatic League. But what is now called Hildesheim was various small "suburbs". After centuries of (sometimes armed) disputes, it was not until the end of the 16th century that a union was created and subsequently at least the inner wall was taken down Old and New Town.
During the Thirty Years' War, Hildesheim was besieged and occupied several times. In 1813, after the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Kingdom of Hanover, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia as a province after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866.

The air raids on Hildesheim in 1944/45 destroyed large parts of the city. Of the 1500 half-timbered houses, only 200 remained. 90 percent of the historic old town was destroyed in the firestorm.

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Bishop Gunthar, who was in office in Hildesheim from 815 to 834 had a small basilica built. This served as the original cathedral. The next cathedral was built by Bishop Altfried in 872 as a cruciform three-aisled basilica with a two-story westwork. The building suffered severe fire damage in 1046. Bishop Hezilo built then incorporated the surviving walls into the new building using the foundation of the former basilica. Until the 14th century, further profound changes took place, but without deviating from the ground plan of the basilica. The side chapels date from the Gothic period. From 1840 to 1850, the original west building, which had fallen into disrepair, was replaced by a neo-Romanesque double tower front, which remained in place until 1945.

During the air raids on Hildesheim in WWII, the cathedral was completely destroyed except for the west building, the southern nave arcades, and the outer walls. Only the crypt and the Laurentius Chapel from the 11th century were preserved.

The cathedral was rebuilt in a simplified form between 1950 and 1960. The baroque elements were abandoned in favor of a form that took its cue from the early Romanesque style.
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In 1001, Bishop Bernward traveled to Rome accompanying Otto III, where he became acquainted with Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius. Especially the relief bands of Trajan's column served him as a model and later appeared on this column as well.

The bronze column was cast around 1020. It is 379 cm high and has a diameter of 58 cm. Originally, the column was crowned by a crucifixion group on a capital and thus had a total height of more than 6 m. The column was made using the technique of lost wax casting, an extremely demanding technique at the time. it was placed in St. Michaeliskirche. The appearance of the original capital and decorative cross is not known to this day.

The cross was destroyed in 1544 during riots, which were due to the introduction of the Reformation. In 1723 the column was dismantled because it threatened to fall over. The council of the city decided to have it melted down, but this failed due to the commitment of the monks. In 1760, plans were made to sell the column to Hanover to have it melted down there. The column was sold but this time the column was saved by the objection of the abbot and the archbishop. The purchase was reversed and the column was again stored in St. Michaelis.

After several attempts to sell and melt down the column, it was to be destroyed again in 1810. But it was saved again. The episcopal official Anton Blum bought the column and now had it taken out of St. Michaelis and staged in the cathedral courtyard. This was motivated by the newfound enthusiasm of the population for the art of the Middle Ages.

In 1942 the column was stored in a safe place to save it from imminent destruction in the bombing war.

Raising of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)