Halberstadt - St. Martini

Through Charlemagne, the mission base here became a bishop's see in 804. The Bishop was granted market, minting and customs rights by King Otto III in 989. He held the secular power in the Harzgau and thus over the inhabitants of Halberstadt. The first cathedral was consecrated in 992.

By 1068, there was already an emerging merchant class, under which the city began to emancipate itself from control by the bishop's see around about 1105. In 1146, possibly the first Jews arrived in Halberstadt coming from Halle. In 1189 Jews persecuted during the Third Crusade reached the city. In 1261, the first episcopal letter of protection is documented for them.

Henry the Lion destroyed the city, cathedral and cathedral castle in 1179 in the course of a feud by setting a major fire. In 1199 the construction of the city wall is mentioned for the first time, which lasted until 1236. Between 1236 and 1239, the construction of the new cathedral began. In 1241, a town hall for the city is mentioned for the first time; moreover, the city already had its own seal at this time. In 1343 the Jews were attacked by the Counts of Mansfeld and Regenstein and fled, a decade later the new so-called "Judendorf" became the first closed Jewish settlement in the city.
St. Martini was probably founded in the 10th century. It was first mentioned in 1186. The building is a five-bay Gothic hall church. The octagonal spires of different heights are connected by a covered bridge. The choir is associated with indulgences in the years 1267, 1274 and 1285. The west building was probably started before 1311, the date when the church was placed under the Johannisstift.

The city of Halberstadt was 82 percent destroyed by bombing at the end of WWII. The degree of destruction of the Martini Church was also estimated at 80%.

From 1945 to 1954 St. Martini was restored. The main focus was on the restoration of the towers and the roof, which characterize the cityscape.

The bronze baptismal font is a work from the end of the 13th century. It is carried by four men, symbolizing the rivers of paradise. There are nine flat reliefs depicting the childhood and youth of Christ. The coloring was renewed in the 19th century.

The Nativity