The town also boasts a connection to the current Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, given der Papst (Joseph Ratzinger) was once a Professor of Theology at Regensburg University and his brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, was the Kapellmeister (choirmaster) at the cathedral.
There has been a church on this site representing St Peter since 700 AD. For a little reading and plagiarism: Wikipedia says this: The Cathedral was rebuilt in Carolingian times and expanded in the early 11th century, with an approximately 15-meter-wide transept, two towers and an atrium.
In 1156-1172 the edifice burnt twice, and was also rebuilt starting from 1273 in High Gothic style. The three choirs of the new cathedral were ready for use in 1320, while the old cathedral was demolished at the same time. In 1385-1415 the elaborate main entrance to the west was completed, with the most of the new edifice being finished around 1520; the cloister was constructed in 1514-1538.
The cupola at the transept crossing and other sectors were renovated in Baroque style in the 17th century. In 1828-1841 the cathedral underwent a neo/Gothic restoration commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The Baroque frescoes were relocated and the cupola demolished, being replaced by a quadripartite rib vault. The towers and their spires were built in 1859-1869. Three years later the cathedral was finally finished, with the completion of the transept gable and the spire (at the crossing), after some 600 years of construction.
I have always been amazed at old architecture and told Jonah that is a lot of the reason I want to see the things I want to see in Europe. When he saw the Cathedral he said "Dad, I don't like architecture but after seeing this place it makes me really like it." I thought that was cool.
The beauty and awe continue on the inside as well.
When you first walk in you are greeted in the center of the room with a huge sculpture of St Peter kneeling before Jesus on the Cross. You are taken back by the 105 foot ceilings and the overall size of the area (280 feet by 114 feet). St Peter is depicted close to 100 time throughout the cathedral.
This statue of him close to the main entrance has him with an oversize key to heaven.
The silver High Altar seen in the bottom center of the pic was built between 1695 and 1785.
To the right side of the High Altar is the "Sailer Chapel" an area set aside for private prayer anytime the Cathedral is open.
This section of the chapel was erected by King Ludwig I in 1837 in memory of the Regensburg Bishop Johann Michael von Sailer (1751-1832), a former tutor to the King. The canopied Nativity Alter in the center dates from 1415-20.
To the left of the High Altar is the largest free hanging pipe organ in the world. I could only imagine how well it sounds in this huge open cathedral.
Above is the Annunciation Altar, people would come in and light a candle and I guess say a prayer.
The Cathedral also has its own water well.
A beautiful sculpture showing baptism.
Jonah next to one of the huge columns in the middle of the Cathedral.
She is always taking the pics its hard to get her in any of them. I took this off her phone.
This is the view of the front doors from the inside, it is hard to see all the detail in this pic.
The stained glass is awe inspiring.
It is almost to much to take in, most of the stained glass is extremely valuable
and was installed between 1220-1230 and 1320-1370.
but the western section of the cathedrals stained glass wasn't installed until 1967-1968.
There is also a section underneath the cathedral that you can go down and see the burial place of some of the cathedrals important bishops. As well as the remains of 257 bodies exhumed during an archaeological excavation during the beginning of the 20th century.
The Old Stone Bridge across the Danube or Donau River the continents second longest river flowing 1785 miles throughout Europe. If you rode the Donau river from top to bottom you would travel through 10 countries and end in the Black Sea.
The bridge was completed somewhere between 1135-1146 and until the 1930's it was the city's ONLY bridge across the river.
Louis VII of France marched his troops across the bridge on their way to the Second Crusade
At the highest point of the bridge is the Bruckmandl (Bridge Mannequin) He is said to be overlooking St Peters Cathedral.
a view of Regensburg from the bridge
a bypass of the river just to the left of the main river
The tower in the center with the clock is the only remaining from the 3 that was built, the one on the north side and the one in the center where both destroyed during wars
The Bruckmandl watching St Peters Cathedral. If you want to read more about the old stone bridge goto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Bridge_(Regensburg)
A typical street in Regensburg, we walked around for prob 4-5 hours exploring the shops and the city. In the town center we saw them starting to set up for the upcoming Christmas market. We have a trip to the opening of the Prague Christmas market coming up at the end of November.
I thought the yellow building in the center was cool looking
I thought this shutter holder was awesome, its pretty detailed and looks old
This painting of David and Goliath was very detailed, look how Goliath is using the window as an arm prop.
There is a lot more to see here but this is all we really went to see this trip, we will be back to see more after we study up on other sights to see, there are many. We also stopped by the Donau Mall, a very large "American style" mall to check it out. It was very similar to our malls with multi floors and stores of all types. With a little twist, they have fresh bakery Kiosks, fresh fish/seafood Kiosks, and even fresh Sausage and cured meat stands along with an adjoining grocery store. Everything looked so fresh, we had some fish and chips from one of the stands and it was good.
Please leave a comment on what you think and where we should explore next.
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