Brandenburg Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul
Location:
Burghof,
14776 Brandenburg an der Havel
Telephone: +49 (0)3381-2112221
Fax: +49 (0)3381-2112222
Opening times:
see website
Inside the Brandenburg Cathedral of the apostles Peter and Paul is the oldest surviving structure and starting point of the history of the town of Brandenburg an der Havel and the surrounding region. On today's Cathedral Island was once the Brandenburg, the royal seat of the Slavic tribe of Hevelli. The foundation stone for the Cathedral was laid in 1165. At first it was a simple cruciform church hall in the Romanesque style, which was later expanded into a Romanesque basilica. Few components from the original building period remain. Gothic extensions were made from the 13th to 15th Centuries. Instead of the planned two towers, only the north tower was built. The first wooden tower was replaced in the 17th Century by a stone tower structure. In 1705 came the founding of an educational institution for the pupils of the nobility later designated the Knights Academy. Karl Friedrich Schinkel already reported the poor condition of the substructure of the cathedral in 1828; the building threatened to collapse. The introduction of tie rods in the nave and rebuilding of the south aisle stabilized the statics. Extensive restoration and stabilization work has always been necessary up to the modern age, but shortly after the reunification of Germany it became clear that the stability of the Brandenburg Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul is still in danger and the threat of collapse can only be permanently averted by further extensive measures to renovate and preserve the building. Without the exemplary commitment of the "Friends of the Cathedral of Brandenburg" and the generosity of many people, rescue of the "Cradle of the Brandenburg March” would not have been possible.
The face of the Cathedral Island has changed dramatically in recent years. The renovation work at the Cathedral and adjacent buildings has made good progress, at young people are being taught again at the Evangelical school and the Lutheran High School, tourism and traffic infrastructure has improved greatly. When visiting the city of Brandenburg an der Havel, one should therefore definitely make a trip to the Brandenburg Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. Many treasures are to be found in the Archive of the Cathedral’s Monastery and the Cathedral Museum in the adjacent enclosure buildings. They include valuable ancient liturgical manuscripts, a collection of Gothic sacred garb and equipment, valuable documents such as the founding documents of the diocese of Brandenburg from 948 and the City of Berlin from 1244, and about 35,000 volumes of the Abbey library. During the summer months there is regular organ music and concerts.