Cultural sightseeing in Germany. What to visit - museums, temples, castles and palaces

» The Roman Emperor wanted to build a palace with a prayer room. For this, architects from Rome and Byzantium were invited. Charles the Great was buried here. The sacred place with his remains has survived to this day.
»  The prayer room is octagonal. Arched vaults are decorated with colorful stones. Wall panels are covered with mosaics.
»  A 12-m forged chandelier is lead. It symbolizes celestial Jerusalem. It was gifted by Frederick Barbarossa, one of the rulers in medieval Europe.
»  In the hall, there is a preserved marble chair. It was gilded over time. Here, German kings were crowned.
»  In the treasure trove, there are Christian relics: the white underwear of the Virgin Mary, the blanket of newborn Jesus, and the belt he wore when he was crucified. The authenticity of artifacts brought from the East has never been proven but they are spiritually invaluable.
»  There is a belief that it had to take money from Satan to construct the cathedral. In this case, he must have taken the souls of the first person entering the house. Cunning citizens let a wolf in. You can see its statue at the entrance.

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » The imperial abbey is one of the oldest monasteries in Western Europe.
»  It was named after the clergyman Maximin when the bishop died in 353. The crypt with the clergyman’s body has survived to this day. You can see the sarcophagus in the courtyard of the monastery.
»  The temple was built in the 4th century. The complex is located near the city market square.
»  Over the years of its existence, the building was repeatedly damaged by the fire and looted during the war.
»  In 1674, buildings of the church complex were demolished. They were rebuilt by a new plan. During the Second World War, the houses were destroyed again. The original exterior has not been preserved.
»  Only the central entrance and the church has remained undamaged. The religious building served not only as the House of God. There are barracks for soldiers and cells for prisoners.
»  In 1996, the territory of the abbey became the property of the private person. Now, there is a concert hall that can accommodate 1 200 guests and the Catholic school in updated rooms.

» The Church of St. Andreas was built from 1622 to 1629 and belonged to the Jesuit order. Over time, the building of the Jesuit College was attached to it.
»  In 1717 they built a tomb of the Wittelsbach family. The sarcophagus of Johann Wilhelm is placed exactly here. A monument located in front of the Dusseldorf City Hall is also designated to him.
»  In 1773, after the dissolution of the Jesuit order, the church became a parish, and in 2005 it was transferred to the Dominican order. Since 1984, the church has been protected by the state.
»  The modest appearance of the temple is in contrast to the rich interior decoration: the sculptures of 12 apostles and saints and the altar with stairs of white marble.
»  The pipe organ, created in 1782, was repaired after the war in 1953 and 1971. Citizens like to come on Sundays to the concerts of organ music.
»  The temple hosts the relics of several dozen saints, including Saint Andrew, John the Baptist of the Prophet, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and others.

» The Basilica of Constantine is the monument of the past because there is the preserved old throne hall.
»  It is 67 m long, 26 m wide, and 33 m high. The floor is covered with black-and-white marble tiles. It is heated. The heating system is also integrated into the walls. Wall panels are inlaid with natural stone. Windows are adorned with mosaics. There are statues in the niches. Foreign guests were welcomed here.
»  The building built in 310 served as the residence of the first Christian Emperor. It is named after him.
»  The residence was not reconstructed many times, even though it changed many owners.
»  The big house is built of red bricks. The masonry is plastered.
»  The age of the Roman Empire was changed by the period of the reign of Frankish kings that loved staying here. In the 12th century, the local diocese occupied the palace. In the 17th century, Aula Palatina became the part of the prince’s castle. The army of Napoleon used its rooms as barracks. In 1856, the building served as an Evangelical refuge, the Church of Our Savior.
»  It had existed for 1500 years but was blown up during the Second World War. The ancient building was reconstructed in 1956.

» Basilica of St. Severin is the Catholic Church, which is the second highest of all the Romanesque churches of Cologne.
» The western church tower has a height of almost 73 m in total; it’s only 3 m inferior to Great St. Martin Church.
» The church was consecrated in honor of St. Severin, the Catholic saint known as a Christian educator and assistant to the poor. His relics are kept in this church.
» After the World War II, the church had long time to recover. However, despite of the military bombing of Cologne, the church has still preserved furnishing items, the crypt of the 10th century and frescoes of the 16th century dedicated to St. Severin.
» At the time of the church liturgy tours around the temple are allowed just outside.

» Basilica of St. Ursula is the Roman Catholic church in the northern part of the old town, built in honor of the holy martyr St. Ursula.
» Already in the 4th century on the site of the church there had been a chapel in memory of the holy virgins, Early Christian Martyrs of Rome.
» The church houses the sarcophagus of St. Ursula with sculpture of alabaster. However, this sarcophagus is empty; it only serves to honor the saint. Her relics are kept in a casket on the altar.
» The church has a lot of interesting details. The amazing sculpture depicts St. Ursula protecting her friends with her cloak. The sculpture was created in the middle of the 15th century.
» There was built a separate room, called the Golden Chamber, for storing sacred relics in the church of St. Ursula.
» Walls of Golden Chamber are lined with bones, where prayers are written.

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » The Basilica of the Holy Apostles is another Catholic church in Cologne that is the basilica with two transepts and three Romanesque naves.
» The church is decorated with three towers; the height of the highest is 67 m. This tower is the third highest among all the Romanesque churches of Cologne.
» The church was built in the 9th century, and later the Basilica of the Holy Apostles was erected there.
» In 1860, the gymnasium, which still exists today, was open in the church.
» After World War II, the church was badly damaged. However, funds for the restoration of the temple were collected, and in 1957 the building was renovated.

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » St. Lambert's Basilica is the oldest building in Düsseldorf. In the 8th century, the first chapel in honor of St. Lambert was built by Saint Willeick.
»  In 1288, the village of Düssel received the status of a city and the construction of a wooden church began. After several fires that destroyed the wooden structure, the Duke Wilhelm I continued the construction of the temple, and in 1394 the basilica was consecrated.
»  This event is considered as the year of the church foundation. At the same time, the relic of St. Apollinaris, the patron of Dusseldorf, were brought into the basilica.
»  To this day, the temple keeps the relic of the head of St. Willeick. Apart from this, the church hosts two miraculous images of the Blessed Virgin dated from 1100 and 1334, and the tomb of the Duke Wilhelm V, buried in 1592. A valuable relic also is the Gothic tabernacle, which depicts the most ancient coat of arms of Dusseldorf.
»  In 1974, the Pope awarded the status of a "small Basilica" to the church of St. Lambert.