The Basel Minster is a church (originally a Cathedral) located in Basel, built between A.D. 1019 and 1500.
(The Southern Tower (left is named the Martinsturm and the Northern tower is named the Georgsturm after Saints George and Martin, saints of knights)
The original structure was originally started in A.D. 1019 by Bishop Adalberto II (the city of Basel had served as the seat of a bishop since the relocation of the seat from Augusta Raurica in the mid 4th Century A.D.). The initial layout was completed in A.D. 1225.
The structure was damaged by an earthquake in A.D. 1356 but was rebuilt by 1363. In A.D. 1421, additional towers were added. The last major addition, a tower in the Southern quarter, was added in A.D. 1500 and marks the end of the construction (a mere 481 years).
After the Reformation, the cathedral became a Protestant church. Many of the artwork and interior decorations were destroyed by iconoclasts in A.D. 1528 and 1529.
Absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteEd, it really was. One could easily spend an afternoon here instead of the hour or so I spent.
DeleteA lot of talent over the centuries went into that structure, stone and wood. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd all pretty much by hand. That is the mind blowing thing to me, Nylon12.
DeleteIs it still a protestant church TB? I'm asking because of the candles.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that construction took so long. I can't imagine anyone spending hundreds of years building something now. The plan and vision must have been passed on as well as the building techniques.
Leigh, according to Wikipedia, it is a Reformed Protestant Church.
DeleteIt is amazing to me as well, although I think it may have been a little bit less constant construction and a little more spurts of activity as, for example, towers were raised.
I suspect it "ended" because of the Reformation; one wonders what else might have been built if it remained a Catholic church.