Der Hildesheimer Dom (St. Mary's Cathedral)
The Hildesheim Cathedral of St. Mary's Assumption is one of the oldest bishop's churches in Germany. Architecturally, it goes back to the 11th century.
Unfortunatly also this church, like many others in germany, was bombed during the Second World War and later rebuilded.
The external part, all made of stone, is very beautiful.
The interior, however, has white walls with no finish :(
What a pity!
Inside there are small treasures:
a chandelier
a huge bronze baptismal font with the lid
a wooden statue clearly inpired by the Pietà from Michelangelo
a painting depicting the three kings bringing gifts to the baby Jesus
the Bernwardtür (a very big door, about 4 to 5 meters high)
a huge cast-bronze column (Bernward Column) depicting scenes from the life of Christ
and two golded masks (I don't think they are made of gold, but they are still very beautiful) depicting a woman and a man
The crypt door was open, I took the opportunity to enter and peek at what contained :)
Inside there is a statue of Mary holding Jesus
and a box of golden color
Going down a few steps it is possibile to reach a second room
containing what appears to be an ancient tomb
Unfortunately there were no texts or indications next to it, it is therefore difficult to say whether or not it is a tomb, and if it is a tomb, who was buried there.
Even for the golden masks it is not known who they represent, when they were found and how old they are.
A small message for the Bishop: in the future, next to the display cases, please put a small text with the description, like museums do, or sell a small brochure with the info. This will make the visit of the church for future visitors much more interesting :)
