So happy that our tour guide stopped here and allowed us to explore Dom St. Bartholomaus freely…read moreduring our walking tour of Frankfurt. it is stunning.
The church is the main church of Frankfurt. It is the largest religious building in the city and a former collegiate church. Although the English name is the Frankfurt Cathedral, it has never been an actual cathedral. Rather it is a Kaiserdom or an "imperial great church" or the Dom because of its historic role as former election and coronation church of the Holy Roman Empire.
The earliest church, and an adjacent royal palace which stood on the site, was originally founded in 852. The palace itself was created in the 9th century under Louis the Pious, the son of Charlemagne. Centuries later, the Palace Church was replaced twice as the community changed.
Since 1356, when the Golden Bull of 1356 was issued by Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected in this collegiate church as Kings of the Romans. From 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here. When the city of Frankfurt secularized, St. Bartholomew's became the city's main church.
In 1867, St. Bartholomew's was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in its present style. During World War II, the old town of Frankfurt was devastated by bombardments of the Allied Air Forces. St. Bartholomew's suffered severe damage. The interior was burned out completely. It was restored in the 1950s.
Definitely worth a stop in Frankfurt.
