Brunswick Cathedral
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The Brunswick Cathedral, in the City of Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany, is a large Lutheran church dedicated to Saint Blaise and was built by Henry the Lion from 1173 to 1195. While commonly called a cathedral, it is not actually a seat of a bishop.
The construction was disrupted several times during the various exiles of Henry, so he and his consort Matilda, Duchess of Saxony were both buried in an unfinished church. The limestone statues on the tomb in the nave are an idealised representation made one generation after their death, between 1230 and 1240. The cathedral was consecrated on December 29, 1226, dedicated to Saints Blaise, John the Baptist and Thomas Becket. It turned Protestant in 1543 after the City of Brunswick in opposition to Duke Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel had joined the Schmalkaldic League.
Among the most important pieces on display in the church are a wooden crucifix by Master Imervard (second half of the 12th century) and one of very few huge bronze candlesticks with seven arms, from around 1170-1180.
The Cathedral is also the burial place of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of George IV of the United Kingdom. Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg is also buried here.
[edit] Other burials
- Henry the Lion (1129-1195)
- Matilda, Duchess of Saxony (1156-1189), his wife
- Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen (1060-1090)
- Gertrude of Brunswick (1060-1117), his sister
- Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1175/76-1218)
- Empress Beatrice of Hohenstaufen (1198-1212), his wife
- Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1671-1735)
- Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen (1671-1747), his wife
- Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1636-1687),
- Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1680–1735), his son, Duke Louis Rudolph's son-in-law and successor
- Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1713–1780), his son
- Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1718-1788), his brother, Captain-General of the Dutch Republic from 1750 to 1766
- Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick (1721-1792), his brother, Prussian field marshal from 1758 to 1766
- Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (1735–1806), Charles' I son, killed at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
- Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1771-1815), his son, the Black Duke, killed at the Battle of Quatre Bras
- William, Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884), his son, last descendant of the House of Brunswick-Bevern
- Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1771-1815), his son, the Black Duke, killed at the Battle of Quatre Bras
- Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (1735–1806), Charles' I son, killed at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
- Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1680–1735), his son, Duke Louis Rudolph's son-in-law and successor
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 52°15′51″N 10°31′27″E / 52.26417°N 10.52417°E
