Photos

This is the Cathedral of Altenberg (Altenberger Dom).

It was a part of a convent of the Cistercians which
was opened there in 1133.
Graf Adolf IV. laid the foundation stone on March 3rd
1259, so the cathedral, which actually is not a real
cathedral because it is not the center of a diocese,
is as old as the Cologne Cathedral.

after the secularization in 1803 the convent was bought
by the merchant Johann Heinrich Pleunissen.
he leased it to Gottfried Wöllner und Friedrich Mannes
who turned the area into a chemical plant.
in 1815 a fire destroyed convent buildings and the
roof of the cathedral and in 1834 the church was
acquired by Franz Egon von Fürstenberg-Stammheim who started the restoration.
from September 15th, 1856 on the church was used for
catholic and protestant church services.
more restoration-phases were 1894-1912 and in the 1960s.

the west-window which was finished in the early 15th
century is the largest gothic church window north of
the alps and shows the heavenly Jerusalem.


[see also: Wiki Altenberger Dom [german].]