The Cathedral of Hildesheim

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Karl Bernhard Kruse (†)
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology ; Art History
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 239111112

In the early Middle Ages Hildesheim played a key role in the German Reich and the monuments commissioned by bishops of the time are of great importance in the Western art and architecture. The foundations and the walls of the cathedral date back to the establishment of the bishopric by Kaiser Ludwig der Fromme in 815 or possibly further back to the Saxony era around the year 800. They have survived many events including the fire of 1046, the restoration of 1840/50 and the destruction in 1945. Written sources stretch back to the dawn of the modern times which is largely not the case for other German cathedrals. However, as yet, there is no complete scientific work. In particular the results of excavations by Joseph Bohland around 1950 have yet to be examined in detail. Since 1986 indications have been found on the cathedral hill which lead to a new interpretation of observations and written sources, which I have published in my Habilitation (Kruse, 2000) The current wide-reaching excavations started in summer 2009 and continued until February 2013. As a result the following main problems have received renewed attention and some have been solved: Where was Ludwig der Frommens first chapel built and what was its appearance? Was there a settlement before this? Where exactly was the first bishops cathedral built, how large was it and what was the extent of the building in the first half of the ninth century? What was the appearance of Bishop Altfrids cathedral and how was it organised in a liturgical sense? What was the level of involvement of each of the Bishops Bernward (993-1022) and Godehard (1022-1038) at the turn of eleventh century on the magnificent Westwerk, which involved the world-famous Bronze Doors? What was destroyed during the fire in the cathedral in 1046 and how and why did Azelin build a new unfinished cathedral in the west? What were the alterations to the cathedral during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? Only a satisfactorily equipped inter-disciplinary collaboration for the evaluation of all observations and findings will be able to achieve new insights for a scientific consolidation of the architecture of the Hildesheim Cathedral in the context of the city and state history (Oswald, 2003). Inter-regional aspects in comparison with other recent cathedral excavations should be included e.g. those in Magdeburg, Osnabrück and Paderborn, as well as Auxerre and Reims in France. Other disciplines including anthropology, archaeometallurgy and the technology of building materials (mortar analysis) will definitely be involved.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants