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127-463: A chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. In the medieval period, the abbess exercised the functions of a bishop, except for the sacramental ones, and those of a ruler, over the very extensive estates of the abbey, and had no clerical superior except the pope. It was founded about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid (died 874), later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near

254-543: A Bohemian exclave until 1809. Eastern parts were also ruled by Poland between 1002 and 1032, by the Duchy of Jawor , the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland, from 1319 to 1346, and by Hungary from 1469 to 1490, and Pechern (Upper Sorbian: Pěchč ) was part of the Duchy of Żagań , one of the Lower Silesian duchies formed in the course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland, remaining under

381-831: A coalition of Austria, France and Russia against Prussia. Frederick II of Prussia chose to attack preemptively and invaded Saxony in August 1756, precipitating the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War ). The Prussians quickly defeated Saxony and incorporated the Saxon army into the Prussian Army . At the end of the Seven Years' War, Saxony recovered its independence in the 1763 Treaty of Hubertusburg . In 1806, French Emperor Napoleon abolished

508-635: A constitution for the Kingdom of Saxony that served as the basis for its government until 1918. During the 1848–49 constitutionalist revolutions in Germany , Saxony became a hotbed of revolutionaries, with anarchists such as Mikhail Bakunin and democrats including Richard Wagner and Gottfried Semper taking part in the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. (Scenes of Richard Wagner's participation in

635-636: A federalistic and pro-Austrian policy throughout the early 1860s until the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War . During that war, Prussian troops overran Saxony without resistance and then invaded Austrian Bohemia . After the war, Saxony was forced to pay an indemnity and to join the North German Confederation in 1867. Under the terms of the North German Confederation, Prussia took over control of

762-451: A half-hexagon, surrounded by a passageway. A flat niche is located in the middle of the west wall, with the entrances to the two side towers in flat niches on either side of it. The westwork opens toward the double bay through a large arch supported by pillars. An altar dedicated to Saint Peter stands in the west choir in front of this arch. The walls follow the model of the west choir of Aachen Cathedral in their construction, which also has

889-670: A minority of 3.8%. About 0.9% of the Saxons belonged to an Evangelical free church ( Evangelische Freikirche , i.e. various Protestants outside the EKD), 0.3% to Orthodox churches and 1% to other religious communities, while 72.6% did not belong to any public-law religious society. The Moravian Church (see above) still maintains its religious centre in Herrnhut and it is there where 'The Daily Watchwords ' (Losungen) are selected each year which are in use in many churches worldwide. In particular in

1016-401: A processional entrance to the church. Instead, the squat structure offered an optical counterpoint to the massive east part of the building. From the outside the westwork appears to be composed of three towers, which envelop the west choir, which takes the form of a crossing which has been divided in half. No similar structure is known. There is a west choir in the central room in the shape of

1143-605: A royal estate called Astnidhi , which later gave its name to the religious house and the town. The first abbess was Altfrid's kinswoman, Gerswit. Altfrid also built a church for the canonesses, the Stiftskirche , later known as the Essener Münster and from 1958 as Essen Cathedral . Only women from the highest circles of German nobility were accepted. Because of its advancement by the Liudolfings (the family of

1270-527: Is a significant Buddhist community, which mainly caters to the population of Vietnamese origin, with one Buddhist temple built in 2008 and another one currently under construction. The Sikh faith also maintains a presence in Saxony's three largest cities with three (though small) Gurdwara . The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 124.6 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.7% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power

1397-429: Is a slight musical impurity. There are three large bells in the westwork. The oldest bell was already in place at the end of the thirteenth century. It bears the inscription CHRISTUM DE LIGNO CLAMANTEM DUM SONO SIGNO (When I sound, I signal that Christ calls from the cross). By its construction it is an early gothic three chime bell. The Marybell is the largest of the bells. It bears a longer inscription saying that it

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1524-558: Is exercised through the Domowina . Former Minister President Stanislaw Tillich is of Sorbian ancestry and has been the first leader of a German state from a national minority. As of 2011, 72.6% of people are not affiliated with any religion. The Protestant Church in Germany represents the largest Christian denomination in the state, adhered to by 21.4% of the population. Members of the Roman Catholic Church formed

1651-561: Is located in the choir loft. It has 57 stops in 3 manual divisions and a pedal division, and it has a fourth manual on which the auxiliary organ can be played. The auxiliary organ is located in the west part of the cathedral. It has three manual divisions with ten stops and a pedal division with two stops, and has a significant role in producing sound in the rear region of the Cathedral. Its high pressure and bombard stops are for special solo effects. The three manual divisions can be played on

1778-435: Is located just across the border of Saxony-Anhalt . Leipzig shares, for instance, an S-train system (known as S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland ) and an airport with Halle. Saxony is a parliamentary democracy. A Minister President heads the government of Saxony. Michael Kretschmer has been Minister President since 13 December 2017. Gisela Reetz Ines Fröhlich Gesine Märtens Conrad Clemens Authorized representative of

1905-519: Is the lowest with 1.49. Dresden's fertility rate of 1.58 is the highest of all German cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Saxony is home to the Sorbs . There are currently between 45,000 and 60,000 Sorbs living in Saxony (Upper Lusatia region). Today's Sorb minority is the remainder of the Slavic population that settled throughout Saxony in the early Middle Ages and over time slowly assimilated into

2032-696: Is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Essen , the "Diocese of the Ruhr", founded in 1958. The church, dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian and the Blessed Virgin Mary , stands on the Burgplatz in the centre of the city of Essen , Germany. The minster was formerly the collegiate church of Essen Abbey , founded in about 845 by Altfrid , Bishop of Hildesheim , around which the city of Essen grew up. The present building, which

2159-463: Is uncertain whether these rooms were the same height as the side aisles, as Zimmerman thought on the basis of his excavations or the height of the sidechoir, as in Lange's more recent reconstruction. East of the crossing was the choir with a semicircular end, with the rooms that are accessible from the transepts on either side of it. This first church was destroyed in a fire in 946, which is recorded in

2286-682: Is unrelated to present-day Saxony but the name moved southwards due to certain historical events (see below). The territory of the Free State of Saxony became part of the Holy Roman Empire by the 10th century, when the dukes of Saxony were also kings (or emperors) of the Holy Roman Empire, comprising the Ottonian , or Saxon, dynasty. The Margravate of Meissen was founded in 985 as a frontier march , that soon extended to

2413-663: The Landesdirektion Sachsen  [ de ] . Saxony is a densely populated state if compared with more rural German states such as Bavaria or Lower Saxony . However, the population has declined over time. The population of Saxony began declining in the 1950s due to emigration, a process which accelerated after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After bottoming out in 2013, the population has stabilized due to increased immigration and higher fertility rates. The cities of Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, and

2540-468: The Bundestag . Saxony is divided into 10 districts:   1. Bautzen (BZ)   2. Erzgebirgskreis (ERZ)   3. Görlitz (GR)   4. Leipzig (L)   5. Meissen (MEI) (Meissen)   6. Mittelsachsen (FG)   7. Nordsachsen (TDO)   8. Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (PIR)   9. Vogtlandkreis (V) 10. Zwickau (Z) In addition, three cities have

2667-540: The Cottbus Bezirk . The Free State of Saxony was reconstituted with slightly altered borders in 1990, following German reunification . Besides the formerly Silesian area of Saxony, which was mostly included in the territory of the new Saxony, the free state gained further areas north of Leipzig that had belonged to Saxony-Anhalt until 1952. The highest mountain in Saxony is the Fichtelberg (1,215 m) in

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2794-540: The Duchy of Berg and afterward to Prussia again. The last abbess, Maria Kunigunde von Sachsen, died on 8 April 1826 in Dresden . When in 1958 the Diocese of Essen was created, the former abbey church became Essen Cathedral , to which the abbey's treasury ( Essener Domschatz ), including the famous Golden Madonna of Essen , also passed. The dates of the rule of the abbesses are incompletely preserved. The sequence of

2921-582: The Duchy of Magdeburg , the Altmark and some smaller territories to become the Prussian Province of Saxony , a predecessor of the modern state of Saxony-Anhalt . Lower Lusatia and part of the former Saxe-Wittenberg territory became part of the Province of Brandenburg and the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia became part of the Province of Silesia . The rump Kingdom of Saxony had roughly

3048-592: The Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire , the Kingdom of Saxony , and twice for a republic. The first Free State of Saxony was established in 1918 as a constituent state of the Weimar Republic . After World War II , it was under Soviet occupation before it became part of communist East Germany and was abolished by the government in 1952. Following German reunification , the Free State of Saxony

3175-725: The Holy Helper , Saint Roch on the north wall of the Minster, created shortly after 1500. The baroque period is represented in Essen Minster by two epitaphs . The older, for Abbess Elisabeth von Bergh-s’Heerenberg who died in 1614, contains significant Renaissance elements. This plaque made of black marble in Antwerp is found on the north wall, east of the side bay and shows the Abbess in her official outfit, surrounded by

3302-462: The Holy Roman Empire and established the Electorate of Saxony as a kingdom in exchange for military support. The Elector Frederick Augustus III accordingly became King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony . Frederick Augustus remained loyal to Napoleon during the wars that swept Europe in the following years; he was taken prisoner and his territories were declared forfeit by the allies in 1813, after

3429-570: The Kwisa (Queis) river to the east and as far as the Ore Mountains. In the process of Ostsiedlung , settlement of German farmers in the sparsely populated area was promoted. Around this time, the Billungs , a Saxon noble family, received extensive lands in Saxony. The emperor eventually gave them the title of dukes of Saxony . After Duke Magnus died in 1106, causing the extinction of

3556-596: The Oder-Neisse line was annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union, and, unlike in the aftermath of World War I , the annexing powers were allowed to expel the inhabitants. During the following three years, Poland and Czechoslovakia expelled German-speaking people from their territories, and some of these expellees came to Saxony. Only a small area of Saxony lying east of the Neisse River and centred around

3683-589: The Ottonian Emperors ), the abbey became reichsunmittelbar (an Imperial abbey ) sometime between 874 and 947. Apart from the abbess, the canonesses did not take vows of perpetual celibacy; they lived in some comfort in their houses, with their own staff, and wore secular clothing except when performing clerical roles such as singing the Divine Office . They could travel, and leave the abbey at any time to marry. Its best years began in 973 under

3810-460: The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ). Saxe-Wittenberg, mostly in modern Saxony-Anhalt , became subject to the margravate of Meissen , ruled by the Wettin dynasty in 1423. This established a new and powerful state, occupying large portions of the present Free State of Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria (Coburg and its environs). Although the centre of this state was far to the southeast of

3937-642: The Saxons emerged, from which the subsequent state(s) draw their name. The territory of modern day Saxony and partly of Thuringia since the late 6th century became populated by Polabian Slavs (most prominently tribe of Sorbs ), being conquered by Francia which organized Sorbian March . A legacy of this period is the modern ethnic group of Sorbs in Saxony. Eastern and western parts of present Saxony were ruled by Bohemia at various times between 1075 and 1635 (with some intermissions), and Schirgiswalde (Upper Sorbian: Šěrachów ; Czech : Šerachov ) remained

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4064-628: The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The new minister-president Rudolf Friedrichs (SED), had been a member of the SPD until April 1946. He met his Bavarian counterparts in the U.S. zone of occupation in October 1946 and May 1947, but died suddenly in mysterious circumstances the following month. He was succeeded by Max Seydewitz , a loyal follower of Joseph Stalin . The German Democratic Republic (East Germany), including Saxony,

4191-609: The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG) merged this territory into Saxony. This former Silesian territory broadly corresponded with the Upper Lusatian territory annexed by Prussia in 1815. On 20 October 1946, SVAG organised elections for the Saxon state parliament ( Landtag ), but many people were arbitrarily excluded from candidacy and suffrage, and the Soviet Union openly supported

4318-602: The Western Ore Mountains . There are numerous rivers in Saxony. The Elbe is the most dominant one. The Neisse defines the border between Saxony and Poland. Other rivers include the Mulde and the White Elster . The largest cities and towns in Saxony according to the 31 July 2022 estimate are listed below. Leipzig forms a conurbation with Halle , known as Ballungsraum Leipzig/Halle . The latter city

4445-492: The coats of arms of her ancestors. The second epitaph is that of the Abbess Anna Salome von Salm-Reifferscheidt, which is attributed to Johann Mauritz Gröninger and is found on the north wall of the organ loft. Because of war damage, the Minster has no medieval windows. But among the modern artworks Essen Cathedral Chapter commissioned during the rebuild, were new windows for the church and modern sacral art, which

4572-402: The matroneum galleries. The double bay between the westwork and the nave was maintained. The structure of the nave walls is unknown, but reconstructions based on other churches, especially Susteren Abbey which appears to draw from the new Ottonian church in many aspects, assume an interchange of piers and columns . There were probably wall paintings between the arcades and the windows on

4699-459: The 18th and 19th centuries Saxe-Lauenburg was colloquially called the Duchy of Lauenburg , which was held in a personal union by the Electorate of Hanover from the 18th century to the Napoleonic wars, and in a personal union with Denmark (along with neighbouring Holstein and Schleswig ) for much the 19th century. In 1876 it was absorbed into Prussia as the Duchy of Lauenburg district of

4826-549: The Abbess Mathilde , granddaughter of Otto I and thus herself a Liudolfing, who governed the abbey until 1011. In her time the most important of the art treasures of what is now the Essen Cathedral treasury came to Essen. She acquired from Koblenz the relics of ( Florinus of Remüs ) for the abbey, and donated the processional Cross of Otto and Mathilde . The next two abbesses to succeed her were also from

4953-707: The Abbess Mathilde had made between 973 and 1011. The candelabrum, 2.26 metres high with a span of 1.88 metres is composed of 46 individual cast bronze pieces. The candelabrum symbolises the unity of the Trinity and the Earth with its four cardinal points and the idea of Christ as the light of the World , which will lead the believers home at the Last Judgement ( Book of Revelation ). Other remarkable items in

5080-505: The Abbey complex, as their parish church. The nuns continued to use the Minster. In 1803, Essen Abbey was mediatized by the Kingdom of Prussia . The Minster and all its property was immediately taken over by the parish community of St. Johann Baptist. For the next 150 years the church was their parish church. The name Minster church, which had become established, was retained even though the order no longer existed. As parish church, it served

5207-559: The Cathedral treasury include the so-called Childhood Crown of Otto III , four Ottonian processional crosses , the long-revered Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian , the cover of the Theophanu Gospels, several gothic arm-reliquaries, the largest surviving collection of Burgundian fibula brooches in the world, and the Great Carolingian Gospels. The oldest surviving fitting in the Minster is the column in

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5334-544: The Catholics of Essen's inner city area which significantly increased in population in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Though the first aspirations of setting up a bishopric of the Ruhr were dashed in the 1920s, a new bishopric was formed in 1958 from parts of the dioceses of Münster , Paderborn , and Cologne and Essen Minster was made the cathedral. On 1 January 1958 the first Bishop of Essen, Franz Hengsbach

5461-525: The Cologne Annals Astnide cremabatur (Essen burnt down). Several dedicatory inscriptions for parts of the new church survive from the years 960 to 964, from which it can be concluded that the fire of 946 had only damaged the church. No inscriptions survive for the nave and choir, which were probably retained from the earlier church. The individual stages of construction are uncertain; some parts could have been begun or even completed before

5588-678: The Free State of Saxony under a new constitution enacted on 1 November 1920. In October 1923, when the Communist Party of Germany entered the Social Democratic -led government in Dresden with hidden revolutionary intentions , the Reich government under Chancellor Gustav Stresemann used a Reichsexekution to send troops into Saxony to remove the Communists from the government. The state retained its name and borders during

5715-529: The German speaking society. Many geographic names in Saxony are of Sorbic origin (including the three largest cities Chemnitz , Dresden and Leipzig ). The Sorbic language and culture are protected by special laws and cities and villages in eastern Saxony that are inhabited by a significant number of Sorbian inhabitants have bilingual street signs and administrative offices provide service in both, German and Sorbian. The Sorbs enjoy cultural self-administration which

5842-523: The Liudolfing family and were thus able further to increase the wealth and power of the foundation. In 1228 the abbesses were designated "Princesses" for the first time. From 1300 they took up residence in Schloss Borbeck , where they spent increasing amounts of time. In wartime it was also a refuge for common people. The abbey's territorial lordship, to which belonged the town of Essen that

5969-574: The Ludgeridan crypt of Werden Abbey and those of St Lucius's Church in Essen-Werden . In the east crypt there is a limestone gothic church monument of the Bishop of Hildesheim and founder of Essen, Altfrid , which dates to around 1300 and was probably built under Abbess Beatrix von Holte . This dating is based on the striking similarity of the tomb to saints' graves at Cologne, especially

6096-399: The May 1849 uprising in Dresden are depicted in the 1983 movie Wagner starring Richard Burton as Richard Wagner.) The May uprising in Dresden forced King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to concede further reforms to the Saxon government. In 1854 Frederick Augustus II's brother, King John of Saxony , succeeded to the throne. A scholar, King John translated Dante . King John followed

6223-441: The Minster, it can be concluded that a settlement was in place before the foundation of the Abbey. The modern Essen Minster is the third church building on this site. Foundation walls of its predecessors were excavated in 1952 by Walter Zimmermann. The first church on this site was erected by the founders of Essen Abbey, Bishop Altfrid and Gerswid, according to tradition the first abbess of the order, between 845 and 870. The building

6350-497: The Nazi era as a Gau ( Gau Saxony ), but lost its quasi-autonomous status and its parliamentary democracy. During World War II , under the secret Nazi programme Aktion T4 , an estimated 15,000 people suffering from mental and physical disabilities, as well as a number of concentration camp inmates, were murdered at Sonnenstein killing centre near Pirna . Numerous subcamps of the Buchenwald , Flossenburg and Gross-Rosen concentration camps were operated in Saxony. As

6477-513: The Piast dynasty until 1472. The first medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages " Carolingian stem duchy ", which emerged around the start of the 8th century AD and grew to include the greater part of Northern Germany , what are now the modern German states of Bremen , Hamburg , Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia , Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt . Saxons converted to Christianity during this period, with Charlemagne outlawing pagan practices. This geographical region

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6604-411: The Saxon coat of arms, in many towns of Thuringia, the coat of arms can still be found in historical buildings. The remaining Saxon state became still more powerful, receiving Upper and Lower Lusatia in the Peace of Prague (1635) . It also became known in the 18th century for its cultural achievements, although it was politically weaker than Prussia and Austria , states which oppressed Saxony from

6731-445: The Saxon duchies. However, Sigismund , King of the Romans , had already granted Margrave Frederick IV the Warlike of Meissen ( House of Wettin ) an expectancy of the Saxon electorate in order to remunerate his military support. On 1 August 1425 Sigismund enfeoffed the Wettinian Frederick as Prince-Elector of Saxony, despite the protests of Eric V. Thus the Saxon territories remained permanently separated. The Electorate of Saxony

6858-402: The Saxon postal system, railroads, military and foreign affairs. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Saxon troops fought together with Prussian and other German troops against France. In 1871, Saxony joined the newly formed German Empire . After King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony abdicated on 13 November 1918, Saxony, remaining a constituent state of Germany ( Weimar Republic ), became

6985-408: The Weser and the Elbe remained with the Guelphs, becoming later the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg . The remaining eastern lands, together with the title of Duke of Saxony, passed to an Ascanian dynasty (descended from Eilika Billung , Wulfhild's younger sister) and were divided in 1260 into the two small states of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg . The former state was also named Lower Saxony ,

7112-421: The abbesses between Gerswid II and Ida is uncertain, particularly regarding the Abbess Agana. Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon Saxony Saxony , officially the Free State of Saxony , is a landlocked state of Germany , bordering the states of Brandenburg , Saxony-Anhalt , Thuringia , and Bavaria , as well as

7239-528: The abbey signed a contract with the Dukes of Cleves and Mark regarding the inheritance of the Vogtei , whereby it lost some of its political independence in that it was no longer able to choose its own Vogt . Princess Abbess Franziska Christine founded an orphanage for the Essen Abbey Region near Steele . From 1802 the territory was occupied by Prussian troops. The abbey was dissolved in 1803. The spiritual territory of 8 square kilometres (3 square miles) passed to Prussia , then between 1806/1807 to 1813 to

7366-425: The altar room gave direct access to the crypt. The near choirs contained matronea , which were open to the transepts and the main choir. the outer walls of the ends of the transepts were made two stories high, with the upstairs portion composed of three niches with windows. On the ground floor were niches, and the pattern of niches continued on the side walls. A walkway ran along the walls above these niches, leading to

7493-423: The art loving Abbess Mathilde, but maybe only under Abbess Theophanu (r. 1039–1058). Possibly, a new building was begun under Mathilde and completed under Theophanu. Significant portions survive from the new Ottonian building. The expansion of the new Ottonian building was predetermined by its two predecessors. The greater part of the foundations were reused; only in locations where the stresses were increased or

7620-424: The baptismal and parish church of the abbey's subjects. Otherwise the atrium probably retains the form established between 1060 and 1080. The next extension of the church complex was an attachment to the southern transept in the twelfth century. The upper floor of this very large building contained the sectarium , where the order's papers and acts were kept and which also served as the treasury chamber. Underneath it

7747-402: The baroquification of the eighteenth century, the re-gothificisation of the nineteenth century and the war damage of the twentieth century, there are only a few pieces of the earlier fittings of the Minster, but some remains of great significance do survive. The interior is comparatively simple, especially in its architecture, whose subtle beauty is overlooked by many visitors because the lustre of

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7874-485: The bells of St. Johann Baptist in 1787. These two bells are inscribed Ave Maria Trösterin 1955 (Hail Mary, Counselor, 1955) and Ave Maria Königin 1955 (Hail Mary, Queen, 1955). The third bell in the flèche bears the inscription WEI GOT WEL DEINEN DEI BIDDE VOR DE KRESTEN SEELEN AN 1522 (He who serves God well prays for the Christian souls, Y(ear) of O(ur Lord) 1522). Essen Cathedral chapter includes six resident and four non-resident Cathedral capitular vicars under

8001-433: The central city. The Minster caught fire and suffered heavy damage – the oldest parts of the building, the westwork and the crypt were less heavily damaged. The decision to rebuild was made unanimously in the first meeting of the city council organised by them after the city's occupation by allied troops, under the communist mayor Heinz Renner. The war damage also enabled extensive archaeological excavations to be carried out in

8128-422: The choir, which now supports a modern crucifix. Until the fifteenth century it supported a cross coated with a gilt copper sheet, from which the donation plate and probably other remains in the Cathedral treasury were made. The Latin inscription ISTAM CRUCEM (I)DA ABBATISSA FIERI IUSSIT (Abbess Ida ordered this cross to be made) allows the creator to be identified with the Essen Abbess Ida, who died in 971, though

8255-402: The church by Walter Zimmermann. These provided a large amount of information about the predecessors of the modern church and about the burials in the church. The rebuilding was begun in 1951 and proceeded apace. By 1952 the westwerk and the nave were usable once more and the rest of the church was rebuilt by 1958. Even the northside of the cloisters, which had collapsed in the nineteenth century,

8382-429: The city was a Free city or belonged to the order, mostly joined the revolution, but the Abbesses and Canons of the order (and therefore the church buildings) remained Catholic. The Protestant burgers of the city took over St Gertrude's Church, the present-day Market Church, which was not connected to the Abbey's buildings, while the burgers who remained Catholic continued to use the Church of St. Johann Baptist, located in

8509-436: The close political and cultural relationship persisted well into the 19th century, with Saxony being the place of preparations for the Polish Kościuszko Uprising against the partitioning powers, and one of the chief destinations for Polish refugees from partitioned Poland, including the artistic and political elite, such as composer Frédéric Chopin , war hero Józef Bem and writer Adam Mickiewicz . In 1756, Saxony joined

8636-432: The commissioner of the painting, the Abbess Theophanu (whose name is from the Greek for Divine apparition ) Through the installation of the crypt, the floor of the main (east) choir was raised above the floor level of the nave and transepts. The side choirs remained on the same level as the nave and transepts. The crypt consists of the three aisled crypt of Agana, an inner crypt, and a five-sided outer crypt. The entrance to

8763-419: The countries of Poland and the Czech Republic . Its capital is Dresden , and its largest city is Leipzig . Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres (7,109 sq mi), and the sixth most populous , with more than 4 million inhabitants. The term Saxony has been in use for more than a millennium. It was used for the medieval Duchy of Saxony ,

8890-430: The crossing. The cloister was also expanded. The whole new building was consecrated on the 8th of July, probably of 1316. The 8th of July is celebrated to this day as the Minster's anniversary. In the eighteenth century, the church was baroquified . The tower over the crossing was replaced with a narrow flèche . The windows of the south side of the cathedral were widened and lost their Gothic tracery . The steep roofs of

9017-437: The defeat of Napoleon. Prussia intended the annexation of Saxony but the opposition of Austria , France, and the United Kingdom to this plan resulted in the restoration of Frederick Augustus to his throne at the Congress of Vienna although he was forced to cede the northern part of the kingdom to Prussia, which led to the loss of nearly 60% of the Saxon territory, and 40% of its population. Most of these lands were merged with

9144-402: The earlier churches, the westwork is only a little wider than the aisles of the nave. From the outside, the westwork appears as an almost square central tower crowned by an octagonal belfry with a pyramidal roof. At the west end there were two octagonal side towers, containing staircases to the belfry, which reached to just below the bell story of the belfry. The bell story of the central tower and

9271-570: The east wall of the outer pillar have sandstone plates on which 9 September 1051 is given as the date of the crypt's consecration. There are relics in the altars of the crypt. A short time after the completion of the Ottonian church, the atrium was renovated, probably under Suanhild, the successor of the Abbess Theophanu. In 1471, the atrium was reduced with the renovation and expansion of the church of St. Johann Baptist , which served as

9398-489: The fact that Cardinal Hengsbach was a co-founder of the episcopal charity Bischöfliche Aktion Adveniat  [ de ] , the remains of a canon who had been buried in the atrium in the Middle Ages and discovered during the excavations was buried and in 1991 the cardinal was interred there as well. On 10 October 2004, the newly built south side chapel was dedicated to the memory and veneration of Nikolaus Groß , who

9525-524: The fifth century BC. Notable archaeological sites have been discovered in Dresden and the villages of Eythra and Zwenkau near Leipzig. The Germanic presence in the territory of today's Saxony is thought to have begun in the first century BC. Parts of Saxony were possibly under the control of the Germanic King Marobod during the Roman era. By the late Roman period, several tribes known as

9652-479: The fire. Taking advantage of necessary renovations to expand the church enclosure was not unusual. The new parts, presumably built at the order of the abbesses Agana and Hathwig, were an outer crypt , a westwork and a narthex and an external chapel of St John the Baptist . This building can be reconstructed from archaeological finds and did not have a long existence, because a new church was erected, perhaps under

9779-478: The first bishop, said during his lifetime that he wished to make use of his right to be buried within his cathedral church, but not in the Ottonian crypt with Saint Altfrid . In order to fulfill this wish, a west crypt with an entrance in the old westwork was installed under the atrium between 1981 and 1983 by the cathedral architect Heinz Bohmen and decorated with cast concrete sculpture by Emil Wachter  [ de ] . In this Adveniat crypt, whose name reflects

9906-415: The floorplan differed were new foundations laid. The new building also had three aisles with a transept and a choir shaped like the earlier choirs. A crypt was now built below the choir. The choir was closed with a semi-circular apse , which was encased within a half decagon. A two-story outer crypt was connected to the choir, the west walls of which formed the east walls of the side choirs. Towers next to

10033-571: The former Saxony, it came to be referred to as Upper Saxony and then simply Saxony , while the former Saxon territories in the north were now known as Lower Saxony (the modern term Niedersachsen deriving from this). In 1485, Saxony was split in the Treaty of Leipzig . A collateral line of the Wettin princes received what later became Thuringia and founded several small states there (see Ernestine duchies ). Since these princes were allowed to use

10160-436: The fourth manual of the main console, and each can also be coupled separately to its other manuals. There are bells in the belfry of the westwork and also in the flèche over the crossing. The ringing of the Minster is expanded tonally by the ringing of the attached church of St. Johann Baptist , whose bells, cast in 1787, are not tonally matched to the somewhat older bells of the Minster, so that when they ring together there

10287-403: The free state Saxony to the federal government of Germany In the 2024 European Parliament election , AfD received the highest percentage of votes in Saxony, winning 31.8% of the ballots. The other states where AfD has become the strongest party are Thuringia , Saxony-Anhalt , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and Brandenburg . These four states were part of East Germany like Saxony. Compared to

10414-585: The frieze depicting the Stations of the Cross in the nave are the work of the Austrian artist Toni Schneider-Manzell  [ de ] . The minster's new organ was inaugurated in 2004. It was built by the renowned organbuilder Rieger of Schwarzach , which was founded by Franz Rieger . The instrument consists of two organs, and has 69 stops altogether (5,102 pipes, 95 organ stops ). The main instrument

10541-547: The grave of St. Irmgard in Cologne Cathedral . The sandstone sculptural group, called the "Entombment of Christ" (Grablegung Christi) in the southern side chapel is from the late Gothic period. The unknown Cologne Master who created it in the first quarter of the sixteenth century is known by the notname Master of the Carben Monument . Another sculpture from the early sixteenth century is the sculpture of

10668-628: The hub of abbey life. The church was neither a parish church, nor a cathedral church, but primarily served the nuns of the abbey. Its position was therefore comparable to a convent church, but a more worldly version, since the nuns at Essen did not obey the Benedictine Rule , but the Institutio sanctimonialium , the canonical rule for female monastic communities issued in 816 by the Aachen Synod . The canonical hours and masses of

10795-415: The inner crypt was from east side of the side choir, through which one passed into the outer crypt. The outer crypt had square and elongated rectangular vaults, separated by delicate square pillars. The three central vaults in the east were especially accentuated. Along the east wall in the two side vaults were semicircular niches. In the central vault was a small choir with three niches. The engaged pillars of

10922-685: The larger cities, there are numerous smaller religious communities. The international Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a presence in the Freiberg Germany Temple which was the first of its kind in Germany, opened in 1985 even before its counterpart in Western Germany. It now also serves as a religious center for the church members in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia , and Hungary . In Leipzig, there

11049-458: The last election, AfD increased their votes in Saxony which was 25.3% in the 2019 European Parliament election . CDU/CSU received 21.8% of the votes in Saxony and became the second strongest party in the 2024 EP election. BSW was in the third place by receiving 12.6% of the votes. The Left lost a significant proportion of their votes compared to the 2019 election. Their votes regressed from 11.7% to 4.9%. Saxony has 16 constituencies for

11176-612: The latter Upper Saxony , thence the later names of the two Imperial Circles Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. Both claimed the Saxon electoral privilege for themselves, but the Golden Bull of 1356 accepted only Wittenberg's claim, with Lauenburg nevertheless continuing to maintain its claim. In 1422, when the Saxon electoral line of the Ascanians became extinct, the Ascanian Eric V of Saxe-Lauenburg tried to reunite

11303-580: The male line of Billungs, oversight of the duchy was given to Lothar of Supplinburg , who also became emperor for a short time. In 1137, control of Saxony passed to the Guelph dynasty, descendants of Wulfhild Billung, eldest daughter of the last Billung duke, and the daughter of Lothar of Supplinburg. In 1180 large portions west of the Weser were ceded to the Bishops of Cologne , while some central parts between

11430-584: The new Gothic style. The form of the hall church was chosen, in complete contrast with Cologne Cathedral – the Essen order had to ward off the Archbishop of Cologne 's claims to authority and the nuns wished to express their integrity and independence through the form of their building. Two architects worked alongside each other on the rebuild, of which the first, a Master Martin, quit in 1305 because of disputes with Abbess Beatrix von Holte. Master Martin, who

11557-565: The north and south, respectively. Between 1697 and 1763, two successive Electors of Saxony were also elected Kings of Poland in personal union . Many landmarks in Saxony date from this period and contain remnants of the former close Polish-Saxon relation, such as the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on the facades and in the interiors of palaces, churches, edifices, etc. (e.g. Zwinger , Dresden Cathedral , Moritzburg Castle ), and on numerous mileposts, and

11684-579: The order and the people of the city of Essen only on the high feast days. Otherwise, the Church of St. Johann Baptist , which had developed out of the Ottonian baptistry, or the Church of St Gertrude (now the Market Church) served as their place of worship. The Reformation had no effect on the Minster. The burgers of the city of Essen, who maintained a long-standing dispute with the order about whether

11811-408: The order occurred in the Minster, as well as prayers for deceased members of the community, the noble sponsors of the order and their ancestors. The number of nuns from the nobility which the church served varied over the centuries between about seventy during the order's heyday under the Abbess Mathilde in the tenth century and three in the sixteenth century. The church was open to the dependents of

11938-520: The oversight of the Cathedral provost . At present two of the resident positions are vacant and one of the non-resident positions. Under the Concordat of 1929 the right to elect the bishop was given to the chapter, alongside their existing duties concerned with liturgical celebrations in the high church, selection of a Diocesan administrator , advising and supporting the bishop in the government of

12065-516: The parish church of the abbey's subjects. To the north of the minster is a cloister that once served the abbey. Essen Minster is noted for its treasury ( Domschatz ), which among other treasures contains the Golden Madonna , the oldest fully sculptural figure of Mary north of the Alps. From the foundation of the first church until 1803, Essen Minster was the Abbey church of Essen Abbey and

12192-448: The period of the abbess Mathilde and depicts Mary as a heavenly queen, holding power over the Earth on behalf of her son. The figure, which was originally carried in processions, was probably placed in Essen because of Mathilde's relationship to the Ottonian dynasty . The figure, which is more than a thousand years old, was comprehensively restored in 2004. In the centre of the westwork the monumental seven-arm candelabrum now stands, which

12319-556: The region of Saxony has sometimes been referred to as Upper Saxony or Obersachsen in German to distinguish it from Lower Saxony. The state is also home to a minority of Sorbs , a West Slavic ethnic group native to the area, numbering an estimated 80,000 people. Saxony has a long history as a duchy , an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire (the Electorate of Saxony ), and finally as a kingdom (the Kingdom of Saxony ). In 1918, after Germany's defeat in World War I , its monarchy

12446-581: The renovation of 1880 the church also received its current roofing design and a neo-Gothic flèche on the crossing. On the night of the 5th and 6 March 1943, 442 aircraft of the Royal Air Force carried out a raid on the city of Essen, which was important to the German war effort because of the Krupp steel works . In less than an hour, 137,000 incendiary bombs and 1,100 explosive bombs were dropped on

12573-642: The same extent as the present state, albeit slightly smaller. Meanwhile, in 1815, the Kingdom of Saxony joined the German Confederation . In the politics of the Confederation, Saxony was overshadowed by Prussia and Austria. King Anthony of Saxony came to the throne of Saxony in 1827. Shortly thereafter, liberal pressures in Saxony mounted and broke out in revolt during 1830—a year of revolution in Europe. The revolution in Saxony resulted in

12700-515: The sister of Abbess Theophanu, Ida , Abbess of St. Maria im Kapitol in Cologne has also been suggested. The column itself is probably ancient spolia , going by fluted pedestal and the Attic basis of the column. The capital was carved in antiquity , though exceptionally richly carved for that period. Stylistically it is related to the capitals of the west end and the crypt, as well as those of

12827-422: The status of an urban district ( German : kreisfreie Städte ): Between 1990 and 2008, Saxony was divided into the three regions ( Regierungsbezirke ) of Chemnitz , Dresden , and Leipzig . After the 2008 Saxony district reform , these regions – with some alterations of their respective areas – were called Direktionsbezirke . In 2012, the authorities of these regions were merged into one central authority,

12954-471: The town of Reichenau (Bogatynia) was annexed by Poland. Traditional close relations of Saxony with neighbouring German-speaking Egerland were thus completely destroyed, making the border of Saxony along the Ore Mountains a linguistic border. Part of the former Prussian province of Lower Silesia lay west of the Oder-Neisse line and therefore was separated from the bulk of its former province;

13081-469: The towns of Radebeul and Markkleeberg in their vicinity, have seen their populations increase since 2000. The following tables illustrate the foreign resident populations and the population of Saxony from 1816 to 2022: The average number of children per woman in Saxony was 1.60 in 2018, the fourth-highest rate of all German states. Within Saxony, the highest is the Bautzen district with 1.77, while Leipzig

13208-431: The two very important medieval artworks of the Cathedral outshines it. The Minster possesses a Cathedral Treasury, which is open to the public. The most important treasure of the church, the Golden Madonna , has been displayed in the northern side chapel since 1959. This is the oldest fully sculptured statue of Mary , the patron saint of the diocese, in the world. The 74 cm high figure of gilded poplar , dates from

13335-428: The uppermost stories of the side towers have arched windows. Two story side rooms with arched windows on the upper floor are attached to the north and south sides of the central tower. On the ground floor of these side rooms, doors set in niches lead into the church – the central entrance of the earlier church was abandoned and a large, round-arched window installed in its place. With that, the westwork ceased to operate as

13462-412: The use of the octagon as a belfry in common. On the ground floor there are three arches divided by hexagonal pillars. There are two levels of arch openings of the upper level in colonnades, with recycled ancient capitals on the columns. The westwork was richly decorated, with the Last Judgement painted from the half-cupola to the nave. The painting shows the appearance of Jesus to (it has been concluded)

13589-401: The walls, since remains of wall paintings have been found in the westwork. Outside, the clerestory of the nave had a structure of pilasters and volute capitals, probably with twelve windows. The belief that the unknown architect of Essen Abbey church was one of the best architects of his time is based particularly on the westwork , which even today is the classic view of the church. As in

13716-785: The war drew to its end, U.S. troops under General George Patton occupied the western part of Saxony in April 1945, while Soviet troops occupied the eastern part. That summer, the entire state was handed over to Soviet forces as agreed in the London Protocol of September 1944 . Britain, the US, and the USSR then negotiated Germany's future at the Potsdam Conference . Under the Potsdam Agreement , all German territory East of

13843-549: The westwork were replaced with baroque onion domes and the bell story received a clock. In the interior a large part of the old interior decoration was removed and replaced, so that only a few pieces of the gothic decoration have survived, which are no longer in their proper context. In 1880 the fashionable view of the gothic as the uniquely German architectural style reached Essen and the baroque additions were undone, as far as possible. The westwork returned to its previous appearance, when Essen architect and art historian Georg Humann

13970-402: Was beatified in 2001. The whole church, together with the church of St. Johann Baptist on the front is 90 metres long. Its width varies between 24 and 31 metres at the transepts at the start of the Cathedral treasury. The height varies also: The volume of the Minster is roughly 45,000 m³, volume of the masonry is about 10,000 m³. The building weighs roughly 25,000 tonnes. As a result of

14097-626: Was 28,100 euros or 93% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the highest of the states of the former GDR. Saxony has a "very high" Human Development Index value of 0.930 (2018), which is at the same level as Denmark. Within Germany Saxony is ranked 9th . Essen Cathedral Essen Minster (German: Essener Münster ), since 1958 also Essen Cathedral ( Essener Dom )

14224-464: Was a church builder from Burgundy and Champagne , as shown by details of his ornamentation, also knew the design idiom of Cologne and Trier cathedral construction workshops, was responsible for the overall design. This included at first a long choir like that of St Vitus's Church, Mönchengladbach . Afterwards this concept was given up under the management of Master Martin and a hall church inspired by St. Elizabeth's Church , Marburg (begun 1235)

14351-406: Was a three aisled basilica with a west-east orientation. Its central and side aisles already approached the width of the later churches on the site. West of the nave was a small, almost square narthex . The arms of the transeptsmet at a rectangular crossing , which was the same height as the nave. Rooms in the east ends of the side aisle were accessible only from the arms of the transepts. It

14478-560: Was able to effect its gothicisation. The baroque interior decoration was also removed; a side altar is now employed as the high altar of the adoration church of St. Johann Baptist in front of the Minster. Some saint statues are found there, others in the Cathedral Treasury Chamber. The decoration made to replace the baroque pieces fell victim to the Second World War , so that little of it now survives. During

14605-406: Was built, which was built over the outer crypt. The successor to Master Martin's name is not known. His design idiom is more strongly Westphalian , but he continued the plan of his predecessor and brought it to completion. The original, shallow roofs of the octagon and the side towers were replaced with steeper caps; the side towers were also raised by a story. The Gothic church gained a tower above

14732-405: Was cast in 1546. The bell was cast in Essen itself, in the modern Burgplatz. The third bell in the westwork lacks an inscription, but its shape marks it as fourteenth-century. The flèche holds three more bells, two of which were cast in 1955 by the bell founders Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock of Gescher , who thereby brought their foundry back to the bell-making tradition, since their foundry had cast

14859-459: Was centered on the monastery, grew up between the Emscher and the Ruhr , The town's efforts to become an independent Imperial city were frustrated by the abbey in 1399 and again, conclusively, in 1670. In the north of the territory was located the abbey's monastery of Stoppenberg, founded in 1073; to the south was the collegiate foundation of Rellinghausen. Also among the possessions of the abbey

14986-669: Was consecrated by the Nuncio Aloisius Joseph Muench . Since then Essen Minster has been the religious heart of the diocese. The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1987 marked the high point of the Minster's thousand-year history. The site of the cathedral was already settled before the foundation of the Abbey. The Bishop of Hildesheim , Altfrid (r.847-874) is supposed to have founded the order of nuns on his estate, called Asnide (i.e. Essen). A direct attestation of Asnide has not yet been found. But from postholes , Merovingian pottery sherds and burials found near

15113-591: Was established in 1949 out of the Soviet zone of Occupied Germany , becoming a constitutionally socialist state , part of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact , under the leadership of the SED . In 1952 the government abolished the Free State of Saxony, and divided its territory into three Bezirke : Leipzig , Dresden , and Karl-Marx-Stadt (formerly and currently Chemnitz ). Areas around Hoyerswerda were also part of

15240-422: Was overthrown and a republican form of government was established under the current name. The state was broken up into smaller units during communist rule (1949–1989), but was re-established on 3 October 1990 on the reunification of East and West Germany . In prehistoric times, the territory of present-day Saxony was the site of some of the largest of the ancient central European monumental temples , dating from

15367-530: Was reconstituted with enlarged borders in 1990 and became one of the five new states of the Federal Republic of Germany. The area of the modern state of Saxony should not be confused with Old Saxony , the area inhabited by Saxons . Old Saxony corresponds roughly to the modern German states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and the Westphalian portion of North Rhine-Westphalia . Historically

15494-459: Was reconstructed after its destruction in World War II , is a Gothic hall church , built after 1275 in light-coloured sandstone . The octagonal westwork and the crypt are survivors of the Ottonian pre-Romanesque building that once stood here. The separate Church of St. Johann Baptist stands at the west end of the minster, connected to the westwork by a short atrium – it was formerly

15621-429: Was repaired. The neo-gothic flèche from the previous century was replaced by a narrower, lightning-proof flèche, completing the modern external appearance of the church. The completely repaired church became the seat of the newly founded Diocese of Essen in 1958. The abbey never grew beyond the limits of the Ottonian church. The transformation into a cathedral made a new expansion necessary. Cardinal Franz Hengsbach ,

15748-864: Was the area around Huckarde , on the borders of the County of Dortmund and separated from the territory of Essen by the County of the Mark . Approximately 3,000 farms in the area owed dues to the abbey, in Vest Recklinghausen , on the Hellweg and around Breisig and Godesberg . From 1512 to its dissolution the Imperial abbey belonged to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle . The abbey's Vögte were, in sequence: In 1495

15875-568: Was the open hall, which was closed at a later time and was used for judicial purposes by the court. This building is now part of the Essen Cathedral Treasury Chamber. In 1275, the Ottonian church burnt down, with only the westwork and the crypt surviving. In the rebuild, which occurred in the time of the Abbesses Berta von Arnsberg and Beatrix von Holte , the architect combined aspects of the old church with

16002-517: Was then merged with the much larger Wettinian Margraviate of Meissen ; however, it used the higher-ranking title Electorate of Saxony and even the Ascanian coat-of-arms for the entire monarchy. Thus Saxony came to include Dresden and Meissen . Hence, the territory of the modern Free State of Saxony shares the name with the old Saxon stem duchy for historical and dynastic reasons rather than any significant ethnic, linguistic or cultural connection. In

16129-426: Was to be in harmony with the older elements of the building. The window of St Michael and the windows of the gallery are by Heinrich Campendonk , the choir windows by Ludwig Gies , those of the nave by Wilhelm Buschulte and the windows of the crypt are by Alfred Manessier . The altar frieze is the work of sculptor Elmar Hillebrand and his student Ronald Hughes. The bronze doors of the atrium and church as well as

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