MacQueen

St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral (Kaiserdom)
Holy Roman Emperors were elected at this Catholic church starting in 1152 and crowned here 
between 1562 and 1792. The cathedral was gutted by fire in 1867 and had to be rebuilt. 
It was seriously damaged in World War II, but repaired and reopened in 1953. Though the 
cathedral is free, you must pay to access two sights within the church: a museum 
(not particularly interesting) and a 328-step tower climb with city views at the top.

Cost and Hours: Cathedral—free, Mon-Thu and Sat 9:00-20:00, Fri and Sun from 13:30, 
www.dom-frankfurt.de; museum—€2, Wed-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun from 11:00, closed Mon-Tue, 
enter from church vestibule, www.dommuseum-frankfurt.de; tower—€3, Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, 
Sat-Sun from 11:00, closed Mon and in bad weather, shorter hours Nov-March; 
+49 69 7808 9255, www.domturm-frankfurt.de.

Visiting the Cathedral: Enter through the glass-and-metal doors of the vestibule. 
Note the painted white lines that imitate mortar between stones. This illusionist 
architecture was a popular technique for churches. Frescoes from the 15th century 
survive (flanking the high altar and ringing the choir). They show 27 scenes from 
the life of St. Bartholomew. The Electors Chapel (to the right of the altar) is 
where the electors convened to choose the Holy Roman Emperor in the Middle Ages. 
Everything of value that could be moved was taken out of the church before the 
WWII bombs came. The delightful sculpture in the Chapel of Sleeping Mary (to the 
left of the high altar), carved and painted in the 15th century, was too big to 
move—so it was fortified with sandbags. The altarpiece and stained glass next to 
it survived the bombing. As you wander, appreciate the colorful and extravagant 
tombstones embedded in the walls when the church’s cemetery was emptied.