Worms - Cathedral

Worms, one of the oldest towns in Germany, was an early bishopric in the valley of the Rhine river and an important palatinate of Charlemagne, who built a palace here.

Burchard of Worms, bishop since 1000, had the older carolingian church dismantled and started the construction of the cathedral, dedicated to St Peter. In 1018 this church got consecrated - the first time.

In 1122 the Concordat of Worms was signed here, ending the Investiture Controversy. In 1521 the Diet of Worms, a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire, took place here, presided by Emperor Charles V. Martin Luther said the sentence "Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me" here. After that he was declared an outlaw.

Parts of the basilica collapsed and got rebuilt. The most parts of the cathedral seen today was constructed between 1125 and the end of that century. The church has two choirs (east and west) and is 110 meters long. During the Nine Years' War, the french troops tried to blew up the building, but failed.

Another pair of lions on another window sill of the eastern façade.
The left lion is just killing a poor human with a long mustache and a giant chin. The black lion to the right may be a mother, protecting her cub, a theme similar to the carving in Andlau (Alsace).

It is difficult to take photos of the façade, as the neighbouring buildings are very close to it. This black lioness is the only clearly weathered carving on this side. All other, like the left lion, by her side look mint and may be copies of the old ones. The cathedral got severely damaged end of WWII - and reconstructed in the 1950s.