Regensburg is a city in south-east Germany, situated at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen Rivers. With over 140,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the fourth-largest city in the State of Bavaria. It is dominated by the magnificent St Peter’s Cathedral. [Wikipedia photo] PLAN
2. SATELLITE VIEW
The Cathedral is precisely in an east-west direction, with the sanctuary at the eastern end. It is Gothic in style, cruciform in shape, and has a (geographical and liturgical!) Eastern apse. Although building on this site dates from c. 700, building of the present Cathedral began in 1273, following a fire in the old cathedral.
3. WEST WALL
During our visit, the North-West corner of the Cathedral was undergoing renovations. The West wall has very impressive and stylish lines with an unusual protruding central triangular entry. It is curious that the outer bottom windows are of differing design. [Wikipedia photo]
4. KING CYRUS
Sculptures representing the four kingdoms mentioned in the prophet Daniel’s vision can be found evenly spaced across the West wall. This statue is just left of the main portal, and shows the Persian King Cyrus on a bear.
5. CRUCIFIX
Below the central gable of the West wall is this large crucifix. A crown surmounts the figure of Jesus, and the round window behind is encircled with a crown of thorns.
6. KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR
King Nebuchadnezzar is another king who appears in Daniel’s vision. He is shown here seated on a lion.
7. NORTH PORTAL
The tympanum above the North door in the West wall shows Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It dates from c. 1410.
8. CENTRAL PORTAL
The central portal is richly decorated with carved figures. In fact the sculptures here are among the outstanding works of art from c. 1400 in Central Europe. Eight of the apostles together with their tabernacles are arranged like a wreath encircling the central pillar.
9. CENTRAL PILLAR
This view shows the apostles on the North side of the pillar.
10. CENTRAL DOORS
The two central doors are simply decorated, and separated by a sculpture of Peter. On the outer sides of the doors at this level are two Roman deacons, St Stephen and St Laurence, and the four apostles not appearing on the central pillar.
11. CENTRAL TYMPANUM
The tympanum is the ‘flat’ semicircular disc above the doors. From the bottom the strips show: the Death and Entombment of the Virgin, her Assumption into Heaven, and the Enthronement of the Madonna crowned as Queen of Heaven.
12. CENTRAL ARCHIVOLTS
The archivolts are the semicircular bands surrounding the tympanum. These contain 22 relief images: The Tree of Jesse, the legend of Joachim and Anne, the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Presentation of the Virgin, Marriage to Joseph, the Annunciation, Childhood of Christ to the Flight into Egypt, and the 12-year-old Christ in the Temple.
13. WEST PORTAL, SOUTH
The tympanum of the South Portal on the West wall shows St Peter Released from Prison, in which the angel folds away the roof of the prison and pulls Peter out. The relief dating from c. 1320 was fitted here c. 1345/50.
14. SOUTH WALL
We round the corner of the Cathedral and come to the South wall. Apart from the immense size, we notice the transept, the line of arches, and, on the second buttress, an old sundial. There is an ongoing project to replace the yellowish limestone blocks (from 19th-century restorations) with white stone blocks from the Czech Republic to better match the original work.
15. SUNDIAL
On the second buttress from the West wall is this 1509 sundial. The top dial reads the hours with midday (XII) at the bottom. Here the shadow points to the number. In the bottom dial, the head of the shadow points to a horizontal hour-line.
16. SOUTH WALL DETAIL
Each buttress features a small sculpted figure, and a vertical sculpture separates each pair of windows. We shall find that the windows on the South side are quite different in final form from those on the North.
17. JUDENSAU
On a Southern buttress of the Cathedral is this so-called ‘Jewish pig’ sculpture. In the High Middle Ages it was a frequent motif of anti-Jewish Christian art, designed to ridicule, marginalize and humiliate Jews, because the pig in Judaism is unclean. This sculpture shows two (headless!) Jews suckling a pig. What happened to Christian love ... ?
18. SOUTH TRANSEPT
The South transept is a grand structure. This enormous Cathedral took some 600 years to build, and the final additions were the completion of the transept gable and ridge turret above the crossing in 1870/72.
19. SOUTH DOORS
The doors of the South transept are very similar in design to the central West doors. Here the tympanum above depicts a crucifixion scene, with two figures below.
20. ARCHES AND GARGOYLES
It is interesting to look along the length of the South wall. At its base is a row of arches, leading through the buttresses. High above is a row of gargoyles which would be spouting water after rain.