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Sunday, February 6, 2011

St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Michael's Church at Hildesheim

Card no. 103
Another UNESCO postcard from postcrossing

The Church of St. Michael (German: Michaeliskirche) in Hildesheim, Germany, is an early-Romanesque church. Abbey Church of St. Michael's was constructed between 1001 and 1031 under the direction of Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim (993-1022) as the chapel of his Benedictine monastery. Bernward named the church after the archangel Michael, the Christian angel of protection who carries the deceased to heaven, because he planned to be buried in the Michaeliskirche[citation needed]. Bernward's plans were spoiled by his death in 1022, eleven years before the completion and consecration of the church in 1033. Bernward's successor, Godehard, transferred Bernward's remains to the crypt following its completion.
St. Michael's Church was destroyed in an air raid during World War II on 22 March 1945, but reconstruction was begun in 1950 and completed in 1957. In 1985, the church became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, along with the Cathedral of Hildesheim, its collection of medieval treasures and its 1000-year old rosebush. Read more
Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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