page_title: Münster Cathedral
section_title: High Gothic Portal (c.1400)
hierarchical_section_title: Münster Cathedral / Construction of the modern cathedral / Former West Portal / High Gothic Portal (c.1400)
caption_attribution_description: Outer view on the "Westwerk" (west-portal) of the cathedral of Münster, Westphalia, Germany
context_page_description: Münster Cathedral or St.-Paulus-Dom is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster in Germany, and is dedicated to St Paul. It is counted among the most significant church buildings in Münster and, along with the City Hall, is one of the symbols of the city.
  The cathedral stands in the heart of the city, on a small hill called Horsteberg, which is encircled by the Roggenmarkt, Prinzipalmarkt and Rothenburg streets and by the Münstersche Aa river. This area, which also contains the Domplatz and surrounding buildings, was the old Domburg. Today the cathedral is the parish church for this area. West of the cathedral lies the bishop's palace and part of the old curia complex along with the current cathedral chapter.
  The cathedral had two predecessors. The first cathedral stood to the north of the current cathedral; the second cathedral was built in the tenth or eleventh century and was demolished during the construction of the third and current cathedral between 1225 and 1264. The imposing westwerk with its nearly identical towers was built as part of the second cathedral around 1192 and was incorporated into the current building.
context_section_description: Around 1400 a (first) portal in the High Gothic style was installed in the west wall of the Old Choir, in the same location as the later portal in the late gothic style (see below).
  The niches of the recesses containing the doors were decorated with sculptures. It is assumed that a Siren, a lamb and a lion decorated the left side, while a Phoenix, a Pelican and an eagle. Additional decoration consisted of Wimperg and corbels decorated with foliage and long-haired, crowned female heads. These were very severely damaged during the Baptist rule of Munster in 1534–1535, after the baptists launched an iconoclasm and destroyed sculptures and figures.
caption: Westwerk with late gothic west portal c. 1900
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