page_title: Hildesheim Cathedral
section_title: Interior decoration, art, and treasures
hierarchical_section_title: Hildesheim Cathedral / Interior decoration, art, and treasures
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Taufbecken im Hildesheimer Dom Detail: Taufe Christi im Jordan
context_page_description: Hildesheim Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary or simply St. Mary's Cathedral, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Hildesheim, Germany, that serves as the seat of the Diocese of Hildesheim. The cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985, together with the nearby St. Michael's Church.
  The cathedral church was built between 1010 and 1020 in the Romanesque style. It follows a symmetrical plan with two apses, that is characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque architecture in Old Saxony. The cathedral's treasures include world-famous artworks, bronze works from the time of Bishop Bernward, Bernward Doors and Bernward Column, as well as two of the four notable Romanesque wheel chandeliers: the Hezilo chandelier and the Azelin chandelier.
  After renovations and extensions in the 11th, 12th and 14th centuries, the cathedral was completely destroyed during an air raid on 22 March 1945 and rebuilt from 1950 to 1960. A thorough renovation of the cathedral began in 2010, including technical and conservation measures.
context_section_description: The cathedral houses numerous works of art. These include the world-famous cast-bronze doors, depicting scenes from the Gospels and the Book of Genesis; and a cast-bronze column depicting scenes from the life of Christ. These bronzeworks date from the early 11th century and were commissioned by Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim. (The column was originally in St Michael's, where Bernward was buried, and has been moved there again during the restoration of the cathedral, possibly to stay.)
  There are also four notable Romanesque wheel chandeliers, also called corona or circular chandeliers, the larger Hezilo chandelier (Heziloleuchter), and the older Azelin chandelier (Azelinleuchter). The Ringelheim Crucifix was made c. 1000 from linden wood for the body and oak for the arms.
  Other treasures include:
  The shrine of St. Epiphanius of Pavia and Cathedral patrons over a chapel in the northeast, first half of the twelfth century
  The shrine of St. Godehard in the crypt, around 1140
  The Reliquary of Mary, the Crosses of Bernward and further magnificent reliquaries and liturgical implements displayed in Hildesheim Cathedral Museum (Dommuseum Hildesheim) in the south transept
  The eagle lectern, c. 1220, in liturgical use up until the recent renovations
  The late Romanesque bronze baptismal font (Bronzetaufe), 1225
  The gothic Inkpot Madonna (Tintenfassmadonna)
  The central table of the Wrisberg epitaph (in the south transept until the recent renovations))
  An apse cross standing in the apse, the pedestal of which, legend has it, was made from the core of the Irminsul.
  the Tomb of Priest Bruno (de) on the southern exterior wall of the choir
  The Bernward Monument (de) of Carl Ferdinand Hartzer from 1893 stands in front of the north paradise entrance
  Hildesheim rood screen (Hildesheimer Domlettner, de) in the Cathedral Museum
  During the 2010–2014 renovations, many religious items from the Cathedral were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, until 5 January 2014.
caption: Detail of the baptismal font: Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
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