Freising Cathedral
Freisinger Dom · Mariendom · Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Corbinian
About
The cathedral rises on the Domberg above the old episcopal town of Freising, the long-time seat of one of Bavaria's oldest dioceses. Its dedication couples the Mother of God with Saint Corbinian, the missionary bishop whose ministry shaped Christianity in the region.
The present sandstone basilica was begun in 1159 after fire destroyed its predecessor on Palm Sunday of that year, and was completed by 1205. A Gothic vault replaced the original wooden ceiling in 1481–83, and the interior received its lively Rococo decoration in 1724 through the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam, in time for the millennial commemoration of the bishopric.
In the four-aisled crypt rests the tomb of Saint Corbinian, the patron saint of the diocese. At the centre of this crypt stands the celebrated Bestiensäule, the medieval pillar of beasts, one of the most distinctive sculptural works of the German Middle Ages.
Freising is also remembered as the cathedral where Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, was ordained to the priesthood, lending it a particular place in recent Catholic memory.
History
A church has stood on the Domberg since at least 715, consecrated as an episcopal seat by Saint Boniface in 739 and rebuilt more than once after fire. The present sandstone basilica rose between 1159 and 1205 after its Romanesque predecessor burned on Palm Sunday of 1159, and a Gothic vault replaced the original wooden ceiling between 1481 and 1483. The interior received its lively Rococo decoration in 1724 at the hands of the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam, timed to mark the millennium of the bishopric.
Significance
In the four-aisled Romanesque crypt beneath the sanctuary rests the tomb of Saint Corbinian, the eighth-century missionary bishop and principal patron of the archdiocese, watched over by the Bestiensäule, a carved pillar of the twelfth century on which armoured figures contend with beasts, unique in Germany. Freising is also remembered as the cathedral where Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, was ordained to the priesthood, giving it a particular place in recent Catholic memory.
Architecture
Romanesque basilica (1159-1205) with a Gothic vault added 1481-83 and Rococo interior decoration by the Asam brothers completed 1724
Visiting
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Festivals & Events
- Invalid Date
Feast of the Translation of Saint Corbinian
Invalid Date · annual · next: 20 November 2026
The feast marking the transfer of Saint Corbinian's remains to Freising in 768 by Bishop Arbeo, kept today as his liturgical feast day and the cathedral's living link to its founding patron.
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