an important ottonian church was built at hildesheim under bishop altfrid.
an important ottonian church was built at hildesheim under bishop altfrid.
an important ottonian church was built at hildesheim under?
bishop altfrid
the cathedral was built in 872 under bishop altfrid as a cruciform three-aisled basilica with a two-story westwork. it is an example of ottonian architecture, with alternating column support and semi circular apses completing the naves. the building suffered severe fire damage in 1046. bishop azelin planned to erect a new, larger building further to the west and to extend the nave. his successor, hezilo of hildesheim, abandoned this plan and instead built on the old foundations, incorporating the surviving walls into the new building. further important renovations occurred up to the end of the fourteenth century but did not deviate from the ground plan of bishop altfrid's basilica. the northern paradise and the north and south side chapels date from the gothic period and the tower above the crossing from the baroque period. in the nineteenth century, the original westwork was replaced by a neo-romanesque two-tower facade, which stood until 1945.
hildesheim cathedral
the establishment of the abbey by the founder of the liudolfingers gave it especial importance during the ottonian period. until the foundation of quedlinburg abbey in 936, gandersheim was among the most important ottonian family institutions, and its church was one of the ottonian burial places.
gandersheim abbey