Wetzlar - Dom

The Dom (= Cathedral) in Wetzlar is not really a cathedral, as it was never seat of a bishop. The construction began in 1230 and the church is is still unfinished (see the tower). Because of its long period of construction, the church combines Romanesque, Gothic and even Baroque architecture. When it was built, it replaced an older Romanesque church from the 12th century of which some parts got integrated in the new church.

The Wetzlar-Dom has been used as a simultaneum by both Roman Catholics and Protestants since the 16th century.

The early Gothic portal was probably created end of the 13th century. On the console below "Virgin and Child" in the center is a horned devil grabbing a Jew, who wears the cone-shaped "Jewish hat". Many antisemitic pogroms had taken place during the first cruisade in Germany, known as the Rhineland massacres.