Quedlinburg - St. Servatius

Quedlinburg is known to have existed since at least the early 9th century. It was first mentioned as a town in 922 as part of a donation by Heinrich I (Henry the Fowler).

According to legend, Henry had been offered the German crown at Quedlinburg in 919. After his death in 936, his widow Saint Matilda founded a nunnery, where daughters of the higher nobility were educated. The main task of this abbey, was to pray for the memory of Heinrich I and the rulers who came after him.

The Quedlinburg castle complex, founded by Heinrich I and built up by Otto I in 936, was an imperial Pfalz of the Saxon emperors. The Pfalz, including the male convent, was in the valley, while the women's convent was located on the castle hill.

In 973 during a Reichstag (Imperial Convention) Otto the Great introduced his new daughter-in-law Theophanu, a Byzantine princess whose marriage to Otto II brought hope for recognition and continued peace between the rulers of the Eastern and Western empires.

The town became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1426. The abbey frequently disputed the independence of the town, which sought the aid of the Bishopric of Halberstadt. In 1477, Abbess Hedwig, aided by her brothers, broke the resistance of the town and expelled the bishop's forces. Quedlinburg was forced to leave the Hanseatic League and was subsequently protected by the Electorate of Saxony. Both town and abbey converted to Lutheranism in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation.


The former collegiate church of St. Servatius (aka "St. Servatii" or "Quedlinburger Dom") is dedicated to Saints Dionysios and Servatius. The surviving construction began after a fire in 1070.

Previously there were three previous buildings on this site:

Building I was erected before 936 as a chapel in a castle complex in front of whose main altar King Heinrich I was buried. When the castle complex was converted into a monastery founded in 936, the church building was replaced by the larger Building II. Another new building (Building III) was erected under the rule of Abbess Mathilde. The first phase of construction was completed in 997. In 1021 the third church was consecrated in the presence of Emperor Heinrich II. This building was destroyed by fire in 1070.

The choir was rebuilt in the Gothic style under the abbess Jutta von Kranichfeld by 1320. During the extensive restoration in the 19th century, the church received two neo-Romanesque towers with pointed spiers.

On the occasion of the thousandth anniversary of Heinrich I's death in 1936, Nazi officials began to redesign the church. Their goal was to convert the building into a Nazi place of worship while removing its Christian character. To this end in1936, crucifixes were first taken down in the church and the Bible removed from the altar. In 1938 the church was taken over by the SS, who wanted to use it as a "consecration site".Against this background, the restoration of the Romanesque choir inside took place in the following years 1938 to 1940. The altar, pulpit and pews were removed and the Gothic chancel vault destroyed to construct a new, pseudo-Romanesque apse. In addition, NS symbols were installed in the church, such as swastika and SS flags. SS leader Heinrich Himmler, who took the key to the treasury of the church, is said to have held a "dialogue" with Heinrich I in the building. He assumed that the remains of bones found during excavations on the Schlossberg were the bones of Heinrich I and had them ceremoniously buried in the empty grave next to Queen Mathilde.

After the end of WWII, American forces returned the church to their congregation. From June 1945, Christian services could be held here again.

The Cathedral Treasury

Large parts of the cathedral treasury were donated to the Convent by the Ottonians. The women's monastery, which among other things held the memoria for the Ottonian family, had to be richly endowed due to its family and political importance. Even after the Ottonian period, the monastery still received important donations.

In April 1945, American troops occupied Quedlinburg. As early as 1943, all parts of the cathedral treasury had been relocated to a cave. A US Lieutenant was now among others in charge of guarding the cave. This officer, well-versed in art history, recognized the importance of the treasure. He managed to steal twelve select pieces and sent them home by field mail. His heirs tried to sell the art on the international art market. After a long legal struggle and ultimately a settlement, ten of the pieces were returned to Germany in 1992, with the settlement paying three million dollars to buy them back. Since September 1993, almost all of the famous cathedral treasures can be viewed here.

The Servatius reliquary consists of an ivory case decorated with gold filigree work. The case was most likely made at the court of Charles the Bald in the West Frankish Empire around the year 870 and shows Jesus in conversation with his apostles. The gold mounts were attached around the year 1200. The obverse is decorated with an amethyst, a cameo from the early Roman Empire.