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The Passau Cathedral
The Passau Cathedral is in the town known as “The city of three rivers”, Passau, Germany. The Danube, the Inn and the Ilz all come together in this beautiful Roman city were the cathedral is located. Also known as St. Stphan’s Cathedral or the “Dom St. Stephan”, the church is the seat of the catholic Bishop of Passau, the main church of the diocese, and a great example of Baroque architecture.
Several churches were erected on this spot over the centuries, beginning in the mid 700’s. The current building is over 300 feet long and was built in the mid to late 1600’s. Pieces of the previous cathedral still remain in the form of the eastern side, displaying Gothic architectural qualities. The church contains frescoes, sculptures and an overall textured style that is very pleasing, as you can see by the photo below, taken by thomasie, that displays the dome of the cathedral.
The churches popularity with tourists and church goers stems from it’s reputation of having one of the largest organs in the world. Arguably once known as having the largest, there are a few churches in the United States (First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, California and the Cadet Chapel Organ of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY) that have bigger organs.Passau Cathedral’s organ however is magnificent and boasts over 230 registers and over 17,700 pipes! The photograph below was taken by Tobi 87.
Bells are another feature of the cathedral. In fact, the cathedral has two bell towers and over nine bells. The different bells vary in weight with the largest weighing over 16,600 pounds! Another bell at the cathedral weighs over 11,600 pounds. These two bells are called the “Pummerin” which was made in 1952, and the “Sturmerin” which was made in 1733.
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