St. Catherine's Church

Its 103 metre high tower is visible from afar and is considered the tallest medieval building in western Lower Saxony. St Katharinen was first mentioned in the 13th century.

History:

• There is evidence of St Katharinen's Church dating back to 1248. It was already a parish church, which was first documented by name in 1253.
• During excavations in 1990, foundation walls of a small predecessor building with 8 circularly arranged column foundations and small remains of outer walls were found, which suggest an 8-cornered central building with 3 eastern apses  (probably around 1200). These were possibly modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, probably in connection with a Third Crusade (1189/90-1192) in which Bishop Arnold took part († 1190 near Acre); a replica of the Holy Sepulchre in St. Catherine's Church is documented for 1306;
• 1217 the celebration of St. Catherine's feast was introduced in the cathedral. The wheel as the city or diocese coat of arms was probably derived from St Catherine.
• Since the 12th century, it has also been considered a "noble church.
• The Lutheran doctrine was introduced in 1543. Hermann Bonnus celebrated a service here on 4 February 1543 with communion in both forms.
• During the Thirty Years' War until the occupation of the city by the Swedes, there were predominantly Catholic clergy.
• Today also a university church.

Stories / Legends:

• St Catherine: St Catherine was a learned prince's daughter from Alexandria who renounced the idolatry of the Roman Emperor Maximus at the beginning of the 4th century and turned to Christianity. In order to break her unbending will, the emperor had a wheel brought to her that was lined with saws and nails. Catherine was to be braided on it, but the wheel was struck by lightning and shattered. In the end, the emperor ordered Catherine to be beheaded with a sword.
• The wheel and sword are the attributes of her martyrdom.
• Gravestone with Latin inscription under the vaulted arch between the nave and south aisle: "A fine prince awaits the resurrection of his tender body here, who himself, after letting his brother Maximilian Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, out of the womb of his honourable mother alive and well, was expelled from life a little later at the threshold of life. What he lived is fleeting, what he lived is permanent. Osnabrück, in the year 1666 of the month of December" (copy of the inscription on the sarcophagus discovered in the sacristy in 1991, which was given a new place in the south aisle)
• Statue of St Catherine:The figure above the east portal shows an unusual figure on the plinth: the treasurer (rentier) of St Catherine's parish, chief magistrate Dr Graff. He managed the parish's money so frugally that he had a reputation for being a miser. He had probably also cut the artist's salary considerably and so Heinrich Seling vented his anger by depicting the rendant with a crown as a sign of wealth. He sits on the money and closes the sack convulsively with his hands.

Changing exhibitions and events take place in St Catherine's Church.

At a glance