Fribourg Cathedral

The St. Nicholas Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint -Nicolas ) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland. She wears the patronal feast of St. Nicholas and was formerly until 1924, the Collegiate of Kanonikerstiftes. The original Freiburger Münster in 1924, became a cathedral of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg.

Architectural History

The cathedral was built from 1283 to 1490 in several stages at the site of a Romanesque church. The three-nave Gothic church has a 76 meter high tower, whose construction was completed in 1490 in the style of the late Flamboyantgotik and in which there is a spiral staircase of 368 steps.

Building

The main portal, the tympanum shows a representation of the Last Judgment from the 14th century opens with the powerful Western Front. The polygonal apse was rebuilt and enlarged from 1627 to 1630, which was maintained despite the advanced time period of the Gothic style.

Portal

Detail: Portal

Groups of figures of the portal

Equipment

For the rich interior of the church include the Holy grave chapel depicting the Entombment of Christ ( 1433 ), a baptismal font from 1498, the choir stalls in the flamboyant Gothic style ( 1516), several Baroque altars and the high altar of 1877.

Pulpit

Altarpiece

Cross representation in the choir room

Window

The stained glass windows were first designed by the Polish painter Józef Mehoffer in Art Nouveau style and created 1896-1936. Was completed the work by the French painter Alfred Manessier.

Organs

The Cathedral has two organs. The great organ was built in 1824-1834 by the Freiburg Aloys Mooser ( 1770-1839 ) and attracted musicians such as Franz Liszt and Anton Bruckner. The instrument has 60 registers to four manual and pedal works.

The choir organ of Sebald Manderscheidt dates from 1655 bis 1657th The instrument has 18 stops on two manuals and pedal.

Bells

The bells consists of 13 bells. It counts with the chimes of St. Gallen abbey church and the Bern Cathedral (both on e0 ) to the most significant historical Great peals of Switzerland.

Every evening at 22:15 clock sounds the bell to Barbara Poor souls or Verirrtenläuten. The Betzeiten by 7, 12 and 19 clock ringing the hour bell; to the weekday fairs finds the Primglocke use since the 17th century. The great immersion or Marie bell rings after funerals. Since the year 1953, the bells are provided with an electrical Läuteantrieb; the bells are still 13-10 läutbar by cable. The Läuteordnung from the Middle Ages has so fundamentally changed; the Gambachglocke and the little death knell ( until the 1990s ) have been integrated into the main bells and the regular use of the full peal and greater Teigeläute a returned: Every Saturday at 19 clock instead of the evening ringing the Sunday with the full bells ( bells 9-1) ushered; this also sounds to high office from 09:45 clock. To 09:00 - 11:30 and fair the ringing is reduced to the bells 7-2, the eve and Sunday evening Mass again at the bell 6-3. In baptisms Sound the bells 9-4 to 9-3 weddings bells and finally before funerals the bells 9-2.

Patron Saint

At the Patron Saint of the Cathedral and the city of Freiburg attracts every year on the first Saturday of December, a man dressed as St. Nicholas students of the College of St. Michael with a donkey at the top of a parade through the Old Town and keeps then from a platform above the portal of the cathedral a speech with satirical allusions to the events of last year in the college and the city.