St. Catherine's Church

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

History:

• Evidence of St. Katharinen Church dates back to the year 1248. It was already a parish church, a fact first documented by name in 1253.
• During excavations in 1990, the foundation walls of a small earlier structure were discovered, featuring eight column bases arranged in a circle and minor remains of exterior walls, suggesting an octagonal central structure with three eastern apses (probably around 1200). These may have been modeled after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, likely in connection with the Third Crusade (1189/90–1192), in which Bishop Arnold participated (d. 1190 near Acre); a replica of the Holy Sepulcher in St. Catherine’s Church is documented for 1306;
• In 1217, the celebration of St. Catherine’s Day was introduced in the cathedral. The wheel used as the city’s and diocese’s coat of arms was likely derived from St. Catherine.
• Since the 12th century, it has also been regarded as a “church of the nobility.”
• In 1543, Lutheran doctrine was introduced. On February 4, 1543, Hermann Bonnus celebrated a service here with Holy Communion in both forms.
• During the Thirty Years’ War until the city’s occupation by the Swedes, the clergy were predominantly Catholic.
• Today it also serves as the university church.

Stories / Legends:

• St. Catherine: St. Catherine was a learned princess from Alexandria who, at the beginning of the 4th century, renounced the idolatry of the Roman Emperor Maximus and turned to Christianity. To break her unyielding will, the emperor had a wheel brought in that was lined with saws and nails. Catherine was to be strapped to it, but the wheel was struck by lightning beforehand and shattered. Ultimately, the emperor ordered Catherine to be beheaded with a sword.
• The wheel and the sword are the symbols of her martyrdom.
• Tombstone with a Latin inscription beneath the vaulted arch between the nave and the south aisle: “Here awaits the resurrection of his tender body, a noble prince who, after having brought his brother Maximilian Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, alive and well from the womb of his most venerable mother, was cut off from life a little later at the threshold of life. Fleeting is what he lived; enduring is what he lives on. Osnabrück, in the year 1666, in the month of December” (Copy of the inscription from the sarcophagus discovered in the sacristy in 1991, which was relocated to the south aisle)
• Statue of St. Catherine: The figure above the east portal features an unusual figure at its base: the treasurer (Rentant) of the St. Catherine’s parish, District Judge Dr. Graff. He managed the parish’s funds so frugally that he had a reputation for being a great miser. He had likely also heavily cut the artist’s fee, so Heinrich Seling vented his frustration by depicting the treasurer wearing a crown as a symbol of wealth. In the sculpture, he is sitting on a pile of money and clutching the sack tightly with his hands.

St. Catherine’s Church hosts rotating exhibitions and events.

Opening hours vary between summer and winter. Please check the St. Katharinen website for the current opening hours.