The "New Minster" of Würzburg is a riot of Baroque decoration, and is dedicated to the three Irish…read moremissionaries, Kilian, Colman and Totnan, martyred in 689 while bringing Christianity to the Thuringians under the rule of King Gozbert. Kilian travelled from his native Ireland leading a band of missionaries and arrived at Wurzburg by way of Rome, where their mission was blessed by the Pope. The band split at Würzburg, the three missionaries remaining while the others went further afield. All initially went well: Gozbert and many of his subjects were converted and baptised. But Kilian informed the King that his marriage to the his brother's widow Geilana was contrary to scripture. She was furious and had the three beheaded in the absence of her husband. The church was subsequently built at the scene of their martyrdom: in 1060 Adalbero of Würzburg founded the present church with an aisled nave and two choirs (east and west) in the Romanesque style. From 1180 to 1250 the church was further expanded. The first step towards its current form was the demolition of the west choir and the remodelling to form a new west front in the Baroque style between 1711 and 1716. More significant still was the thorough redesign of the interior by the Zimmerman brothers in 1725. The present Church therefore appears as a complete Baroque structure. It is painted in cool white, which highlights the baroque altar pieces and the ceiling frescoes. The fresco on the domed ceiling at the west front is a triumph of trompe d'oeil, which depicts different layers of cloud, drawing the eye upwards. In complete contrast, the casket containing the relics of St Kilian is found the the west crypt, which is dark, low-ceilinged, and a place of restful quiet - a perfect escape from tourist throngs above.

The Neumünster church was built in the 11th Century as a Romanesque Basilica. It is constructed on…read morethe site where 798 Irish Missionaries from Franconia were murdered. Previously the church has served as the main cathedral in Würzburg owing to it sustaining less damage during the bombing of Würzburg in WW2. Its a gorgeous building with detailed paintings on the inside. Like many churches around Bavaria the ceiling is beautifully painted as are many sections of the church. Inside are many works of art, such as the 15th century Man of Sorrow, and a Madonna. Its located slightly away from the main square and very quiet inside. Well worth a visit.

Named after the martyred St Kilian, Würzburg's restored cathedral has an unusual mix of…read morearchitectural styles. The original Church (actually the third on the site) was begun in 1040 and the main structure was completed in 1075. Further rebuilding was undertaken in the 12th Century and the cathedral was consecrated in 1187. The towers were heightened in the 13th Century and the side aisles were remodelled in about 1500 in the late Gothic style. The whole interior was transformed in 1701-4 by the stuccoist Pietro Magno who decorated the cathedral in Baroque stucco. Severely damaged in the 1945 bombing of the city, the restoration limited the stucco work to the choir and sanctuary and the south aisle. The nave reverted to a severely plain Romanesque with a flat wooden ceiling with a controversial modern painting. The cathedral is decorated by the memorials to centuries of the Prince-Bishops, together with a smaller number of those of the nobility and wealthy citizens. If the jarring interior is a little too much, the cloister's late gothic architecture is more conventionally harmonious.

It was built in the Gothic style in the 14th century. Despite its large size, it is a chapel by…read morestatus as it does not have a parish. Unfortunately, it was heavily damaged by the bombing in World War II, and its interior was destroyed by flames. Fortunately, it was rebuilt in the 1950s and re-consecrated in 1962. The original construction started in 1377, but it's not certain at what point in time the chapel was finished. The choir was reportedly consecrated in 1392. Burials at the site took place as early as 1411/2. By 1441 it must have been largely completed as Bishop Sigismund von Sachsen driven from the cathedral, used it as his church. That same year construction started on the tower, and the tower roof was added in 1479.  Its two best known works of art, the sculptures of Adam and Eve by Tilman Riemenschneider, are today located in the Mainfränkisches Museum and have been replaced by copies (on South Portal). You'll enjoy visiting this church, and you should make this one of your stops while you're in Würzburg.

This beautiful late-gothic church, painted in red and white, is an unmistakable feature of the city…read morefabric of Würzburg, and well worth a visit. The Church was erected on the site of a synagogue, destroyed during a pogrom in 1349. It's not clear whether the subsequent church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in atonement for the massacre itself, or for the fact that a non-Christian place of worship had been previously tolerated on the site. (Such uncomfortable ambiguity applies also to the Marienkirche in Nuremberg, erected in almost identical circumstances.) Either way, the foundation stone was laid in 1377, and by 1392 the choir was complete. However, it took until 1440 to complete the nave, and 1492 before the tower was finished. The Chapel was never a parish church, but records indicate both a knightly guild and the town council used the church and contributed to its upkeep. The building itself is an excellent example of a Hall Church, with the aisles matching the height of the nave. The windows are exceptionally tall, and with the tall arcade columns, serve to give the interior dramatic vertical emphasis. The nave has an excellent collection of late mediaeval and early renaissance tomb memorials, mostly depicting knights in their full armour. The altar piece is 16th Century but the attribution is uncertain. The church is still in use for services and occasionally recitals and concerts.

The monastery church of St. John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist was founded around 1000 by…read moreBishop Heinrich I of Würzburg on a hill called "Haug". The original Church was probably Romanesque in style. Outside the city walls of Würzburg, the church was always at risk of looting, and so it was, most significantly during the 30 years' war, when it was partly demolished by Swedish troops. Reconsecrated in 1637, the whole monastic complex was swept away just 20 years later, to enable the modernisation of Würzburg's defences. The present Church was therefore built 1670-91 in the baroque style, to designs by Antonio Petrini. This was the first major building in Franconia in the baroque style. In 1803, the monastery lands were stripped from the church as part of the process of secularisation and the Church became a parish church. Severely damaged during the bombing raid of March 1945, the church restoration was completed in 1965. The exterior, with the 65m dome and twin towers is extremely impressive. Inside, the whitewashed interior sets off the baroque decoration well. The main altarpiece under the dome is by Tintoretto (1585) and depicts the crucifixion. Worth a detour on the way to the station from the city centre.