Jan 17 Sunday Schriesheim – Worms

Light rain was falling when we woke at six thirty am to begin preparations for our first major performance, the High Mass in the Imperial Cathedral of St Peter, Worms. About an hour away from Shriesheim, the sun was not up when we left, and winding our way along the Neckar Valley until we hit the Autobahn, we quickly made our way to the former sight of the famous Diet and place of the beginning of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation.



Worms Cathedral is one of the oldest and largest Cathedrals in Europe, and one of the three great Cathedrals along the Rhine River. Standing proudly above the City of Worms for the last one thousand years, it is an imposing structure, built in red sandstone and designed in the Romanesque style, with massive spires and domes and a tall, and massive nave much larger than any church we have seen in Australia. Upon entering the Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral) we were all struck by the magnitude of the building… The cathedral is about 120 m long, and 40 m wide. The height in the nave is about 30 m; under the domes it is 40 metres, so you can imagine the acoustics of the building… one of the most stunning acoustics I have ever had the pleasure of performing in. The side walls are decorated with Romanesque and Gothic reliefs showing Christ’s life. Also, a lot of small chapels are added into the outer naves, but only some are open for prayers. A famous one is Nikolauskapelle (near the main gate), where a relic of St. Nikolaus is treasured. The side walls do have very nice stained glass windows, one of them is a storytelling window and tells about all events that happened in Worms in the past.



The choir’s performances of Schubert, Bruckner, Rachmaninov and Mozart were certainly enhanced by a 5 to 6 second echo that rang with a rare clarity and did not ever become muddy or distorted. Two excellent organs accompanied our singing… a significant 2 manual instrument behind the choir, and a huge romantic 3 manual instrument perched high above the nave in the middle of the Cathedral.



The Cathedral was the scene of several milestones of European history. In 1048, Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg was elected pope Leo IX here; in 1122, the Concordate of Worms ended the Investiture Contest, the struggle for supremacy between the emperor and the Church; and in 1521, Martin Luther was summoned by emperor Charles V to recant his teachings before the Diet of Worms, a historic assembly that was to change the history of Christianity.

The Cathedral is the burial site for the ancestors and members of the Salian dynasty, who had a castle in Worms until in the 11th century. In the Middle Ages, emperors paid the Cathedral numerous visits, and in the church or in its immediate surroundings, important political events took place, some of them sparking serious aftermaths.



The spectacular Baroque high altar by Balthasar Neumann was built after the city’s devastation in 1689, and is a breathtaking example of craftsmanship... covered in pure gold, and soaring high above the main altar. Another feature were the incredible hand carved choir stalls, also decorated with gold leaf, and featuring hundreds of faces of religious figures, instruments, angels and bishops.



Following the Mass, which was atended by about three or four hundred people, ended with a sustained ovation. Certainly it was a great way to start our tour.



We then changed into our warmer clothes and headed to various cafes and restaurants for warm coffee, gluwein and soups, chocolate cakes, and baked pastas to charge our batteries before we enjoyed a walking tour of the sights of Worms. Upon meeting our tour guides, we explored the ancient German city on foot, visiting sights including the oldest jewish synagogue in Germany. The city is known as a former center for Judaism. The Jewish community was established in the late 10th century, the first synagogue was erected in 1034. The Jewish Cemetary in Worms dating from the 11th century, is believed to be the oldest in Europe The Rashi Shul, a synagogue dating from 1175 and carefully reconstructed after its desecration on 'Crystal Night' is the oldest in Germany.



We also visited the Luther Memorial. In the year 1868, the world’s largest Reformation memorial was unveiled, created by Ernst Rietschel. Donations from Lutherans all over the world had helped to build the monument, which was set up in a park laid out in the former city moat. It the castle-shaped monument (inspired by Luther’s song A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), the history of the Reformation is told from pre-Reformation times to the 19th century. The statue of Martin Luther is posted in the centre, with forerunners of the Reformation at his foot. The embattlements are crowned with statues of noted contemporaries of Luther. Between them, allegorical figures represent cities that played a major role in the aftermath of the Reformation.



Another sight visited was the Trinity Church. After the city had been destroyed by a devastating blaze in 1689, the Lutherans of Worms build the baroque-style Trinity Church as a Reformation memorial church, seeking to outrival the Cathedral, which had remained Catholic. It was erected on the place of the Mint, which had also been destroyed in 1689, and which was—erroneously—believed to be the spot where ‘Luther professed his words’ (laying of the foundation stone 1709, consecration 1725). It is the city’s largest baroque church and as for its history the main church of the city’s Protestants. After the church had been heavily damaged in the second world war, works to restore the interior of the church in a modern way were finished in 1959.



Erected in 1905, the Hagen statue is one of the most popular monuments of the city. The bronze sculpture by the riverside reminds us of Hagen throwing the legendary treasure of the Nibelungen in the floods of the Rhine. The famous Nibelungenlied is set here in this city, and it is the starting point of the so-called ‘Nibelungen route’, the itinerary the Nibelungen followed on their way eastwards to Hungary, where they finally met their fate at king Attila’s court.



After Worms, we returned to our Hotel, for a night of drinking, singing, laughing and general noisiness... it was really great to see everyone, young and old, having such a fantastic time and getting on so well. This really is a great group of people to tour with.

Andrew Wailes