History

The bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz was established in 968 CE; the first cathedral on this site was consecrated in 1042. The current building evolved in stages. A Romanesque nave and east choir were raised in the early 12th century, then rebuilt in the late Romanesque style around the 1170s. The decisive creative moment came in the mid-13th century, when the cathedral chapter decided to construct a second, western choir as a memorial to the twelve nobles who had donated land to found the original cathedral — men and women who had been dead for over 200 years.

To decorate this memorial choir, the chapter hired a sculptor of exceptional gifts, today known only as the Naumburg Master. He had trained in the workshops of the great French Gothic cathedrals — Chartres, Reims, Amiens — absorbing their formal innovations, but pushed portraiture and psychological expression far beyond anything those schools had attempted. His twelve founders are not symbolic archetypes but individualized portraits of recognizable human beings: aged and youthful, martial and serene, proud and introspective. The Master also carved the Passion cycle on the rood screen, where Christ, Judas, Peter, Pilate, and bystanders are depicted with an almost documentary vividness.

The cathedral passed through the Reformation relatively intact; it became Protestant in 1564 but the medieval furnishings, including the priceless sculpture cycle, survived. Today Naumburg remains a working cathedral and a destination for art historians, who regard the West Choir as one of the high-water marks of medieval European art.