Cattedrale di Brema (789-XIII sec.): la cripta del piombo dove il corpo si mummifica da solo
Nel 1698, alcuni apprendisti dell’organaro Arp Schnitger scoprirono per caso, nella cripta orientale della cattedrale di Brema, corpi che si erano mummificati naturalmente. Il “Bleikeller” (cripta del piombo) prende il nome dal metallo che vi era immagazzinato per riparare i tetti — non dal processo di mummificazione, rimasto un fenomeno scientificamente misterioso.
About Bremen Cathedral
Bremen Cathedral (St. Petri Dom) traces its origins to a timber church built around 789 by Saint Willehad, the first bishop of Bremen; destroyed by the Saxons in 792, the see was reestablished in 805 under Bishop Willerich, who built a cathedral church of local sandstone in several stages. After Hamburg was sacked in 845, Bremen became the seat of the combined archdiocese under Ansgar (848-865), one of the most prominent Christian missionaries to northern Europe. The oldest visible structural elements today are two crypts; a large 11th-century basilica gave the nave roughly its present extent, and from the late 1220s the vaults and walls were rebuilt in brick, layering Gothic construction onto the surviving Romanesque sandstone western façade and towers. The twin towers reach 89 metres (92.31 metres including weathervanes), strengthened with uneven pyramidal tops in 1346 and given their present Rhenish “helmets” during 1890s restoration. The cathedral’s most singular feature, however, is the Bleikeller (Lead Cellar), an eastern crypt where lead for roof repairs was once stored — a fact unrelated to its most famous occupants: eight naturally mummified bodies, discovered by chance in 1698 by apprentices of the organ builder Arp Schnitger, and displayed today in glass-topped coffins, including two Swedish officers from the Thirty Years’ War, an English countess, a murdered student, and a local pauper, dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.
Key facts
- Foundation: timber church built c. 789 by Saint Willehad, first bishop of Bremen; destroyed by Saxons 792; rebuilt in stone from 805 under Bishop Willerich
- Archbishopric: combined seat with Hamburg from 845, under the missionary Ansgar (848-865)
- Construction phases: 11th-century basilica established the nave’s present extent; brick vaults and walls added from the late 1220s onward, Romanesque façade and towers retained
- Towers: 89 metres (92.31 m with weathervanes); reworked 1346, Rhenish helmets added in 1890s restoration
- Bleikeller (Lead Cellar): eastern crypt named for stored roofing lead; site of eight naturally mummified bodies discovered by chance in 1698 by Arp Schnitger’s apprentices
- UNESCO context: stands on the Bremer Marktplatz, adjoining the UNESCO World Heritage Bremen Town Hall and Roland statue
- Protected status: under Germany’s monument protection act since 1973
History
Saint Willehad’s 789 foundation and the see’s dramatic destruction just three years later situate Bremen’s earliest Christian history within the same turbulent Saxon resistance to Frankish Christianisation that produced episodes like the 782 Massacre of Verden — a reminder that establishing durable episcopal institutions across pagan Saxon territory in this period frequently required multiple attempts before achieving lasting stability. Archbishop Ansgar’s subsequent tenure, combining the sees of Hamburg and Bremen after 845, extended the cathedral’s institutional significance well beyond a purely local or regional role, positioning Bremen as a genuine missionary launching point for Christianisation efforts across Scandinavia during the 9th century, a role Ansgar’s later canonisation as “Apostle of the North” formally recognised.
The Bleikeller mummies’ 1698 discovery, entirely accidental and made by workmen rather than researchers deliberately investigating the crypt, exemplifies how significant historical or scientific phenomena can remain unknown within well-documented institutional buildings for centuries before circumstance brings them to light. The precise mechanism of the bodies’ natural mummification — occurring through desiccation that outpaced normal decomposition — has never been fully or definitively explained by the specific environmental conditions of the crypt, giving the Bleikeller a genuine scientific mystery alongside its macabre popular appeal; the crypt’s eventual transformation from active storage space to museum display, culminating in its present exhibition arrangement since 1984, reflects a broader pattern of unusual ecclesiastical curiosities being formally incorporated into public heritage presentation once their historical and touristic value became apparent.
What you see
The Bleikeller, with its eight mummified bodies in glass-topped coffins and accompanying identification of specific historical individuals, is Bremen Cathedral’s most distinctive single destination for visitors, offering a rare and genuinely well-documented encounter with unintentional natural mummification. The twin towers, visible across much of central Bremen, and the combined Romanesque-Gothic architectural layering from the 11th through 13th centuries and later restorations, reward attention to the building’s long, multi-phase construction history. The cathedral’s position on the Marktplatz, directly facing the UNESCO-listed Town Hall and Roland statue, situates it within one of Germany’s most architecturally significant civic squares.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily, check current hours before visiting; Bleikeller has separate small admission fee
- Address: Sandstraße 10-12, 28195 Bremen
Getting there
Bremen has direct rail connections from Hamburg (approximately 1 hour) and Hanover (approximately 1 hour). By car, Bremen sits on the A1/A27 motorway network. The cathedral stands on the Marktplatz in the historic centre. GPS: 53.0755° N, 8.8091° E.
Nearby
- Bremen Town Hall and Roland statue — directly on the Marktplatz; a UNESCO World Heritage Site symbolising medieval civic autonomy
- Böttcherstraße — a short walk away; a distinctive Brick Expressionist street built in the 1920s-30s
- Schnoor quarter — Bremen’s oldest surviving district, narrow medieval lanes a few minutes from the cathedral
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Bremen Cathedral” (en.wikipedia.org)
- WFB Bremen — “The Bleikeller: home of the cathedral mummies” (wfb-bremen.de)
- Atlas Obscura — “Bleikeller in Bremen” (atlasobscura.com)
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