Naumburg

Naumburg lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the Unstrut and the Saale near the border with Thuringia, approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Leipzig, 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Halle, and 40 km (25 mi) north-northeast of Jena.

To the town itself belong the quarters of Almrich (formerly Altenburg), Grochlitz, Henne and Weinberge. In addition, the borough of Naumburg consists of the following villages:

Naumburg has a mild climate with warm summers and cool winters that is relatively dry for German standards.

Naumburg cathedral is UNESCO world heritage site. The cathedral is composed of a Romanesque core structure flanked by two Gothic choirs in the east and in the west. Naumburg Cathedral was one of the large double-choir cathedrals built in the transitional style between Late Romanesque and Early Gothic. The four towers form part of the Romanesque structure of the cathedral, even though parts of the upper floors and domes date from more recent style periods. The cathedral is a vaulted, cruciform basilica in a bound system with a segregated crossing.[7]

The Late Romanesque structure of the Naumburg Cathedral replaced a first, Early Romanesque cathedral, which had been consecrated around 1042. The new construction was initiated in 1242 under the patronage of the Princes of the Apostles – Peter and Paul.

Naumburg Masters

West choir

The workshop organization of sculptors and stonemasons, the Naumburg Master innovated architecture and sculpture of the Hohenstaufen period of the 13th century that were particularly developed at the cathedral in Reims.[8]

No written sources about the chief sculptor-architect of this workshop who was named after his main work in Naumburg. However, there is a general consensus with regard to the itinerary of the building workshop from Mainz via Naumburg to Meissen. An assumption relying on the analysis of historic sources is based on the idea that the milestones of his creative work are marked by the completion of the choir screen in Mainz in 1239, the west choir in Naumburg in 1249/50 and the work of the building workshop in Meissen from 1250 up until prior to 1268.[9]

Next to the plant ornaments, based on the thorough observation of nature and found in all three places, and next to the many matching architectural details, identical stonemason's marks recently found in Iben, Naumburg and Meissen support the evidence. The migration of the building workshop of the Naumburg Master, from Northern France over the Middle Rhine area up to the eastern boundaries of the German Empire and further on to southwestern Europe, reflects the extensive European cultural exchange during the High Middle Ages.[10]

Choir screens

West choir Naumburg

This mural choir screen type combines high artistic architecture, ornamentation and figural sculptures. The plant décor of the west choir, due to its exceptional accuracy and the great variety of shapes to be seen on the capitals, friezes and corbels (corydalis, mugwort, hazel and vine), softens the sharpness and blocky features of the partition architecture and emphasises the organic character of the architecture.[11]

The relief frieze is one of the most sophisticated and formally most perfected arrangement of the Passion of Christ among the preserved sculptural ensembles from the 13th century throughout Europe. It shows the last supper, the payment of the pieces of silver, the capture, Peter's denial, two guards, the reading of Christ's sentence, the flagellation and the carrying of the cross.[12] An important theme of the cycle is the juxtaposition of Judas and Peter; Judas, the sinner who was desperate and damned; Peter, the sinner who believed in forgiveness and became a saint.[13]

The Naumburg Master achieved a high degree of dramatic expressiveness and natural vibrancy. The Jews, for example, wear the typical hats, while Pilatus appears in a splendorous courtly garment, washing his hands off responsibility. The artist mastered a remarkable challenge concerning the usage of the limited space. In the representation of the last supper, he limited the number of disciples beside Christ in the middle and the clearly isolated betrayer Judas to four. The monumental multi-coloured crucifixion group in the central portal of the choir screen shows in an impressive manner the immeasurable suffering of Christ and the deep and obvious grief of Mary and John.[14]

Gothic west choir

Founder figures Hermann und Reglindis

The Early Gothic west choir is a hall choir and was built with an elevated gallery. On the level of the gallery, the ten pillars supporting the vault merge with the life-sized sculptures of the founders. The twelve statues of the founders of Naumburg Cathedral rank among the most outstanding creations of European medieval sculpting.[15]

The nearly portrait-like representation of aristocratic men and women of the Thuringian-Saxon nobility is an unparalleled appreciation of the first founders of the church. Even though the people honoured with the sculptures had already been dead for 150 to 200 years at the time of creation, they are shown wearing contemporary courtly garments from the middle of the 13th century.[11] The faces are individual and express inner emotions. The figures interact with the beholder and apparently with each other through looks and gestures.[16]

The attempt to relate the sculptures of the founders to the first founders of the church that were mentioned in the call for donations from 1249 has proven to be an unsolvable undertaking, even after the meticulous examinations of the colouration of the statues during the restoration work. The prevalent opinion in art science is that the statues on the south side are Countess Gerburg and Count Conrad and those on the north side are Countess Berchta and Count Theodoric.

Two founder couples are standing across from each other in clearly prominent positions: Ekkehard II, Margrave of Meissen, with his wife Uta in the north and his older brother, Margrave Hermann, with his wife Reglindis in the south. Only the sculpture of Uta has experienced an unparalleled cult, fostered considerably by the photographs of Walter Hege in the early 20th century.[17][18]

Old city of Naumburg

The layout of both the bishop’s district and the old town, still intact to this day, were both created between the 11th and 13th centuries. They feature a number of high medieval monuments like the Cathedral itself, the romanic residential tower next to the Cathedral, the early gothic residential tower at the market square as well as the city wall.[19]

Naumburg, a bishop's seat and an important market place, was founded at the beginning of the 11th century. It was first mentioned in the records in the year 1012.[20]

Some settlements already existed in the immediate neighbourhood of the newly founded town, as evidenced by pottery found at Domberg Hill, in the Othmarsviertel and in the western part of today's town. There are no traces of the former Slav fortress of Wethau, which only survives in the name of the municipality of Wethau, where it is assumed to have been located.[21]

Certificate Naumburg

The early development of the town of Naumburg is closely connected with the Ekkehardine dynasty, Emperor Conrad II and Bishop Hildeward of Zeitz, who transferred the family seat from Kleinjena to their own estate at the new castle in Naumburg (Nuenburch) around 1028.[22][23]

In 1030, Naumburg appears in the sources with the addition ″civitas″. Encouraged by a privilege granted by Emperor Conrad II in 1033 the merchants of Kleinjena also moved to Naumburg, being guaranteed free trade and the heritable, interest-free ownership of their enclosed domicile. Ekkehard II and Hermann also established two monasteries: The Benedictine Monastery of St George and the St Moritz Monastery of the Augustinian Canons.[24]

When the Ekkehardine dynasty died out by 1046, the bishops became the rulers of the town. By that time, Naumburg had already developed into a political, economic and religious centre. The foundation of Naumburg with its merchant settlement had also caused the trade routes in the region to relocate, concentrating on Naumburg located at the crossing of the Via Regia and the Regensburg Road.[25]

Naumburg Town hall

The cathedral district (cathedral precincts, cathedral town) and the civil district as well as the immunities of the two monasteries coexisted for centuries and were visibly separated from each other by means of fortifications, forming districts subject to special rights. The relevant areas, subject to special rights held by the bishop and his cathedral chapter, included castles, towns, church institutions, villages, forums, but also fields, meadows and forests, and were enclosed by trenches, ramparts, walls, or fences.[26]

The oldest residential tower of Naumburg was built probably in the mid-12th century at the cathedral precincts, at the curia episcopalis, Domplatz 1. It exhibits the same dimensions as the residential tower of the Haus zur Hohen Lilie and has two Romanesque floors. Another residential tower used to be located on the south side of the west choir of Naumburg Cathedral. It had to give way to the new west choir built in the second quarter of the 13th century. The Haus zur Hohen Lilie (Markt 19) is a Romanesque secular building including a tower visible from the market square, the kitchen building to the west of the tower, the northern building bordering the tower and the Baroque building north of the northern building.[27] Some parts of the medieval city fortifications survive, including one of the old city gates, the Marientor. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spent his childhood and his later years in Naumburg in the home of his mother's family. The house, known as the Nietzsche-Haus, is now a museum.

Every year on the last weekend in June, when the cherries are ripe, the city of Naumburg celebrates the Hussite Cherry Festival. This festival has a long tradition and dates back to at least the 16th century. Since the 17th century the celebrations have been connected with the legendary siege of Naumburg by the Hussites in 1432. A teacher is said to have led his pupils outside the gates of the beleaguered city to beg the Hussite commander Andreas Prokop for mercy. The latter granted their request and gave the children cherries. The legend is commemorated in the song "Die Hussiten zogen vor Naumburg" (The Hussites marched on Naumburg) written by Karl Friedrich Seyferth in 1832.

Naumburg is located on the central German route of the St. James pilgrims way to Santiago de Compostela, the so-called Camino de Santiago. It follows the old Via Regia which has been designated a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2005.

Another recognised cultural route is the German section of the international Transromanica (a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2007).