Yesterday we drove to Limburg, which is an hour down the Autobahn on the way to Mainz. We had seen its cathedral from the road on the way to Mainz and had to go back to check it out.
We found convenient (just downhill from the cathedral) but somewhat dingy parking at the City Parkhaus and ventured out into the cold. Limburg is a great town. It's on a hillside overlooking a river and the old town is very well preserved. Winding cobblestone streets are lined with crooked half-timbered houses, and lovely smells greeted us as we walked past old restaurants. (Speaking of smell, this Limburg is not the home of Limburger cheese. That comes from a region of Belgium by the same name.)
Limburg Cathedral is perched on a rock at the highest point of the town. Some really great views of it can be had from across the river below, but we never found the right spot and the weather wasn't very pretty anyway. We hope to make it back again on a sunnier day.
The cathedral is Late Romanesque, which is one of the reasons I was excited to see it. Not many cathedrals have this colorful paint job anymore, but it does reflect its original appearance and helps protect the stone at this exposed location.
The door has some great Romanesque (12th century) sculptures, colorfully painted like all of them once were. The man sitting on the right is thought to be the builder of the church.
The interior is very impressive, with slightly pointed arches indicating that Romanesque is on its way out and Gothic is on its way.
Soaring pillars and ceiling under the central tower.
The cathedral is filled with faded murals from the 13th century, including this ceiling painting of the archangels Michael and Gabriel.
One of the coolest sights was this tomb of the church's founder (910 AD), Count Konrad Kurzbold. The sculptures on the supports (four clerics, a lion and a bear) are 11th century; the slab and effigy are 13th century.
Count Konrad
The four clerics were some pretty goofy-looking fellas!
Another highlight was this 13th-century baptismal font, covered in strange and interesting sculptures.
Some apparent smooching going on at the bottom of the font. Who are they? No idea! This is one of the reasons I love medieval art - it's always so intriguing, like a window into a mysterious world.
