Naumburg Cathedral

Romanesque Entrance

Eastern Rood Screen

Detail of Western Rood Screen

Founders Ekkehard II and Ute

(Ute was used as the model for the evil Queen

in Disney's Snow White)

View From Cloister Courtyard

The Naumburg Cathedral is particularly famous for its series of sandstone sculptures by the Naumburg Master on the western rood screen and in the western choir.  These really are masterpieces of the Middle Ages.  The details show individual character, something more closely associated with the Renaissance.  From the oldest Romanesque parts of the cathedral to the Late Romanesque and Early Gothic parts, one gains a sense of the human spirit coming alive.  We were lucky to catch a good tour of the cathedra, which started a half-hour late, just in time for us to arrive and buy tickets.  As much as I admire the famous Gothic cathedrals, I love to visit older Romanesque churches and cathedrals.