Research

The original mediaeval features of Halberstadt Cathedral also include 14 figures on the columns in the main choir. These polychrome stone sculptures were probably made between 1425 and 1475. During restoration work in 2014, they were found to be in critical condition. The polychrome is particularly badly damaged and in some cases at risk.

There are various causes: the process has been exacerbated by climatically fluctuating environmental conditions inside the church and negative environmental influences resulting from the damage to the cathedral in the Second World War. Their deterioration has also been caused in no small part by the lack of restoration work since the 19th century.

Following an extensive assessment, an interdisciplinary research project has now begun to preserve the fragile layers of paint on the mediaeval sculptures. Innovative restoration technologies are being employed: these are being trialled on the choir sculptures and further refined.

Halberstadt Cathedral is one of the most prominent large Gothic buildings dating from the Middle Ages. It was the main church of the oldest missionary diocese established by Charlemagne on the eastern border of the Frankish Empire, Halberstadt was the only Central German diocese not subject to the Archdiocese of Magdeburg, and this was reflected in its artistic furnishings.

Previous Carolingian and Ottonian buildings were replaced in the 13th century by a Gothic cathedral which was consecrated upon completion in a ceremony in 1491. Inside, it boasts numerous architectural additions and significant sculptures made of wood and stone. The rood from the start of the 13th century and Halberstadt’s mediaeval cathedral treasures are world-famous.

Since January 2016, efforts have been made to carry out a complete inventory of the cathedral and its outbuildings. The aim is to compile an up-to-date, scientifically sound record of its architecture and features, to be published in two volumes.

In terms of quantity, paraments – textiles used to decorate the church and in religious ceremonies – make up the largest group of items in the cathedral treasures. Individual pieces such as the Romanesque tapestries are world-renowned and among the undisputed highlights of any visit to the cathedral treasures.

However, although many of the liturgical textiles’ designs are of high quality and exceptionally varied, there has been no research into the vast majority, with only a few exceptions. Their scientific examination is therefore of extreme interest to research and the general public.

That is the aim pursued by this cross-institutional, cooperative project lasting several years. The project is run by the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology (LDA), which has been carrying out research into the precious paraments for decades. When the findings go to press, it will be the first scientific catalogue examining the Halberstadt paraments. As well as describing them in their entirety, it explains the unique nature of this genre of artefacts, both in Halberstadt and on a much bigger scale.

Although Halberstadt Cathedral’s treasures are among the most important mediaeval church treasures in existence, there are still major gaps in the scientific research into the artefacts. One of those gaps has now been filled by research into the mediaeval and early modern manuscripts.

The cathedral treasures contain 39 works of this genre, and there are another 40 in Halberstadt’s historical archives. During this cross-institutional research project, the Herzog August library in Wolfenbüttel updated the description and scientific evaluation of the manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines of the German Research Foundation (DFG). This replaces the catalogue of the Halberstadt manuscripts published by Gustav Schmidt in 1878/81.

The preservation of monuments and works of art is a never-ending duty which Kulturstiftung Sachsen‑Anhalt often tackles using the method of “preventive conservation”. This involves pre-emptive, non-destructive measures and management concepts which are geared to the long term and to continuity. These are designed to identify factors which could potentially damage structures and their furnishings at an early stage, and to prevent them where possible.

The Halberstadt Cathedral treasures offer an example of this method in use. With the help of external specialists, the cultural foundation has set up an interdisciplinary management model bringing together specialist academics and restorers to tackle the most important groups of items. It also involves fundamental, sustainable improvements to their storage conditions. The treasures’ reopening with a new presentation in April 2008 was an important milestone in that process.

As part of a research project lasting several years, the measures carried out so far were checked, possible means of improving on them were investigated, and a targeted maintenance concept was developed for the cathedral which can be sustained in the long term.