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the collection key areas
of the Dom-Museum
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In the course of the major restoration of Bremen Cathedral, important finds were made during archaeological excavations in 1974-1976. Well-preserved medieval bishop's tombs came to light, which were furnished with lavish grave goods.
The idea of presenting the culturally and historically interesting finds in a museum became a firm concept over the years. In 1987, the jubilee year of Bremen's 1200 years of church history, this idea could be realised with the opening of the Dom-Museum.
A film by Radio Bremen from 1977 (approx. 23 min) illustrates the excavation work and the efforts of the restorers.
In the first room of the upper floor, the beautiful old altar equipment from the cathedral can be seen, silver work from the period 1400 to around 1850. It is now too precious to continue using it in church and has therefore found its place in the museum. Many of the pieces are the work of Bremen silversmiths. Most of them were donated by members of the cathedral parish. Among the most precious objects are two communion chalices dating from before the Reformation (1517) and two silver altar chandeliers from the 19th century that are about a metre high.
The other exhibits (communion jugs, host plates, bell bags, baptismal bowls) give the visitor an idea of the equipment that was required for the various official church acts.
No remains from the large archaeological excavation were made permanently visible in the cathedral; this was only possible in the entrance area of the Dom-Museum. The visitor enters the basement via a wooden walkway, below which an exposed apse foundation extends. This foundation belongs to the building stock of the 11th to 13th centuries; the rising apse wall was largely removed in the 13th century, only a remnant remained as vault support. With the help of several floor plans and reconstructions of the old building stock, this early building history of St. Peter's Cathedral is also made accessible in a photo showcase.
A film by Radio Bremen from 1977 (approx. 23 min) illustrates the excavation work and the efforts of the restorers.
The highlight of the display collection are the finds from eight bishop's tombs from the 11th to 15th centuries, which are exhibited in light-protected showcases in two heavily darkened, air-conditioned rooms on the upper floor. They were uncovered during an archaeological excavation at St. Peter's Cathedral in 1973-75. Particularly noteworthy is a crook depicting an Annunciation scene. This is made of fire-gilded bronze and decorated with an enamelled diamond pattern. It was probably made around 1230 in Limoges, France.
In addition to the crook, the ash wood staff had also been preserved in this grave (no. 18 of the official excavation)! Belonging to it: a well-preserved bishop's ring with a large delicate purple amethyst and decorated hoop, as well as Eucharist chalice and paten (host plate) made of silver.
A film by Radio Bremen from 1977 (approx. 23 min) illustrates the excavation work and the efforts of the restorers.
In the Middle Ages, the Metropolitan Church of the Archdiocese of Bremen naturally also had a library; it had its place in one of the two rooms that today form the museum basement. From today's cathedral library's stock of older printed books, one of the items on display is a very rare Bremen Missal, which had to be printed in 1511 in far-away Strasbourg, then a book printer's stronghold, due to the lack of a book printer's workshop in Bremen.
It takes particular account in its calendar of the saints venerated in Bremen. Some interesting older hymnbooks (oldest cathedral hymnbook from 1688) and ecclesiastical writings give some idea of the book inventory that was later added to again.
Bei der Wiedereröffnung des Doms im Jahre 1638 nach 77-jähriger Schließung war der Kunstbestand bis auf einige Epitaphe, das Chorgestühl und wenige Altarfiguren zusammengeschmolzen. Erst im Laufe der nächsten 200 Jahre gelang es, das Innere des Doms durch verschiedene Stiftungen auch wieder mit Gemälden zu schmücken. Ein Teil dieser Bilder ist mittlerweile zum geschätzten Bestandteil des Dom-Museums geworden, darunter eine Kopie des 17. Jh. nach dem Gemälde „Der Zinsgroschen“ von Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) sowie eine weitere Kopie des 17. Jh. nach dem Stich „Geißelung Christi“ aus einem Passionszyklus von Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617).
Wichtigstes Exponat innerhalb der Gemäldesammlung des Dom-Museums ist der „Schmerzensmann“ von Lucas Cranach d. Ä. (1472–1553), ein wahrscheinlich nach 1537 auf Holz gearbeitetes lebensgroßes Ölgemälde. Es wurde 1825 von Senator Dr. Gottlieb F. C. Horn für den St. Petri Dom gestiftet. Über die Herkunft des Gemäldes ist bislang leider nichts bekannt.
The fragments and complete parts of bishop's regalia shown here have been conserved for exhibition purposes over many years of work in the restoration workshop of the Stockholm Riksmuseum.
Textile research described these remains of silk bishop's vestments as sensational when they were found in the 1970s. They are silver and gold utensils as well as valuable silk textiles that have lain in the bishops' tombs for up to 900 years and still retain their beauty and lustre today.
Kostbarstes Stück ist die Mitra aus Grab 19. Sie besteht aus Seide, die seinerzeit aus dem Mittelmeergebiet importiert wurde, und ist mit Figuren bestickt (Motive: Christus als Weltenrichter zwischen Maria und Johannes, die beiden Apostel Petrus und Paulus). Außerdem sind drei vollständig erhaltene Seidengewänder in rötlichen und gelblichen Farben ausgestellt, die wohl ebenfalls aus dem 13. Jh. stammen. Ein besonders interessantes Schmuckmotiv, das etwas über die Herkunft des Stückes erzählt, ist bei einem der drei Gewänder die eingestickte arabische Schrift „der großmächtige Sultan“.
A film by Radio Bremen from 1977 (approx. 23 min) illustrates the excavation work and the efforts of the restorers.
Three examples of medieval carving art can be found in the Cathedral Museum: one is a bishop figure made of oak wood, created between 1410 and 1420. Since both forearms and thus any other attributes are missing, it is not possible to identify the figure more closely. However, this is possible with the two sleeping figures made of oak, which were created around 1420-40. These are clearly Peter and James, who - together with John - accompanied Christ to the Mount of Olives and were overcome by sleep there. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the Christ and John figures are not known.
The collection of altar figures from the 19th century is even larger. When the interior of the cathedral was Gothicised in 1840, a neo-Gothic altar was installed, which included five apostle figures: Paul, Thomas, John and Matthew, with Peter, the patron saint of St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen, in the middle between them. The five figures are the work of the Bremen carver Heinrich Freese (1794 - 1869) and were modelled on the apostle figures in the late medieval Sebaldus tomb in Nuremberg. An angel added later by Gustav Adolph Steinhäuser is located on the ground floor.
In the basement of the museum, medieval wall paintings were discovered by chance in 1985 during renovation work in a room that once served as a chapel.
Through careful uncovering, consolidation and restoration, four pictorial representations are now recognisable between rich tendril ornamentation and inserted angel heads: in the entrance bay, the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, in the centre, facing each other (only fragmentary), the undressing of Christ before the scourging and the warrior servants fighting over Christ's skirt, and in the far east, the representation of Christ in the mandorla called "Maiestas Domini".
These paintings cover the vault and north wall of the entire room and are thus the most extensive surviving medieval wall paintings in Bremen.
They were probably painted shortly before the consecration of the altar in this former chapel in 1414.
An artist's name could not be associated with it so far.
During the last restoration of the cathedral in the 1970s, the stock of stone sculpture was significantly reduced in favour of the Dom-Museum, so that there are now some well-preserved stone figures and reliefs from the 15th and 16th centuries in the museum. Among the former is the touching late medieval figural group "Anna selbdritt", i.e. Anna (the mother of Mary) with Mary as a young girl and Christ as a child.
A figure of Jerome is also very illustrative; this church father, who lived in the 4th/5th century, is also depicted here as so often with a lion as an attribute. According to legend, he once pulled a thorn out of a lion's paw, whereupon the animal followed him like a dog follows its master.
Zu den beeindruckenden Reliefs zählen eine Darstellung des Heiligen Abendmahls und ein Relief der beiden Heiligen Cosmas und Damian, die im 3. Jh. in Kleinasien als wundertätige Ärzte wirkten. Sie heilten Mensch und Tier und sind deshalb hier bei der Behandlung eines Dromedars und bei einer „Beintransplantation“ abgebildet. Beide Kunstwerke stammen aus der Zeit um 1400.