Church of Our Lady - Trier

The Church of Our Lady in Trier is considered, together with the Elisabethkirche in Marburg , the oldest Gothic church in Germany. The construction of the church on the foundations of an earlier Roman church was completed in 1260 .

Since 1986 it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List . The church is dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Lawrence.

The floor plan is in the form of a twelve-petalled rose , which is very unusual. This symbolizes Mary's mystical rose. The twelve pillars in the interior represent the twelve apostles and the twelve articles of the creed. At a specific spot in the church, marked by a star on the floor , all the pillars and chapels can be seen at a glance.

The interior is high and vaulted , giving a sense of space and grandeur. There are large stained glass windows which allow plenty of light to enter, although the original medieval windows were lost during the Second World War and later replaced.

The church contains several important sculptures, including the tombs of archbishops and the statues of the twelve apostles that stand along the pillars.

Willem Vandenameele