The Vereinigte Domstifter look back on a consecration anniversary year full of highlights. "Consecrated for eternity. 1000 years of consecration of Merseburg Cathedral" - under this title, everything in Merseburg from January to November 2021 was dedicated to the thousandth anniversary of the cathedral's consecration. Despite pandemic-related restrictions, the plans for the anniversary year were successfully realised.
"We pursued two major goals with the year of celebrations to mark the 1000th anniversary of the consecration of Merseburg Cathedral: We wanted to emphasise the cathedral's great supra-regional significance and deepen the close connection between the people of Merseburg and their cathedral," say Dean Prof. Dr Karin v. Welck and the Director of the United Cathedral Foundations, Dr Holger Kunde. "Despite the serious challenges posed by the pandemic, we have achieved these goals, which we are very happy and grateful about."
The close cooperation between the United Cathedral Founders, the city of Merseburg and the Protestant parish of Merseburg in the planning and realisation of the consecration anniversary is particularly noteworthy. "Together, we created a consecration anniversary for everyone," says a delighted Dr Kunde. Festive church services, exhibitions, educational programmes, concerts of various musical genres, scientific lectures: The consecration anniversary appealed to a wide variety of guests. "Especially on the festive weekend from 1 to 3 October 2021, we experienced how many interests we were able to bring together to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the consecration of Merseburg Cathedral," continues Dr Kunde. "The consecration of the newly cast Friede bell attracted thousands of interested people to the cathedral square on 1 October: a highly emotional event, as the last bell for Merseburg Cathedral was consecrated in 1538. We were very touched to see how enthusiastically the new bell was received." "The procession and the subsequent ceremonial consecration of the bell will remain in the memories of all those who were able to witness it, as will the solemn blessings bestowed on the new bell, including by the bell's donor, Friede Springer, and the subsequent festive service in the cathedral," adds the dean.
The city of Merseburg's outstanding stage programme attracted many new target groups to Merseburg Cathedral. The medieval market held in the neighbouring castle garden with famous medieval bands such as "In Extremo" and "Saltatio Mortis" attracted a very diverse audience to Merseburg Cathedral throughout the entire festival weekend. Many medieval fans did not miss the opportunity to see their favourite bands as well as the original Merseburg Magic Spells. Lovers of classical music were able to experience the famous Ladegast organ in Merseburg Cathedral as well as two high-calibre festival concerts, firstly with the Collegium Vocale and the Merseburg Court Music under the direction of cathedral organist Michael Schönheit, and secondly with the Gaechinger Cantorey Stuttgart, who performed Handel's "Messiah" under the direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann in a charity concert, which Michaela and Michael Wirtz donated to the Vereinigte Domstifter, to bring the festival weekend to a festive close. A total of around 20,000 people visited Merseburg Cathedral during the festival weekend. Over 1700 visitors also bought a ticket to see the original Merseburg magic spells.
The involvement of Merseburg's schools was a great success of the festive year. In the nursery and primary school project "The bishop's festive clothes", which was also supported by the city of Merseburg, the children learnt about the tasks and significance of a medieval bishop and then designed their own mitres. The project was offered on site in Merseburg Cathedral and - adapted to the infection situation - as a digital project. Over 700 children designed their own mitre. Over 300 children took part in the parade on 1 October with their own mitres. Secondary schools were invited to see the original Merseburg magic spells in October. Numerous schools accepted the invitation. In October, almost 1000 pupils saw the unique handwriting in the original. "It was fantastic to see the many children with their Mitren at the parade and the bell dedication and to experience how the young people engaged with the spells," says Dr Kunde. "The fact that the children took such an active part in the consecration anniversary and were able to engage with its history was a great stroke of luck for us. Passing on the history of the cathedral to the next generation is an important concern for the Vereinigte Domstifter. We want to further expand our excellent collaboration with Merseburg schools in the coming years."
The Vereinigte Domstifter are also particularly pleased about the numerous reports in the print and broadcast media.
Due to the lockdown, Merseburg Cathedral was only able to receive visitors from 1 June 2021. The two exhibitions "Jahr1000Schätze im Merseburger Dom" and "Die Rückkehr des Merseburger Domschatzes" were open to the public from this date until 31 October 2021. Despite the shortened exhibition period, more than 23,000 visitors took the opportunity to visit from June to October, a high figure compared to previous years and in view of the pandemic-related restrictions on tourism.
Last year, a total of 25.946 visitors to Merseburg Cathedral, a significant increase compared to the previous year. The cathedral recorded a particularly high level of interest in October. The original Merseburg spells were on display throughout the month. In this month alone, almost 10,000 visitors took the opportunity to view the originals.
"We would like to thank the state of Saxony-Anhalt for its financial support for the anniversary year, the city of Merseburg and the Protestant parish of Merseburg for their excellent cooperation, the Friede Springer Foundation for generously funding the new bell, Michaela and Michael Wirtz for financing the benefit concert, Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien and Saalesparkasse. But also to the many people who made the restoration of the fountain on the cathedral square possible with their donations and to the sponsors of this restoration work (the Merseburg Old Town Association, the honymus Foundation Halle-Merseburg, INFRA LEUNA, the district of Saalekreis, MIDEWA, MVV Umwelt GmbH, the city of Merseburg, TOTAL Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH, the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Vereinigte Domstifter and the Volks- und Raiffeisenbank Saale-Unstrut eG)," says Prof. Dr Karin v. Welck.
What remains of the anniversary year? The anniversary of the consecration will continue to have an impact in the coming years. The excellent collaboration with the city of Merseburg and the Protestant parish of Merseburg will be continued for future projects. Particularly with regard to the Merseburg spells, which have been on the way to becoming a World Heritage Site since 2021, close cooperation between the city, cathedral parish and cathedral founders is being sought in order to communicate the significance of the spells to a wide audience. Merseburg schools are also to be more closely involved. The fountain on the cathedral square, which was restored for the festival year, will help to further enhance the cathedral square. The redesign of the area around the fountain is a project for next year. The newly cast Friede bell, which has been ringing three times a day since 31 October and thus relieves the historic bells of Merseburg Cathedral, will also remain. "Whenever I hear the Friede bell ringing, I am delighted at what we have achieved this year," says Dr Kunde. "The consecration festival, for which the whole of Merseburg was on its feet, rewarded us for the many uncertainties and worries during the planning phase due to the pandemic. So many guests came from near and far to visit the cathedral, see the original spells, take part in festive church services, listen to top-class classical concerts, dance with medieval bands in the castle park or DJ greats in the university or to strike the new bell themselves. A festival as emotional, lively and diverse as we could have wished for."
