Worms, Germany

3:33:00 PM Out And About Global 18 Comments

We had to make a quick trip up to Frankfurt over the weekend and I mean really quick. Had an appointment Saturday morning at 10am, then had to be home by 6pm so Eliza could do her online ACT prep course. That meant we had about 3 hours to explore just one city along the route; we chose Worms (pronounced Vorms). As one of Germany's oldest cities there is loads of history from the Roman era right to the Reformation and on through World War 2.

Unfortunately, Worms was a Nazi stronghold and consequently suffered quite a bit of damage--it is estimated that 60% of its populace was rendered homeless after attacks to capture the city. The Worms Cathedral or Dom St. Peter was significantly damaged, though today has been restored. The cathedral, which was once a part of the royal residence is huge. I would love to have climbed into the towers, but you aren't allowed.

These were taken on the grounds of the Heylshof Garden which butts up against the Dom Peter.

The real reason I chose to visit Worms is because it is here that Martain Luther was officially excommunicated from the Catholic church. It is here that he stood before Emperor Charles V in 1521 refusing to recant his teachings. It is claimed he said, "it would be wrong to act against a conscience which God had committed...Here I stand, I can do nothing other. May God help me, Amen."

In so doing he set off the Reformation and essentially split Germany in half religiously. Even today, southern Germany is Catholic and the north is Protestant. I love seeing these places where acts of courage took place. William Tyndale who was martyred because he translated the Latin Bible into English, did it here in Worms! I am the beneficiary of his work, we read the King James version of the Bible which was heavily influenced by Tyndale's translations. My hope is that by associating a story with an actual spot on the ground my children will connect a bit more with the world's fascinating history.

This reads, "Here stood before the king and ruler, Martin Luther. " The bishop's court or residence hall where the trial took place was destroyed in 1686, it's a garden now.

This is a massive stone carving from the life of Christ. Several panels line a wall in the Cathedral. It was very dark inside and only a few were illuminated by the sun light streaming through the windows. It is so interesting to me how medieval artists depicted Christ's era using their own knowledge of the world. Notice the castle turret in the background. Also, notice how nicely curled Mary's hair is--it carved from stone yet has a natural quality about it.

Again, notice the guards--they hardly look like Roman soldiers, but rather medieval knights.

I really had to crank up the ISO on my camera--the church was not this light at all.

Model of the Cathedral complex. The baptistry complex is gone!

Light streaming though the stained glass window.

This is the oldest surviving in situ Jewish cemetery in Europe, the oldest headstone dates to 1059. Worms had a flourishing Jewish population until World War 2, but as you can imagine, not any longer.

There are 2500 headstones, 800 of which date from 1059-1519. I don't know much about Jewish burial practices, but there is loads of information to be gleaned from the styles, symbols and information contained in the headstones.

These are called the "hands of Kohen." Kohen were priests believed to have descended from the line of Aaron and thus were officiators in the temple. The position of the hands symbolized the act of blessing. Interestingly enough, I only saw two or three headstones with this symbol. I presume this fellow was a Kohen.

Like I said, we only had a short time to visit Worms, but it was absolutely worth the effort. There is a medieval wall surrounding the old city that we didn't have time to climb around, a really cool tower on the bridge entering the city and a few other newsworthy churches. If you're in the vicinity, I'd check it out.