Severikirche
About This Site
The Severikirche is one of only a few five-naved Gothic hall churches left in Germany, built between 1278 and about 1400 on a hill that had already carried a canons' chapter for more than three centuries — it stands beside the Dom and shares its hill, its steps and its place as the city's second landmark.
A canons' chapter on the Domberg, 836–1142
Tradition places a Benedictine convent on this site as early as 836; around 935 a chapter of canons, St. Severi, was founded on the Domberg, probably between the cathedral and the convent, and it was very likely the canons themselves who built the first Severikirche. That church burned down entirely in 1080 and again, partially, after rebuilding, in 1142.[1]
A five-naved hall, raised over more than a century, 1278–1472
The building standing today went up between 1278 and around 1400: a four-bay, five-naved hall with transepts at both the east and west ends. The east choir was consecrated in 1308, the nave was finished in 1327, and the vaults followed between about 1370 and 1380. The twin west towers and the eastern end were rebuilt again after a great fire in 1472.[1]
The Severi sarcophagus and the font, c. 1360–1467
Inside stands the Severi sarcophagus of around 1360, ranked among the finest achievements of fourteenth-century German sculpture, and the baptismal font completed in 1467, its worked tracery rising fifteen metres.[1] Together with the Dom next door, the Severikirche forms the ensemble that gives Erfurt its skyline.
Questions visitors ask
- When was the Severikirche built?
- The standing building went up between 1278 and around 1400, a five-naved Gothic hall church — one of only a few left in Germany.[1]
- What stood on the site before the current Severikirche?
- Tradition places a Benedictine convent here as early as 836 and a chapter of canons, St. Severi, founded around 935; an earlier church on the site burned down entirely in 1080 and partially again in 1142.[1]
- What is inside the Severikirche?
- The Severi sarcophagus of around 1360, ranked among the finest fourteenth-century German sculpture, and the baptismal font completed in 1467, its tracery rising fifteen metres.[1]
- How is the Severikirche connected to the Dom?
- The two churches stand side by side on the Domberg, sharing the Domstufen and together forming the ensemble that gives Erfurt its skyline.
Sources
- Severikirche — Stadt Erfurt, retrieved 30 August 2026
Visit Information
Severihof 2, 99084 Erfurt
In Weimar's history
Around Weimar
20 km West
One of the two churches on Erfurt's Domberg, the city a day trip west of Weimar plans around.